Goodbye Thurl... we will miss you.

[Ponine]

It's a sad day in my world. I know that I will miss his voice, and he was definatley part of what made Disneyland so special for me.


Thurl Ravenscroft, who provided the rumbling "They're Grrrrreeeat!"
for Kellogg's Tony the Tiger ads and voiced a host of Disney characters, has died. He was 91.
Link to CNN story:
Voice of Tony the Tiger dies (http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/24/ravenscroft.ap/index.html)

Disneyland wouldn't have been, and wouldn't be, the same without him," the park's former president, Jack Lindquist, told the Register. "His voice was one of the things that made it all come alive."

[Ghoulish Delight]

:( I wondered why my coworker suddenly insisted this morning on showing me a photo with Thurl and his son that he's told me about a million times. What sad news.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

I feel very strange about hearing this as I had thought he died a few years ago. I'm not sure why. Regardless, I'm quite saddened by the news.

My favorite part of the Haunted Mansion has always been watching his bust sing. I just loved the facial expressions and couldn't help but think about how much fun that must have been to be able to ham it up a little, knowing you would be a part of a ride in Disneyland.

RIP, Thurl and thanks for sharing your voice.

[MerryPrankster]

Ohhhh, I love that voice! Definitely one of a kind. :( R.I.P., Thurl. I'm glad you lived a nice long life -- 91! Thanks for sharing your wonderful voice.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

:( His voice lives on at Disneyland.

[Gemini Cricket]

Thurl's imdb Bio (http://imdb.com/name/nm0712391/)

I loved his song in the original 'Grinch' cartoon. "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."
:)

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Ohh, this is as sad as I've been about a celebrity death in awhile. I feel the need to do a Ravenscroft memorial tour of DL. I'm going to go listen to "Meet Me Down On Main Street."

[Prudence]

It was a sad thing to hear this morning on the radio. Hubby and I were just a few days ago talking about how cool his voice was -- we were probably on the Haunted Mansion at the time. We wondered how old he was and noted that it would be very sad when he died. We didn't think it would be so soon. I'm glad he had a long life and left his imprint on our imaginations.

[Gn2Dlnd]

Aw, man. Crap.

:(

[DwoernAdale]

How terribly sad. But what a wonderful thing to have left behind such an incredible body of work for people to enjoy for years to come.

[€uroMeinke]

Aw what a talent so intimately comnnected with the best of Disney and Disneyland. He will indeed be missed.

[Mr. Fusion]

*sniff* *sniff*

[flippyshark]

"When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake..."

Thurl gets to be one of the Happy Haunts forever now. I'll have to go ride one just for him this weekend. (Too bad I can't also take in an appropriate Tiki Room performance out here as well.)

[Matterhorn Fan]

Thurl gets to be one of the Happy Haunts forever now. I'll have to go ride one just for him this weekend. (Too bad I can't also take in an appropriate Tiki Room performance out here as well.)Well, you could watch the first ten seconds of the show, which are still perfectly fine. Or you could just take in an appropriate pineapple-y treat instead.

Is he still on the RR?

On Letterman last night, they said that there would be a memorial service for him, after which he would be buried in a "grrrave." teeheehee.

[Stan4dSteph]

Well, you could watch the first ten seconds of the show, which are still perfectly fine. Or you could just take in an appropriate pineapple-y treat instead.

Is he still on the RR?

On Letterman last night, they said that there would be a memorial service for him, after which he would be buried in a "grrrave." teeheehee.Good one! Good bye Thurl, and thanks for all the great voices!

[Motorboat Cruiser]

I have to share what happened to us at Disneyland last night because it was...well...interesting to say the least.

We decided to venture over to the Haunted Mansion due to Thurl's passing and pay our last respects of sorts. While waiting, I remarked that it would be nice if the ride went into creep mode near the singing busts so we could enjoy his part just a little longer. Well, the ride actually stopped right infront of Thurl and we got to enjoy all of his facial expressions and vocal parts for a minute or two. We felt very fortunate to be able to experience this and it was a bittersweet experience.

Now, let me preface this next part by saying that my intention is not to spread some kind of ghost story. I just found this event to be a bit strange, to say the least. After we came up the exit ramp, we walked outside a few steps and I heard a very low haunting laugh, very Thurl-like. My first thought was that one of the guests exiting behind us was doing an impression of the Thurl bust. Certainly, that wouldn't be out of the ordinary, it's one of the last things that people hear on the ride and obviously sometimes people mimic stuff from rides.

Except that there was nobody behind us other than a mom and her little kids. They didn't make the voice that I heard. Way too low. Granted, it may have just been a guest farther behind and the voice projected. In fact, that probably was what it was. But it really sounded like the person was standing right behind me, not farther behind, and it was positively eerie.

And, completely off-topic but... I'm still absolutely flabbergasted by the fireworks. I have to pick my jaw up off of the ground each time I see them.

[MerryPrankster]

Ohhhh...I love your story, MBC. Maybe Thurl really did pop in to say goodbye. :cool:

Regarding the fireworks, when I saw them I was totally blown away. So awesome! You guys are lucky to be able to see them often.