Dick Beals
Encyclopedia
Richard "Dick" Beals is an American voice actor. He has performed many voices in his career, which spans from the early 1950s into the 21st century. He specialized primarily in doing the voices of young boys.
Perhaps his most recognizable characterization was the voice of the stop-motion animation figure called "Speedy Alka-Seltzer
", featured in TV ads for more than 50 years.
Beals graduated from Michigan State University
(MSU) in 1949, where he majored in radio broadcasting and puppetry. He covered intramural sports and performed in weekly radio dramas for the campus radio station WKAR
. Beals was also a member of the Michigan State cheerleading squad.
In January 1949, as a senior at MSU, Beals got a call to do a radio commercial for WXYZ, Detroit. After the show, the director asked him to be on call for all the kid's voices as well as those of small, talking animals on all three network radio shows produced by WXYZ - The Lone Ranger
, Green Hornet
and Challenge of the Yukon
.
In 1952, after performing in an episode of The Green Hornet, WXYZ station manager Jack McCarthy referred Beals to Forrest Owen of Wade Advertising. Owen showed Beals a rendering of a proposed product spokesman for their client, Alka-Seltzer and had him record a voice audition. Four months later, Beals was notified that he had been selected as the voice for Speedy Alka-Seltzer as well as the voice of Sticky, the Vaseline mascot.
Beals moved to Los Angeles where he continued making commercials as Speedy Alka-Seltzer and also provided voices for other commercials, such as Oscar Mayer, the Campbell Soup Kids, and Bob's Big Boy.
In 1953, Beals was hired to do the voice for his first cartoon character. This was Ralph Phillips, a Walter Mitty
type boy in From A to Z-Z-Z-Z
by Warner Brothers. The cartoon was nominated for an Academy Award.
Beals continued doing voices for Warner Brothers cartoons, often as un-credited secondary characters. When Hanna-Barbera started with the Flintstones, and then The Jetsons
, Beals did many of the kid's voices on those shows, sometimes performing several different minor characters on the same show. One of his recurring roles was as Mr. Spacely's son Arthur on The Jetsons.
Beals voiced the famous claymation character Gumby
when it was first televised on NBC
in 1957. From 1960 to 1964, he played the voice of Davey Hansen, as well as other child voices, on Davey and Goliath
. He did not do any voices for that series after 1965, when Norma MacMillan
replaced him as Davey Hansen.
Beals provided voices for both the characters "Yank" and "Dan" of the "American Eagles" troupe in the mid-1960s cartoon series Roger Ramjet
. He was the voice of Buzz Conroy, the boy scientist on Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles, and Richie Rich's mischievous cousin, Reggie Van Dough on Richie Rich
. Beals was also the voice of Birdboy on Birdman and the Galaxy Trio
.
During the late 1980s, Beals provided the voices for various characters on Garfield and Friends
his most major character being Jon's cruel nephew Rosco.
From 1989-1993 he played Nicholas Adamsworth on the Focus on the Family
radio drama Adventures in Odyssey
.
In 1996, Beals provided the voice of the Pinocchio puppet in the horror film Pinocchio's Revenge
.
Beals continues doing occasional voice acting, appears as a guest at Old Time Radio conventions and works as a motivational speaker. He is active as an alumnus of Michigan State University
and in his spare time he enjoys spending time on his yacht.
Beals wrote in his autobiography, Think Big. His high voice and boyish appearance are due to a glandular problem; he did not go through puberty (much like Walter Tetley
, who had provided the voice for Sherman on The Bullwinkle Show). Beals is 4 foot 7 inches tall and just under 70 pounds. Despite his short stature, he has been able to fly planes using modified controls.
Perhaps his most recognizable characterization was the voice of the stop-motion animation figure called "Speedy Alka-Seltzer
Alka-Seltzer
Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever first marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company. It was developed by Treneer in Elkhart Indiana. Alka-Seltzer is marketed for relief of minor aches, pains, inflammation, fever, headache, heartburn, sour stomach, indigestion, and hangovers,...
", featured in TV ads for more than 50 years.
Beals graduated from Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
(MSU) in 1949, where he majored in radio broadcasting and puppetry. He covered intramural sports and performed in weekly radio dramas for the campus radio station WKAR
WKAR (AM)
WKAR is a National Public Radio member station in East Lansing, Michigan; broadcasting at 870 kHz. It is owned by Michigan State University, and carries news and talk shows from NPR. It is part of MSU's Broadcasting Services Division, and is a sister station to the FM radio and television...
. Beals was also a member of the Michigan State cheerleading squad.
In January 1949, as a senior at MSU, Beals got a call to do a radio commercial for WXYZ, Detroit. After the show, the director asked him to be on call for all the kid's voices as well as those of small, talking animals on all three network radio shows produced by WXYZ - The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
, Green Hornet
Green Hornet
Green Hornet may refer to:* The Green Hornet, a fictional character created by Fran Striker for the 1930s radio program and adapted into several media versions...
and Challenge of the Yukon
Challenge of the Yukon
Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ , and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938...
.
In 1952, after performing in an episode of The Green Hornet, WXYZ station manager Jack McCarthy referred Beals to Forrest Owen of Wade Advertising. Owen showed Beals a rendering of a proposed product spokesman for their client, Alka-Seltzer and had him record a voice audition. Four months later, Beals was notified that he had been selected as the voice for Speedy Alka-Seltzer as well as the voice of Sticky, the Vaseline mascot.
Beals moved to Los Angeles where he continued making commercials as Speedy Alka-Seltzer and also provided voices for other commercials, such as Oscar Mayer, the Campbell Soup Kids, and Bob's Big Boy.
In 1953, Beals was hired to do the voice for his first cartoon character. This was Ralph Phillips, a Walter Mitty
Walter Mitty
Walter Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", first published in the New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World and Welcome to It in 1942...
type boy in From A to Z-Z-Z-Z
From A to Z-Z-Z-Z
From A to Z-Z-Z-Z is a 1953 animated cartoon short by Chuck Jones in the Looney Tunes series. It was released by Warner Bros. in 1954.-Plot:The cartoon begins with an exterior shot of a school classroom. Through the windows, children are visible at their desks. They are learning arithmetic by rote...
by Warner Brothers. The cartoon was nominated for an Academy Award.
Beals continued doing voices for Warner Brothers cartoons, often as un-credited secondary characters. When Hanna-Barbera started with the Flintstones, and then The Jetsons
The Jetsons
The Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
, Beals did many of the kid's voices on those shows, sometimes performing several different minor characters on the same show. One of his recurring roles was as Mr. Spacely's son Arthur on The Jetsons.
Beals voiced the famous claymation character Gumby
Gumby
Gumby is a green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey, who also created Davey and Goliath. Gumby has been the subject of a 233-episode series of American television as well as a feature-length film and other media...
when it was first televised on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in 1957. From 1960 to 1964, he played the voice of Davey Hansen, as well as other child voices, on Davey and Goliath
Davey and Goliath
Davey and Goliath is a 1960s stop-motion animated children's Christian television series. The programs, produced by the Lutheran Church in America , were produced by Art Clokey after the success of his Gumby series.Each 15-minute episode features the adventures of Davey Hansen and his "talking"...
. He did not do any voices for that series after 1965, when Norma MacMillan
Norma MacMillan
Norma MacMillan was a Canadian voice actor.Norma MacMillan was a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was there that she met, worked with and married her producer/manager husband Thor Arngrim. Arngrim had started the now-legendary, but short-lived Totem Theatre company in 1951...
replaced him as Davey Hansen.
Beals provided voices for both the characters "Yank" and "Dan" of the "American Eagles" troupe in the mid-1960s cartoon series Roger Ramjet
Roger Ramjet
Roger Ramjet is an animated American children's television comedy series that first ran in 1965 and has aired in syndication since. Starring Roger Ramjet and the American Eagle Squadron, the show was known for its crude animation, frenetic pace, and frequent references to popular culture, which...
. He was the voice of Buzz Conroy, the boy scientist on Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles, and Richie Rich's mischievous cousin, Reggie Van Dough on Richie Rich
Richie Rich (1980 TV series)
Richie Rich is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on ABC from 1980 to 1984. Based upon Harvey Comics' popular Richie Rich comic book characters, shared time slots with Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, The Little Rascals, and Pac-Man over its original broadcast...
. Beals was also the voice of Birdboy on Birdman and the Galaxy Trio
Birdman and the Galaxy Trio
Birdman and the Galaxy Trio is an animated science fiction TV series created by Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera. It debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967, and ran on Saturday mornings until September 6, 1969...
.
During the late 1980s, Beals provided the voices for various characters on Garfield and Friends
Garfield and Friends
Garfield and Friends is an American animated television series based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. The show was produced by Film Roman, in association with United Feature Syndicate and Paws, Inc., and ran on CBS Saturday mornings from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994, with...
his most major character being Jon's cruel nephew Rosco.
From 1989-1993 he played Nicholas Adamsworth on the Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
radio drama Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey
Adventures in Odyssey , or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio drama/comedy series created by Focus on the Family in 1987. The show's daily audience averages around 1.2 million within North America. The Odyssey series also includes several spin-off items, including a home-video...
.
In 1996, Beals provided the voice of the Pinocchio puppet in the horror film Pinocchio's Revenge
Pinocchio's Revenge
Pinocchio's Revenge is a 1996 Horror film about a mother who brings home a wooden puppet that was found buried with a boy supposedly killed by his father. Her little girl Zoe mistakenly finds the doll and takes it as her own...
.
Beals continues doing occasional voice acting, appears as a guest at Old Time Radio conventions and works as a motivational speaker. He is active as an alumnus of Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
and in his spare time he enjoys spending time on his yacht.
Beals wrote in his autobiography, Think Big. His high voice and boyish appearance are due to a glandular problem; he did not go through puberty (much like Walter Tetley
Walter Tetley
Walter Tetley , an American voice actor, was a child impersonator in radio's classic era, with regular roles on The Great Gildersleeve and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, as well as continuing as a voice-over artist in animated cartoons, commercials, and spoken-word record albums...
, who had provided the voice for Sherman on The Bullwinkle Show). Beals is 4 foot 7 inches tall and just under 70 pounds. Despite his short stature, he has been able to fly planes using modified controls.