Henry Corden
Encyclopedia
Henry Corden was a Canadian
-born American
actor
and voice artist
best-known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone
after Alan Reed
died in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was on the 1977 syndicated weekday series Fred Flintstone and Friends
for which he provided voice-overs on brief bumper clips shown in-between segments. (He also provided the singing voice for Reed in both the 1966 theatrical film, The Man Called Flintstone
and the 1966 Hanna-Barbera special The New Alice in Wonderland (or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?)—in which Fred and Barney Rubble jointly appeared as the Caterpillar).
, Quebec
, Canada
, Corden moved to New York
as a child and arrived in Hollywood
in the 1940s.
Corden gave his voice to a number of other Hanna-Barbera
productions, including The Jetsons
, Josie and the Pussycats
, The Atom Ant
Show, The New Tom & Jerry Show
and Jonny Quest
. Corden also gave voice to the wizard Gemini and Ookla the Mokk in Ruby-Spears Productions
' Thundarr the Barbarian
as well as the Gorilla General Urko in DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
' Return to the Planet of the Apes
. He voiced Arnie Barkley, the Archie Bunker-inspired patriarch of DePatie-Freleng's The Barkleys
, in 1972.
With his deep voice, jet-black hair and ethnic looks, Corden was frequently tapped to play heavies in films and on television. He can be seen in such live-action films as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
, The Black Castle
and The Ten Commandments
. He also appeared in dozens of TV shows, including Dragnet, Perry Mason
, Hogan's Heroes
, Gunsmoke
and was a usual regular on The Jerry Lewis Show. Corden also played landlord Henry Babbitt on The Monkees
.
Corden had one enduring role for which he was never credited. He was called upon to impersonate Jackie Gleason for the "television edit" of Smokey and the Bandit
The repeated broadcasts of this version, the liberal use of the nonsense phrase "scum bum" to replace profanity, and the fact that it obviously was not Gleason speaking have given the performance a sort of cult
status.
at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles, California
. Corden's wife of nine years, Angelina, was with him at the time. Besides his wife, Corden is survived by his two children, Dawna Wade and Robin Smith, three stepchildren Erik Faraldo, Derek Faraldo and Monica Faraldo, two granddaughters, and three stepgrandsons. He was buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and voice artist
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
best-known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone
Fred Flintstone
Frederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
after Alan Reed
Alan Reed
Alan Reed was an American actor and voice actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones and various spinoff series...
died in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was on the 1977 syndicated weekday series Fred Flintstone and Friends
Fred Flintstone and Friends
Fred Flintstone and Friends was a 30–minute weekday animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions which aired in syndication beginning September 12, 1977...
for which he provided voice-overs on brief bumper clips shown in-between segments. (He also provided the singing voice for Reed in both the 1966 theatrical film, The Man Called Flintstone
The Man Called Flintstone
The Man Called Flintstone is a 1966 American animated musical comedy film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and released by Columbia Pictures. It was the second Hanna-Barbera feature, after Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!...
and the 1966 Hanna-Barbera special The New Alice in Wonderland (or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?)—in which Fred and Barney Rubble jointly appeared as the Caterpillar).
Life and career
Born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Corden moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
as a child and arrived in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
in the 1940s.
Corden gave his voice to a number of other Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
productions, including 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...
, Josie and the Pussycats
Josie and the Pussycats (TV series)
Josie and the Pussycats is an American animated television series, based upon the Archie Comics comic book series of the same name created by Dan DeCarlo....
, The Atom Ant
Atom Ant
Atom Ant is a cartoon ant and superhero, created by Hanna-Barbera in 1965. Atom costarred in The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show...
Show, The New Tom & Jerry Show
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
and Jonny Quest
Jonny Quest (TV series)
Jonny Quest – often casually referred to as The Adventures of Jonny Quest – is an American science fiction/adventure animated television series about a boy who accompanies his father on extraordinary adventures...
. Corden also gave voice to the wizard Gemini and Ookla the Mokk in Ruby-Spears Productions
Ruby-Spears Productions
Ruby-Spears Productions is a Burbank, California-based entertainment production company that specializes in animation...
' Thundarr the Barbarian
Thundarr the Barbarian
Thundarr the Barbarian is a Saturday morning animated television series, created by Steve Gerber and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. The series ran 2 seasons, 1980-1981 and 1981-1982...
as well as the Gorilla General Urko in DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. They produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, title sequences and television specials. Notable among these is The Pink Panther film titles and cartoon shorts and the Dr....
' Return to the Planet of the Apes
Return to the Planet of the Apes
Return to the Planet of the Apes is a short-lived animated series, by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in association with 20th Century Fox Television, based upon Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle. Boulle's novel had previously been adapted in a series of movies, beginning with the 1968 Planet of the...
. He voiced Arnie Barkley, the Archie Bunker-inspired patriarch of DePatie-Freleng's The Barkleys
The Barkleys
The Barkleys is an animated television series that ran from 1972 to 1973 on NBC and was produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.-Story:The cartoon was inspired by CBS's hit sitcom All in the Family; it lasted only one season. The series featured a dog family consisting of Arnie, a bus driver and...
, in 1972.
With his deep voice, jet-black hair and ethnic looks, Corden was frequently tapped to play heavies in films and on television. He can be seen in such live-action films as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It...
, The Black Castle
The Black Castle
The Black Castle is a mystery film, released by Universal Pictures in 1952. It was produced by William Alland, who would have better success two years later with Creature from the Black Lagoon...
and The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (1956 film)
The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
. He also appeared in dozens of TV shows, including Dragnet, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
, Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
, Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
and was a usual regular on The Jerry Lewis Show. Corden also played landlord Henry Babbitt on The Monkees
The Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
.
Corden had one enduring role for which he was never credited. He was called upon to impersonate Jackie Gleason for the "television edit" of Smokey and the Bandit
Smokey and the Bandit
Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 American film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams, and Mike Henry. It inspired several other trucking films, including two sequels, Smokey and the Bandit II, and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3...
The repeated broadcasts of this version, the liberal use of the nonsense phrase "scum bum" to replace profanity, and the fact that it obviously was not Gleason speaking have given the performance a sort of cult
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
status.
Death
Corden died of emphysemaEmphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Corden's wife of nine years, Angelina, was with him at the time. Besides his wife, Corden is survived by his two children, Dawna Wade and Robin Smith, three stepchildren Erik Faraldo, Derek Faraldo and Monica Faraldo, two granddaughters, and three stepgrandsons. He was buried in San Fernando Mission Cemetery
San Fernando Mission Cemetery
The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located at 11160 Stranwood Avenue in the Mission Hills community of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, near the San Fernando Mission....
.