Kent Rogers
Kent Byron Rogers (July 31, 1923 – July 9, 1944) was an American actor and impressionist who appeared in several live-action shorts and features, and a voice actor for Warner Bros. Cartoons and Walter Lantz Productions.
Kent Rogers | |
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![]() Kent Rogers in All-American Co-Ed | |
Born | Kent Byron Rogers July 31, 1923 |
Died | July 9, 1944 20) Pensacola, Florida, U.S. | (aged
Cause of death | Killed in a training flight accident during World War II |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1937–1944 |
Career
For Warner Bros. Cartoons, Rogers portrayed several Hollywood stars in Hollywood Steps Out, and lent his voice to The Heckling Hare, Porky's Pastry Pirates, Horton Hatches the Egg, The Squawkin' Hawk and Super-Rabbit. Rogers also provided the original voice of Beaky Buzzard in Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid and The Bashful Buzzard. He also provided the voice of Junior Bear in Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears, the initial 1944 entry of Chuck Jones' The Three Bears series. He also appeared occasionally on radio sitcoms, generally doing one-off characters.
In 1941, he had a rare on-camera role as Henry, a boy who had a talent for doing impressions, in the film All-American Co-Ed.
For Walter Lantz Productions he voiced Woody Woodpecker in five theatrical cartoon shorts released from 1942 to 1943.[1]
Rogers' career ended upon his enlistment in the Navy in late 1943.
Death
Rogers was killed in the crash of a training flight at Pensacola, Florida, while he was an Ensign in the United States Navy during World War II, on July 9, 1944, 22 days before his 21st birthday. Stan Freberg then replaced Rogers as the voice of Junior Bear, while Mel Blanc took over as the voice of Beaky Buzzard, though that character's appearances were limited after Rogers' death.
Rogers is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1937 | Make a Wish | Summer Camp Kid | Film debut, Uncredited |
Boy of the Streets | Gang Member 'Red' | Uncredited | |
Headin' East | Boy in Gym | Uncredited | |
1938 | Reformatory | Inmate | Uncredited |
Boys Town | Tailor | Uncredited | |
The Storm | Boy in Gym | Uncredited | |
1939 | Streets of New York | Gang Member | Uncredited |
1940 | Northwest Passage | Odiorne Towne | Uncredited |
Good Old Schooldays | Jimmy Skelton | Uncredited | |
Military Academy | Billings | Uncredited | |
1941 | Goofy Groceries | Gorilla | Voice, Uncredited |
Farm Frolics | Henry Ant[2] | Voice, Uncredited | |
Hollywood Steps Out | Mickey Rooney / James Cagney / James Stewart / Kay Kyser / J. Edgar Hoover / Henry Fonda / Cary Grant / Edward G. Robinson / Clark Gable / Bing Crosby / Lewis Stone / Ned Sparks / Peter Lorre / Groucho Marx[3][4] | Voice, Uncredited | |
The Heckling Hare | Willoughby | Voice, Uncredited | |
Life Begins for Andy Hardy | Tough Boy | Uncredited | |
All-American Co-ed | Henry | ||
1942 | Porky's Pastry Pirates | James Cagney Bee | Voice, Uncredited |
The Hams That Couldn't Be Cured | Wolf / Pigs | Voice, Uncredited | |
Horton Hatches the Egg | Horton the Elephant / Peter Lorre Fish / Giraffe[5] | Voice, Uncredited | |
Hobby Horse-Laffs | Strongfort / Giggleswick / Potts[6] | Voice, Uncredited | |
Ace in the Hole | Woody Woodpecker | Voice, Uncredited | |
Wacky Blackout | Woodpecker / Baby Bird[7][8] | Voice, Uncredited | |
Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid | Beaky Buzzard | Voice, Uncredited | |
Pigeon Patrol | Homer Pigeon / Carrier Pigeon | Voice, Uncredited | |
The Squawkin' Hawk | Henery Hawk | Voice, Uncredited | |
The Early Bird Dood It! | Cat / Worm[9] | Voice, Uncredited | |
The Hep Cat | Rosebud[10] | Voice, Uncredited | |
The Loan Stranger | Woody Woodpecker / Hudson C. Dann | Voice, Uncredited | |
Road to Morocco | Male Camel | Voice, Uncredited | |
1943 | The Screwball | Woody Woodpecker / Hudson C. Dann | Voice, Uncredited |
Tortoise Wins by a Hare | Dumb Rabbit with Telescope[11] | Voice, Uncredited | |
Super-Rabbit | Professor Canafrazz | Voice, Uncredited | |
Swing Your Partner | Homer Pigeon / Hank / Square Dance Caller | Voice, Uncredited | |
Red Hot Riding Hood | Wolf (some lines)[12] | Voice, Uncredited | |
The Dizzy Acrobat | Woody Woodpecker | Voice, Uncredited | |
Who Killed Who? | Victim / Red Skeleton / Falling Body / Santa Claus[12] | Voice, Uncredited | |
Ration Bored | Woody Woodpecker / Gas Station Attendant / Police Officer | Voice, Uncredited | |
One Ham's Family | Narrator / Junior / Wolf | Voice, Uncredited | |
What's Buzzin' Buzzard | Joe Buzzard / Jimmy Durante Vulture's Stomach[12] | Voice, Uncredited | |
1944 | Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears | Junyer Bear | Voice, Uncredited |
1945 | The Bashful Buzzard | Beaky Buzzard | Voice, Uncredited |
1946 | The Hick Chick | Clem[12] | Final film, Voice, Uncredited |
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-05. Retrieved 2015-12-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Hartley, Steven (2014-04-20). "Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie: 327. Farm Frolics (1941)". Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
- "The Warner Brothers Cartoon Companion: Q, R". www.warnercompanion.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- "Classic Cartoons: Who's That Guy? - "Hollywood Steps Out"". classiccartoons.blogspot.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- Hartley, Steven (9 December 2014). "Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie: 363. Horton Hatches the Egg (1942)". Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- Hartley, Steven (18 February 2015). "Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie: 370. Hobby Horse-Laffs (1942)". Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- Hartley, Steven (4 April 2015). "Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie: 374. Wacky Blackout (1942)". Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- "Bob Clampett's "A Tale Of Two Kitties" (1942) |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- "Tralfaz: Wile E. Bird". Tralfaz. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
- Hartley, Steven (15 August 2015). "Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie: 384. The Hep Cat (1942)". Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- Hartley, Steven (10 April 2016). "Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie: 395. Tortoise Wins By a Hare (1943)". Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ""Hello All You Happy Tax Payers": Tex Avery's Voice Stock Company |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.