The voices behind 'Rocky and Bullwinkle'—in 1983

Nov. 19, 1959, brought the debut of one of the greatest cartoon shows of all time: “Rocky and His Friends.”

Bill Scott, Bullwinkle, June Foray
(Credit: beyondthemarquee.com).
Click for audio.Later known as “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” and “The Bullwinkle Show,” it had everything a little kid could want: A protagonist who could fly (Rocket J. Squirrel), a sidekick who was funny (Bullwinkle J. Moose) and parental approval—because it was layered with cultural and political humor a lot of us would only come to understand much later. (Wait: There’s an opera called “Boris Gudunov”? Really?)

So what a cool thing to meet the people who brought those characters to life, as I did when June Foray and Bill Scott visited the WXRT-FM studios in 1983.

Here are four audio segments, presented in reverse chronological order:
Dec. 2, 1985: Bill Scott obituary by Charlie Meyerson on WXRT-FM, Chicago.Nov. 10, 1983: Full interview on WXRT with Bill Scott and June Foray, in town for an appearance at the Chicago Film Festival; host: Frank E. Lee.Nov. 4, 1983: Meyerson’s report for WXRT on Scott and Foray’s then-forthcoming visit to Chicago.Nov. 4, 1983: Unedited Meyerson telephone interview with Scott.

Bonus: “Rocky and His Friends” Golden Record audio.

 (My autographed copy. Hear the audio from this record on YouTube here.)If you enjoyed this audio, check out my interview with TV cartoon pioneer Joe Barbera.