Property from the estate of Mel Blanc, the voice of iconic cartoon characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Tweety Bird, will be part of a Julien's Auction next month.
The items will be presented Dec. 3 at Julien's Auction in Beverly Hills and online.
Blanc, born in San Francisco, began his radio and recording career at 19 performing in vaudeville shows and made his acting debut on "The Hoot Owls'' radio program. He worked in more than 5,000 cartoons and voiced more than 1,000 characters before his death on July 10, 1989, at the age of 81.
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His final performance was in "Bugs Bunny's Wide World of Sports'' in 1989.
Highlights of Blanc's collection include the following:
- His 1942 Warner Bros. employee ID card.
- Handwritten notes containing 300 pages from the 1960s to the 1980s filled with dialogue for cartoon characters, jokes, gags, story ideas and lists.
- His 1943 contract for Leon Schlesinger Productions.
- His 1970 contract for Jack Benny's 20th anniversary TV special.
- Five sets of paperwork relating to his employment at Hanna-Barbera Productions, including a 1962 contract for "The Flintstones,'' a 1962 contract for
The Jetsons,'' and a 1965 contract for an "Alice in Wonderland'' Special. - A brown leather bomber jacket custom made for him and featuring a handpainted image by N. Gamarello of a blonde pin-up as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.
"Mel Blanc was a master of his craft and one of the most influential and legendary voice acting pioneers in the Golden Age of Hollywood animation, whose long and illustrious career we may never see the likes of again,'' Martin Nolan, Executive Director/CFO of Julien's Auctions, said in a release. "We are proud to offer these artifacts and personal items directly from his estate that provide an incredible look into the creativity and mind of his genius and the development of the greatest cartoon characters in the world.''
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Julien's Auctions is at 257 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills. An exhibition of the auction items is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3.
