Dick Beals

American voice actor (1927–2012)

Richard Beals (March 16, 1927 – May 29, 2012) was an American actor and radio performer, who performed many voices in his career, which spanned the period from the early 1950s into the 21st century. Beals voiced "dozens of children, both male and female", according to Mark Evanier's obituary of him. Perhaps his most recognizable characterization was the voice of the stop motion animation figure called "Speedy Alka Seltzer", featured in television commercials for more than 50 years.

Beals was born in Detroit, Michigan, on March 16, 1927, and graduated in 1949 from Michigan State University (MSU), where he majored in radio broadcasting and puppetry.

In 1935, an old schoolmate of Beals' mom who was working for the Jam Handy studios, which was producing advertising motion pictures and other film short subjects, was looking for small children to appear in their feature films. 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. In 1952, Beals was hired to do the voice for Andy Panda and Oswald The Lucky Rabbit in the animated short Team Play produced by Walter Lantz for Autolite. The following year, Beals voiced Ralph Phillips, a Walter Mitty type boy in From A to Z Z Z Z by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The cartoon was nominated for an Academy Award. Beals continued doing voices for Warner Bros. Cartoons cartoons, often as uncredited secondary characters. When Hanna Barbera started with The Flintstones, and then The Jetsons, Beals provided many of the children's voices on those shows, He did not do any voices for that series after 1965, when Norma MacMillan replaced him as Davey. Although several sources say that Beals voiced Gumby in the 1960s series, Beals himself refuted this claim in a 2001 interview. Beals provided voices for both the characters "Yank" and "Dan" of the "American Eagles" troupe in the mid 1960s cartoon series Roger Ramjet. In 1967, Beals was the singing voice of child actor Bobby Riha as "Jack" in the NBC TV special Jack and the Beanstalk starring Gene Kelly. 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 as well as the voices for Buzzer Bell, Jasper N. Parks and on rare occasions sharing the voice role of Nancy Wible as Shrinking Violette on The Funny Company. He also provided the voice for the recurring villain Tiny Tom in the 1966–1969 cartoon series The Lone Ranger. In 1955, Beals appeared in an episode of The Bob Cummings Show, where he played a convincing 10 year old brat. In 1996, Beals provided the voice of the Pinocchio puppet in the horror film Pinocchio's Revenge. Beals continued doing occasional voice acting, appearing as a guest at Old Time Radio conventions and as a motivational speaker. He was active as an alumnus of Michigan State University and in his spare time he enjoyed spending time on his yacht Think Big. He retired from voice acting in late 2005, his final voice acting role was Baby Faced Moonbeam in the animated television series Duck Dodgers.

Beals wrote in his autobiography, Think Big, that his high voice and boyish appearance were 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 was 4 foot 7 inches (just under 140 cm) tall and weighed just under 70 pounds (about 31 kg). Despite his short stature, he flew planes using modified controls.

Beals died on May 29, 2012, at Vista Gardens Memory Care in Vista, California, at the age of 85.

+ List of voice performances in television showsYearTitleRoleNotes1960GumbyNaughty BoyEpisode: "Santa Witch"1960–1965Davey and GoliathDavid 'Davey' Hansen / Teddy / Nat / Joe / Boys / Timmy / Tommy / Sailor / Jody / Sam / Henry / Nathaniel / Barney / Mike / Boy on SledMain cast; 40 episodes; credited as Richard Beals1962The Road Runner ShowAdditional voicesEpisode: "Adventures of the Road Runner"1962The JetsonsArthur Spacely3 episodes1963The Funny CompanyBuzzer Bell / Shrinking VioletMain cast; 155 episodes1964The Famous Adventures of Mr. MagooAdditional voices1964The FlintstonesKids / Elf #1 / The Scouts2 episodes1965Roger RamjetYank / Dan7 episodes1965–1966The Secret Squirrel ShowClyde / Wee Winnie / 2nd Young Boy / Broom / Young Boy / Son / Boy / Tom Thumb / Scouts / Eddie / Students / Charley / Surfer / Tommy / Additional voices12 episodes1966–1967Frankenstein Jr. and the ImpossiblesBuzz Conroy18 episodes1966–1968The Lone RangerTiny Tom2 episodes1967Jack and the BeanstalkJack (singing voice)TV movie1967BirdmanBirdboyEpisode: "The Return of Vulturo"1979Casper and the AngelsAdditional voicesEpisode: "Love at First Fright/Saving Grace in Outer Space"1980–1981The Richie Rich/Scooby Doo ShowReggie van Dough21 episodes1980–1983Richie RichReggie van Dough35 episodes1983ABC Weekend SpecialsFloog / Flub / Blib / Little Green Man #2 / Og Boy / Flan2 episodes; credited as Richard Beals1983Saturday SupercadeAdditional voicesEpisode: "The Who Took Toadwalker Story/Banana Bikers/Disc Derby Fiasco/Rocky Mountain Monkey Business"1983The BiskittsScat13 episodes1987DuckTalesAdditional voicesEpisode: "Superdoo! "; credited as Richard Beals1989Dink, the Little DinosaurAdditional voicesEpisode: "Crusty's Baby/The Gentle Hunter"1989Garfield and FriendsRoscoe2 episodes1992–1993The Addams FamilyN. J. Normanmeyer10 episodes1995That's Warner Bros.!Various characters1996The Bugs n' Daffy ShowVarious characters2004–2005Duck DodgersBaby Faced Moonbeam2 episodes; final role