Bill Thompson
Birthday: 1913-07-08 Place of Birth: Terre Haute, Indiana, USA
Synopsis
Born William H. Thompson, he was an early radio personality and voice actor whose career stretched from the 1930s until his death. He was the voice of Droopy in most of the MGM cartoons from 1943 to 1958.
Acting
Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection
Frederick "Tex" Avery directed some of the funniest cartoons ever made, but he relied primarily on situations and moving graphics, rather than on the personalities of familiar characters. Droopy, the phlegmatic basset hound, was one of the few characters Avery used regularly: His low-key presence was the perfect counter to the extreme takes, fast cuts, frenetic action, and general mayhem going on around him. Avery is also noted for "self-reflexive gags:" the characters know they're in a cartoon and often comment on the fact. In "Dumb-Hounded,"a sprinting wolf cuts a corner too sharply, skids past the sprocket holes at the edge of the film, and onto the blank screen. Droopy frequently turns to the camera and comments, "You now what? I'm happy."
Peter Pan
Leaving the safety of their nursery behind, Wendy, Michael and John follow Peter Pan to a magical world where childhood lasts forever. But while in Neverland, the kids must face Captain Hook and foil his attempts to get rid of Peter for good.
Scrooge McDuck and Money
Scrooge McDuck teaches Huey, Dewey and Louie the basics about money & its history, economics and investing.
How to Have an Accident at Work
J.J. Fate again shows us how accidents aren't his fault, but instead are the result of carelessness. Donald is Mr. Careful at home, but at work, he starts right off by falling down the stairs. He has run-ins with a punch press, flammable paint, a conveyor belt, loose clothing, a monkey wrench, and other problems.
Sleeping Beauty
A beautiful princess born in a faraway kingdom is destined by a terrible curse to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a deep sleep that can only be awakened by true love's first kiss. Determined to protect her, her parents ask three fairies to raise her in hiding. But the evil Maleficent is just as determined to seal the princess's fate.
Droopy Leprechaun
Droopy, on an Irish stopover of an international flight, buys a souvenir leprechaun hat, and is mistaken for a real leprechaun by Spike.
Robin Hoodwinked
Jerry and a friend overhear that Robin Hood is imprisoned; they set off to free him, but first they have to contend with his guard, Tom.
Tot Watchers
The lady of the house has gone out for a few hours, leaving her baby in the care of a stereotypical 1950s teenager, who immediately begins calling her friends. Tom and Jerry must call a truce to their constant chases as the baby, unsupervised, continually gets loose. When the baby escapes out the front door, Tom and Jerry chase it to a construction site, where they frantically try to keep it from harm.
Timid Tabby
Tom's cousin George, who's terribly afraid of mice, comes to visit. Jerry's confused, since Tom and George look alike.
The Story of Anyburg U.S.A.
The city of Anyburg decides its traffic situation has gotten out of hand, so it puts the automobile on trial. The trial (conducted in rhyme) starts with a car that was in a hit-and-run accident, followed by a sports car whose sins are peeling rubber and general hot-rodding, followed by a heap, on trial for lack of safety. Next, a number of safety equipment designers testify that, despite their best efforts, the accident rate keeps rising. Through all this, the defense lawyer declines to ask questions. A highway designer bemoans the problems on his beautiful roads. At last, defense. He shows a number of scenarios, pointing out that the real problem isn't the car but the driver. Everyone left the courtroom, declaring the car not guilty, and drove politely again, for a little while.
Hooked Bear
Humphrey the bear isn't having much luck with his fishing; every time he catches some nice fish, he gets distracted and drops them. So he goes after the catches of the local anglers instead. But ranger Woodlore frowns on this, insisting the bear fish like one.
In the Bag
The tourists have left behind lots of trash. Ranger Woodlore enlists his bears to clean up by turning the task into a game (and a dance), but when he takes to his hammock, they see through his ruse. Plan B: bribery no food until cleanup complete. But all the other bears put their trash in to Humphrey's section, so he resorts to a number of unsuccessful ruses to dispose of it
No Hunting
Donald is inspired by the spirit of his forefathers to take up a gun and go hunting for his food.
Deputy Droopy
Two outlaws are trying to steal a shipment of gold being guarded by Deputy Droopy, and have to keep quiet to avoid alerting the sheriff.
Lady and the Tramp
Lady, a golden cocker spaniel, meets up with a mongrel dog who calls himself the Tramp. He is obviously from the wrong side of town, but happenings at Lady's home make her decide to travel with him for a while.
Beezy Bear
Beekeeper Donald catches Humphrey the bear raiding his hives. He complains to Ranger Woodlore, who assembles his bears and lectures them. Donald puts up a barbed wire fence, which slows Humphrey down a bit, but doesn't stop him.
The Flea Circus
In this animated comedic short, the entire entourage of a flea circus runs away to join a dog.
Spare the Rod
Donald's nephews are always playing instead of doing their chores. Donald is going to punish them, but the "voice of child psychology" convinces him to play along instead. This works well when they chop the wood to burn him at the stake. Meanwhile, however, a trio of Pygmy cannibals that escaped from the circus are out to do the very same thing to Donald with a cauldron of water.
Grand Canyonscope
Come along with Donald Duck as he visits one of nature's masterpieces. After a little ragtime rain dance, Donald strikes up a conversation with himself at Echo Cliff, then teeters along the edge of a precarious trail while riding a sure-footed burrow. It's a tough job for park ranger J. Audubon Woodlore to keep Donald in check, but it gets even tougher when they run afoul of a napping mountain lion.
Grin and Bear It
Donald Duck arrives at Brownstone National Park. The park's ranger, J. Audubon Woodlore, asks the bears to participate with the tourists but...no stealing! Humphrey decides to pair with Donald particularly because of the roast ham he has. When Donald doesn't reward the bear with his food, Humphrey tries a variety of means to get the ham finally getting Donald's attention by lying down on the road pretending that Donald ran over him. After Donald pays up with food, he sees through the scheme and struggles with Humphrey. After the ranger makes Donald and Humphrey clean up the resulting mess, he too notices the ham and makes off with it but is scolded for it by Donald and Humphrey.
Ben and Me
A revisionist version of American history as a small mouse comes to live with Benjamin Franklin and turns out to be responsible for many of his ideas; including the beginning of the Declaration of Independance!
Melody
An owl teaches his class full of birds about melody. It's all around in nature. Only birds and man can sing; man "sings" even when he speaks. We see a quick survey of the stages of life, as captured by songs: the alphabet song for primary school, Here Comes the Bride, The Old Gray Mare, etc. Some inspirations for song are outlined in song: love, sailing, trains, the West, motherhood, etc., but "we never sing about brains." Finally, an example of how a simple melody can be expanded into a symphony: an elaborate version of the simple tune that opened the lesson
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
In this short subject (which mostly represents a departure from Disney's traditional approach to animation), a stuffy owl teacher lectures his feathered flock on the origins of Western musical instruments. Starting with cavepeople, whose crude implements could only "toot, whistle, plunk and boom," the owl explains how these beginnings led to the development of the four basic types of Western musical instruments: brass, woodwinds, strings, and percussion.
Let's Stick Together
Even with his long white beard and aching back, an aging Donald still has to make ends meet by lancing trash in the park. When he happens upon his old partner, an elderly honey bee named Spike, it conjures up memories of the good ol' days.
Droopy's Good Deed
Hobo Spike pretends to be a boy to compete with Scout Droopy for the title of Best Scout and a trip to meet the President.
Daredevil Droopy
Droopy and Spike are applying for the job of Dare Devil Dog at the Circus, and the one who give the best performance in a variety of "feats of strength and daring" will get it.
Droopy's Double Trouble
Butler Droopy gets his twin brother Drippy a job as assistant butler, causing trouble for Butch, who is trying to mooch an easy meal but can't tell the difference between the kind Droopy and the violence-prone Drippy.
Alice in Wonderland
On a golden afternoon, young Alice follows a White Rabbit, who disappears down a nearby rabbit hole. Quickly following him, she tumbles into the burrow - and enters the merry, topsy-turvy world of Wonderland! Memorable songs and whimsical escapades highlight Alice's journey, which culminates in a madcap encounter with the Queen of Hearts - and her army of playing cards!
The Chump Champ
Droopy and Gorgeous Gorillawitz (Spike) are competing for the title of King of Sports and for a kiss from the Queen of Sports. Spike cheats as much as possible but can never seem to beat Droopy.
Garden Gopher
When Spike tries to bury a bone he finds a belligerent gopher.
