Gary Owens
Birth : 1936-05-10, Mitchell, South Dakota, USA
Death : 2015-02-12
History
Gary Owens (born Gary Bernard Altman; May 10, 1934 - February 12, 2015) was an American disc jockey, voice actor, radio announcer and personality. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offered deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Owens was equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and was frequently heard on television and radio as well as in commercials.
He was best known, aside from being the announcer on Laugh-In, for providing the voice of the titular superhero on Space Ghost and Blue Falcon in Dynomutt, Dog Wonder. He also played himself in a cameo appearance on Space Ghost Coast to Coast in 1998. Owens' first cartoon-voice acting was performing the voice of Roger Ramjet on the Roger Ramjet cartoons. He later served as voice of the over-the-air digital network Antenna TV.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Gary Owens, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Himself
Filmmaker Lawrence Shapiro discusses voice-over acting with the talented people behind the characters.
Himself
For the past 40 years, a group of comedy writers and directors has gathered every other Wednesday for lunch - and other nourishment. These are the fabled guys that made America funny.
Himself
The life and career of the renowned voice actor of animation and radio. For generations, Mel Blanc was one of the most famous Hollywood voice actors with his myriad of voices for classic animated characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and scores of others. However, animation was only one of the fields where Blanc shone through in his long career. This film covers the life of this amazingly talented and big hearted actor, comedian and musician as he became one of the performing greats from the golden ages of American animation and radio through to the 1980s.
Voice 5
After eating a pound of pasta, Garfield sometimes falls asleep and has some pretty wild dreams -- like the one where he's so huge he can climb tall buildings, or where Odie gets his own cartoon, leaving Garfield to just keep sleeping! And this kitty's not so cool he can't get a little scared, like when he, Jon and Odie discover that a closed-down haunted house is really open, or that leftovers occasionally ran rampant in the fridge. Garfield has a big imagination, too, as you'll see when he imagines himself as a fish or a werewolf, or even Jon for a day! There's much more to the fat cat's story, so grab some pasta, flop on the couch and tune in for some cat-toon fun with Garfield!
Self
One hundred superstar comedians tell the same very, VERY dirty, filthy joke--one shared privately by comics since Vaudeville.
Narrator (voice)
The classic Ray Harryhausen tale that still proves "slow and steady" wins the race.
TV Announcer
For Jane White, life itself is a television program, and she dreams of becoming a star on the small screen. Convincing herself that Gerry King, a popular talk show host, is her birth father, she sets out on an adventurous road trip — aided by her equally looney boyfriend, Dick — to confront her "father" on the air, and, just maybe, make a splash on reality television.
Narrator
UFO Mania Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
When Gonzo's breakfast cereal tells him that he's the descendant of aliens from another planet, his attempts at extraterrestrial communication get him kidnapped by a secret government agency, prompting the Muppets to spring into action. It's hard to believe Gonzo's story at first, but Kermit and friends soon find themselves on an epic journey into outer space filled with plenty of intergalactic misadventures.
Narrator
A hysterical documentary which uses footage of Ed Wood's movie to tell the story of his life. It may not be a deep analysis, but shows distinctly how Ed's life strongly influenced his own films.
Self
This survey of Earth's oddest animals reveals an astonishing array of jaws, claws, scales, skin, fur and feathers.
Announcer (voice)
Made-for-TV special about a delivery man, his friends, and a talking ape mutating into quirky superheroes and fighting a mad scientist who wants to conquer their futuristic atomic city. Based on the eponymous NES video game.
The Sheriff
Five Vietnam vets, on release from a mental hospital, think they're headed for a weekend camping trip. Instead they become target practice for an army of killers playing violent war games. It's a massacre until one of the vets becomes a machine of revenge.
Minister
A black comedy set in a funeral home.
Himself
The mysterious Dr. Lizardi entrusts Gary and Eric with a dinosaur egg. Now, they must find out everything they can about dinosaurs before the egg hatches. This quest takes them everywhere from Knott's Berry Farm to a dig site deep in the Canandian Badlands...
Himself
First Stop...the Tar Pits, as Gary and Eric investigate the incredible creatures that came after the dinosaurs, from giant ground sloths to savage saber-tooths. It's a trip back to the age of monstrous mammals in this wild and whimsical blast into tour prehistoric past.
Sports Announcer (voice)
The simple story of two young Michigan high school students, Jessica, Class President, Local Smart Girl, and object of Marlon's affections attempt to get into a small Pennsylvania college. Jessica fights off her parent's expectation of going to their alma mater of the University of Michigan, while Marlon fights his grades and SAT scores.
Self
Jack Spade returns from the army in his old ghetto neighbourhood when his brother, June Bug, dies. Jack declares war on Mr. Big, powerful local crimelord. His army is led by John Slade, his childhood idol who used to fight bad guys in the 70s.
Announcer (voice)
A Halloween special featuring appropriately-themed rock and roll songs set to scenes from the Disney library of classic animation.
Himself
Gary Owens needs more dinosaurs and sends Eric Boardman on the ultimate dinosaur safari to find them. Join the hunt for a living dinosaur in the jungles of Africa, separate the facts from fiction in dinosaur movies, visit Dinosaur National Monuent and much more. There's no bone unturned in this award winning program
Writer
Gary is turning into a dinosaur, and Eric must find the cure. This becomes a globetrotting journey into everything dino while searching for the magic waters needed to stop Gary's odd transformation. Will Eric be too late? Get ready to meet the Garysaurus!
Himself
Gary is turning into a dinosaur, and Eric must find the cure. This becomes a globetrotting journey into everything dino while searching for the magic waters needed to stop Gary's odd transformation. Will Eric be too late? Get ready to meet the Garysaurus!
Himself
In this historical look at Goofy's ancestors, we dig deeper and ungangle the roots of his family tree.
TV announcer
Frederic Lansing is a writer who hopes to find inspiration while vacationing in Hellview, Oregon; however, the lighthouse in which he's staying is haunted by the ghost of Venetia, who had killed herself 100 years ago and now wants to use Lansing as a vessel for her dead husband, Captain Howdy. When Howdy's ghost starts killing people, two bumbling scientists are brought in to investigate the history of the lighthouse and solve the case.
Narrator
Documentary about the life and work of Ray Harryhausen.
Narrator
Facing impending doom on the planet Krapton, Kid-O, infant son of Jel-O, is sent to earth where he is found and adopted by Ma and Pa Cant. Eventually, the Kraptonian now known as Clark, becomes a newspaper reporter for the Daily Comet. Together with fellow reporter Lois Lame, they uncover a sinister plot by Rex Ruthor, to destroy the world.
Narrator (voice)
Broad satire and buffoonery presented as a series of movie trailers. Among the titles and subjects are: "The Howard Huge Story", "Skate-boarders from Hell", "The Invasion of the Penis Snatchers", Woody Allen (pre-Mia), movie trailer come-ons, Charlie Chaplin, war movies, Billy Jack. The source of the title is presented about an hour into the film.
Self
Kermit the Frog throws a glamorous party at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub to celebrate the premiere of the Muppets' first feature film, The Muppet Movie. Hosts Dick van Dyke and Rita Moreno interview the wide array of celebrities and Muppets who attend the event. Gary Owens serves as off-camera announcer, and appears on-screen to introduce Miss Piggy.
Narrator
The adventures of many of DC Comics greatest superheroes and villains. In the first episode, "The Challenge," the superheroes must race against time to stop the diabolical super-villains' plot to destroy the world. In the second episode, "The Roast," the superheroes pay tribute to Batman and Robin in the form of a roast which even the villains attend.
Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
Tony and Tia are other-worldly twins endowed with telekinesis. When their Uncle Bene drops them off in Los Angeles for an earthbound vacation, a display of their supernatural skill catches the eye of the nefarious Dr. Gannon and his partner in crime, Letha, who see rich possibilities in harnessing the children's gifts. They kidnap Tony, and Tia gives chase only to find Gannon is using her brother's powers against her.
Radio Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
Mel Edison has just lost his job after many years and now has to cope with being unemployed at middle age during an intense NYC heat wave.
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
TV adaptation of the campy 1960s Broadway musical about the Man of Steel, his friends, his enemies, and his self-image problems.
Announcer
The Muppets of Sesame Street and the cast of The Electric Company take over the ABC Nightly News when the newsroom staff takes a lunch break.
The vengeful Doctor rises again, seeking the Scrolls of Life in an attempt to resurrect his deceased wife.
Announcer
Down-on-his-luck race car driver Jim Douglas teams up with a little VW Bug that has a mind of its own, not realizing Herbie's worth until a sneaky rival plots to steal him.
Narrator (uncredited)
A student researching the German settlements of Central Texas unearths the grave of a reputed witch. The witch (who happens to be both beautiful and naked) rises from her grave and embarks on a campaign of seduction and murder against the descendants of her persecutors. It's up to the student to stop her bloody reign of terror-if he can resist the seductive powers of her evil beauty.
Narrator
Flannery, a railway agent does everything by the book. He gets into a scrape with a customer, McMorehouse, who wants to pay 44 cents freight for two guinea pigs which he considers pets. Flannery, however, considers them pigs (freight 48 cents), a decision he begins to regret when the animals begin to reproduce.
Himself
A fascinating look at the spectacle of volcanic activity, and a chance to see Gary Owens and Eric Boardman together again after all these years.
