Billy Bletcher | |
---|---|
Born | William Bletcher September 24, 1894 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | January 5, 1979 Los Angeles, California U.S. | (aged 84)
Resting place | Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1914–1971 |
Known for | Original voice of Pete |
Spouse | Arline Roberts[1] |
Children | 1[2] |
William "Billy" Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979)[3] was an American actor. He was best known for providing the voice of Pete for the Disney franchise in the 1930s to the 1950s.
Bletcher was born on 24 September 1894 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.[4] At age 19 he was a vaudeville performer.[5] He started his movie career in 1913 at the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, New York.[5] In 1917, he moved to California and became a comedian for Mack Sennett.[5] He later starred in several Hal Roach two reelers.
During his acting career he starred in a number of comedies.[1] Bletcher also acted in Westerns and action movies.[1] He directed two feature movies in the 1920s.[1] Bletcher was the voice of the Lone Ranger in the 1937 movie serial.[6] He was a veteran voice actor from the Disney animated movie The Three Little Pigs (1933).[6] Later he did voice-overs for television. His last movie appearance was in 1969.[5]
Bletcher was married once, to actress Arline Roberts.[1] She was a vaudevillian and a Ziegfeld Girl. When they moved to California she worked as a "bathing beauty".[7] She acted in silent comic two-reelers and feature movies but never gained the prominence her husband did.[7] They had a daughter, Barbara Bletcher.[7]