Jimmy Weldon obit

 

Jimmy Weldon, age 99, of Paso Robles, California passed away on Thursday, July 6, 2023.

He was not on the list.

He was a voice actor, ventriloquist, and television host. He was best known as the voice of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yakky Doodle and the host and ventriloquist in the locally produced television series The Webster Webfoot Show. He also had a YouTube channel titled Jimmy's Lecture, where he documented stories of his time in World War II.

Born Ivy Laverne Shinn on September 23, 1923 in Dale, Texas, he began his career in 1946 as a disc jockey at KWCO, the radio station which began its operations shortly after he returned home following WWII. He was the first announcer hired at this new radio station.

While there, he developed a character named Webster Webfoot, a little duck who visited him while he was playing record requests from listeners calling in. Often they just wanted to talk to little Webster. They thought Webster was someone other than Weldon, and so he became an important part of Weldon's disc jockey presentations.

n 1948, Weldon (and Webster Webfoot) moved to Duncan, Oklahoma, where they performed on another 250-watt AM station, KRHD, for two more years. The big 50,000-watt radio station WFAA in Dallas, Texas, recruited Webster and Weldon as entertainers, and Webster became a real person on television on April 4, 1950, on The Webster Webfoot Show, produced locally by station WFAA-TV.

They moved to California on September 5, 1952, joining KCOP-TV, Channel 13, in Hollywood and continued their television careers. During an appearance at a middle school in Brentwood, Jeff Chandler and Randolph Scott collected the tickets from the children and parents who came to see the show. These two movie stars made Weldon feel very lucky indeed when they commented, "Our children think more of little Webster than they do OUR movie careers." Also, Ralph Edwards was there, and he later gave Webster and Weldon the positions as co-hosts of a new children's game show titled Funny Boners, a junior version of his famous Truth or Consequences radio and television shows, which aired on ABC.

In 1956, Weldon and Webster moved to Fresno, California, which began a career in the San Joaquin Valley at KFRE-TV, Channel 12. This was interrupted, however, when NBC executives called them to New York to replace Shari Lewis on the Hi, Mom show on NBC flagship station, WRCA-TV, Channel 4.

In 1959, Channel 13 in Hollywood once again became their television home.

In 1961, Weldon and Webster were called back to the San Joaquin Valley. They continued performing their show on KJEO-TV, Channel 47, in Fresno, California, throughout the 1960s. During this time, Weldon and Webster also did TV shows in Salinas and Bakersfield, California, flying their airplane from city to city for those shows.

It was thanks to Webster's voice that Weldon earned the voice-over for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, Yakky Doodle. He also was the voice of Solomon Grundy on Hanna-Barbera's series Challenge of the Superfriends, and made appearances in acting on shows such as Dragnet, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Waltons, Dallas, and Diff'rent Strokes.

Weldon also played some supporting characters on the popular radio drama Adventures in Odyssey, and was a member of the Premiere Speakers Bureau.

 

Filmography

 

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1950            Webster Webfoot Show   Uncle Jimmy  

1955    The Halls of Ivy                   Episode: "Calhoun Gaddy"

Alfred Hitchcock Presents            Guard            Episode: "Breakdown"

1956-1957            Dragnet            Hotel Clerk    2 episodes

1959            Cartooneroony            Uncle Jimmy  

1961    The Phantom Planet            Lt. Webb  

1961-1962            The Yogi Bear Show   Yakky Doodle Voice, 33 episodes

1975    The Waltons            Railroad Clerk            Episode: "The Runaway"

S.W.A.T.            Diner Owner            Episode: "Kill S.W.A.T."

The Family Holvak            Auctioneer            Episode: "First Love: Part 1"

1976    The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe             Television film

1977    Fred Flintstone and Friends             Voice

The Oregon Trail     Ludlow            Episode: "Hard Ride Home"

1978            Challenge of the Superfriends            Solomon Grundy            Voice, 16 episodes

1979    B.J. and the Bear            Crockett            Episode: "Lobo's Revenge"

Americathon            Big Jim, VP Research   

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo            Additional voices        

Dallas   Sy Stevens            Episode: "Ellie Saves the Day"

The Rockford Files     John Rockfield            Episode: "The Big Cheese"

1981    Diff'rent Strokes            Ben            Episode: "Drummond's Fair Lady"

1982    The Little Rascals            Additional voices            Episode: "Rascal's Revenge"

Father Murphy            Official            Episode: "Happiness Is..."

Knight Rider            Announcer            Episode: "Slammin' Sammy's Stunt Show Spectacular"

Ri¢hie Ri¢h            Additional voices            Episode: "Dollar's Exercise"/"Richie's Cube"/"The Maltese Monkey"/"Everybody's Doing It"

Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper   Yakky Doodle Voice, television film

1983    The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show                    Voice

Shirt Tales            Additional voices            10 Episodes

Super Friends            Solomon Grundy            Voice, episode: "The Revenge of Doom"

1984            Chattanooga Choo Choo    Rev. Norbert Puckett            Uncredited

Challenge of the GoBots            Additional Voices       

1985    CBS Storybreak                   Voice, episode: "Robbut A Tale Of Tails"

Yogi's Treasure Hunt     Yakky Doodle, additional voices   2 episodes

1987    Popeye and Son            Additional voices            13 episodes

1988    The Wrong Guys            Scoutmaster    

1988-1991            Fantastic Max            Additional voices            3 episodes

1989    It's a Living   Billy Lee Lord            Episode: "Wedding, Wedding"

1992    Tom & Jerry Kids Show            Additional voices            Episode: "Penthouse Mouse"/"12 Angry Sheep"/"The Ant Attack"

2015    The 7D            Beansie McBean-Bean            Voice, episode: "Bing Bong Bean!"