The Frees File

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Colonel Tomsk Parkoff.”

Well, actually, Colonel Tomsk Parkoff was Boris Badenov in disguise. And this isn’t actually the Colonel. It is a publicity shot of the man who voiced the Colonel. And Boris. And plenty of great enjoyable cartoon characters. It’s Paul Frees.

He was one of the great voice actors, incredibly in demand for not only for cartoons, but for radio shows, novelty records, and commercial voiceovers. If you could meet his price. And pay him to come to Los Angeles, after he had moved to the Bay area.

If anyone should have had a biography written about him, it was Paul Frees. One was. It was penned by Ben Ohmart with the foreword by June Foray and afterword by Keith Scott.

I’ve always been a Frees fan (Beary Family notwithstanding) and after stumbling across photos of him, I thought I’d check the Frees clipping file to see what he was up to. At random, I picked 1953.

His radio career was in full swing then, and he could be heard as Barney Bear and elsewhere in MGM cartoons (Keith Scott says Frees’ first cartoon appearance was in Jerry’s Cousin, released in 1951). He was also in the cast of the 20th Century Fox feature The Star, released in 1952 but still in theatres. His own late-night radio show only lasted a few months. Frees must have been the only disc jockey who got cancelled and replaced by The Lord’s Prayer (which he could have done in his Dorson Belles voice).

(Note: This is not a filmography. This is not an invitation for an endless list of things Frees voiced in his career or his numerous radio shows of 1953).

January 1
KGEM Radio 1140
10:00 to 10:15 p.m.—The Player with Paul Frees.

January 11
Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show
With Walter Tetley as Julius. Also appearing tonight are Hans Conried, Paul Frees (as the plumber).

January 23
Coincident with the time switch on Carson’s Cellar, Johnny Carson adds three new members to his regular cast beginning tonight—Singer Jeri Sullivan, Actress June Foray, and Recording Star Paul Frees. (Los Angeles Examiner)

February 8
Monday through Thursday (9:15 p. m.) brings a different type of radio show, The Player. It stars Paul Frees, the Raymond who opens the squeaking door to Inner Sanctum. He plays all the parts. (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

February 28
FEATURE REVIEWS
The War of the Worlds
Cast includes Paul Frees as a radio reporter. (Boxoffice)

March 11
Actor Paul Frees of Radio Hall of Fame program, and his actress wife Joyce Terry have just celebrated their second wedding anniversary . . . They’re looking forward to a new member of the household in June. (Worcester Daily Telegram)

April 6
Johnny Carson, bright young comedy find of KNXT (2) who has been off the telewaves for two months since his “Carson’s Cellar” left the schedule, returns tonight at 10 on KNXT (2). The Johnny Carson show will be built around satire-comedy skits. Paul Frees and Joan Vohs will help Johnny. (Pasadena Star News)

April 10
In the Café Tambourine, which is constantly crowded with tourists, camel drivers, women, cheats and forgotten men down on their luck, owner “Rocky Jordan” finds himself “Behind the Black Ball” on tonight’s program on KIRO (CBS) at 6. Jack Moyles portrays “Rocky,” while others in the cast include Jay Novello, Byron Kane, Olive Deering and Paul Frees. (Victoria Times)

“THE BIG SKY” playing Thursday and Friday, April 9 and 10 at the Midway Drive In.
Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin join a keelboat expedition up the Missouri from St. Louis in 1830, bound for the Blackfoot Indian country to establish a trading post in the fir-rich territory. Aboard the vessel as a hostage to ensure their safety is a Blackfoot maiden, Elizabeth Threatt. The expedition survives hazards including a stretch of rapids, Indian attacks and sallies by agents of a rival fur-trader, Paul Frees, who abducts Elizabeth. The Indian girl is rescued and the keelboat successfully gets by Frees’ river stoackade. Next Douglas and Martin frustrate a double-cross by which the expedition was to have been sold out to Frees. (New Port Richey Press)

April 23
PLEASURE; words & music Paul Frees © Goday Music Corp. (Copyright Catalogue)

June 19
Lon McCallister is guest star-host in “Operation Riviera,” a comedy about what happens to a GI who promotes himself a 10-day furlough on the Isle of Capri, on “[Schlitz] Playhouse of Stars” tonight at 9 o’clock over Channel 2. Others in the cast are Randy Stewart, Lela Bliss, Paul Frees, James Dodd, Rolfe Sedan, Alphonse Martell and Gil Frye. (Connecticut Post)

June 30
Tyler McVey reports that the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Frolic for its members brought in about $5,000 for the sick and benefit fund. [Paul Frees was one of the people performing on June 19]. (Zuma Palmer, Hollywood Citizen-News)

July 5
A new type of anti-crime program will take the time period of “Dragnet” beginning tonight at 8:30 on KTBS and the NBC network. This new series, entitled “Confessions” will star Paul Frees as Richard A. McGee, director, department of correction, state of California.
The programs will be based on actual confessions of crimes and their causes as revealed by the files of various correction departments throughout the nation. (Shreveport Times)

July 6
Television programs
Paul Frees, 2:15 [guesting with Dave Street on KLAC-TV 13]

July 24
Paul Frees, radio actor, became a father for the first time Tuesday [21] when his wife actress, Joyce Terry, presented him with a 7-pound boy. They have selected the name Frederic William for their heir. (Barbara Sellers, Hollywood Citizen-News)

August 19
THE DEAL NOW has been set for Larry Finley to move into a special restaurant adjoining the Mocambo when he exists “My Own Place” on Sept. 3. He also will take his KWFB radio lines along and continue to broadcast from 10 p. m. to 4 a. m.
Larry Kolpack, who will continue with “MOR,” now is playing to present Paul Frees as the Finley substitute at the late night spot with the broadcast going out over KECA. (Paul Price Los Angeles Daily News)

August 23
The Unexpected, KECA-TV (7) at 7, offers Robert Hutton, Gale Storm and Paul Frees in “The Peppeteers,” all about the mysterious disappearance of a famous puppeteer on the eve of a performance. (Jack Lait, Jr., Los Angeles Examiner)

September 3
New nightly disc jockey show begins at M. O. P. [My Own Place] tonight, on KECA from 11 to 2. Versatile-voiced Paul Frees has charge of the platter-chatter. (Jack Lait, Jr., Los Angeles Examiner)

September 8
Glenda Farrell, James Dunn, Alan Mowbray, John Hubbard, Billy Bakewell and Paul Frees have been inked for supporting roles in the Mickey Rooney tele pilot, which rolls Thursday [10] at the Goldwyn studios, under the aegis of Volcano Productions.
Richard Quine will direct. (Daily Variety)

September 13
Jack Benny, the only 39-year-old man born in 1894, returns to TV tonight at a new hour of 10 p. m. and with Marilyn Monroe making her “live” video debut. Scene is set aboard a ship as Jack returns from Hawaii. Jack dreams of Marilyn, buy the dream comes out 200-pound Maxine Gates.
Rochester, Don Wilson, “Mr. Kitzel,” Paul Frees and Joe Kearns complete the cast for the KNXT (2) fall debut of the great comedian. This season he will be on each third week, alternating with Ann Sothern as “Private Secretary.” (Terry Vernon, Long Beach Independent-Press-Telegram)

September 22
Irma’s playing the field from now on. A whole new stable of boy friends are in Marie Wilson’s future on this season’s “My Friend Irma” [TV] show with the departure of Sid Tomack as Al from the series. More variety in the romantic department is another big change for “Irma” along with a new roommate, Mary Shipp as Kay Foster, and a new character—Paul Frees, playing a schoolteacher who lives next door. (Erskine Johnson, NEA)

October 3
Parrot, Squeaking Door, All the Same to Emcee; Gen. Dean Story on Air
BY WALTER AMES
If you happen to be tuned into KECA radio some evening after 11 p m. and suddenly hear a familiar parrot talking to you, don't run for the nearest psychiatrist. It's only Paul Frees.
Paul, along with the rest of his acting chores, recently decided to try his hand at being a disc jockey. It was one of the few things he hadn't already experimented with and the other day he said he's never had as much fun.
Being a master at dialects, voices and sound effects, Frees finds his radio show an excellent showcase for rehearsing roles. Thus if he has a squeaking door coming up you'll hear him opening doors for most of his guests during the evening.
I mentioned that you might hear a parrot. One of Paul's chores in the past has been to be the parrot on the old Sam Spade series. His toughest assignment was to play a squeaking French door. Ask him to do it some night.
Recently he was confined to Folsom Prison — strictly for business, however, as a featured player in the new flicker, "Riot in Cellblock Eleven." It was a drastic change from his imitating roles because, as he says, everything about Folsom "is for keeps.” (Los Angeles Times)

October 7
Paul Frees has added a “Surprise Celebrity” contest to his KECA Monday through Saturday show which is broadcast from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. on KECA. Listeners who have written in are asked to identify the recorded voice of a well known personality. Frees calls three people each night. The first jackpot now being offered includes a silver tea set, a man or women’s suit, a radio, a watch, a set of men’s toiletries, and a table lamp. (Barbara Sellers, Hollywood Citizen-News)

October 12
EDGAR BERGEN
(Sun., 6:30-7 p.m. [11], KNX-CBS)
Chunking in their share of the laugh load were Veola Vonn, Gloria Gordon and Paul Frees. Bill Baldwin is back in his usual good selling job, this time for Lanolin Plus, skin sharpener which comes from sheep. (Helm, Daily Variety)

November 2
Walter Baker, leader of the newly organized “Baker’s Dozen” orchestra, starts his Monday commentaries on the Paul Frees radio show tonight. (Hollywood Reporter)

November 11
“The Martians and the Coys,” KHJ at 8:30, has in its cast three members of a family, Jack, Lil and Lee Kirkwood. They are, respectively, Hobe, Maw and Rhododendron Coy, hillbillies, who entertain Dr. Zim (Jay Novello) and Melco (Paul Frees), who arrive in a “crazy silo with windows.” (Zuma Palmer, Hollywood Citizen-News)

December 12
Paul Frees will he M.C. at the Altadena Tournament of Roses fund raising variety show, Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. it was announced by William Adrian, producer of the talent and fashion show.
Frees is seen weekly on "My Friend Irma", nationally televised series. He is known to millions as the weekly character in "Wild Bill Hickok" radio series, as well as a featured star in "Suspense" each week. Paul has been a variety of different voices in the "Tom and Jerry" cartoons and nightly airs his own radio show at 11 till 2 over KECA. (Pasadena Star-News)

December 15
Paul Frees will change the format of his Monday through Saturday KECA radio show to include interviews with leaders from business, industry, charitable organizations and law enforcement agencies. (Barbara Sellers, Hollywood Citizen-News)

December 17
Paul Frees does his last show on KECA Dec. 23. The station starting Dec. 26 will run an hour of classical music titled “Musical Masters, Past and Present,” in the 11 p.m. to midnight spot and conclude its Monday through Saturday programming with a five minute-newscast and The Lord’s Prayer. (Barbara Sellers, Hollywood Citizen-News)

Frees’ cartoons in 1953, according to Keith Scott in his book on Cartoon Voices, were all for MGM. It should be noted the voice tracks likely were recorded before 1953:

The Missing Mouse (Tom and Jerry, Jan. 10)
Barney’s Hungry Cousin (Barney Bear, Jan. 31)
Cobs and Robbers (Barney Bear, Mar. 14)
Heir Bear (Barney Bear, May 30)
TV of Tomorrow (Narrator for Tex Avery, June 6)
Wee-Willie Wildcat (Barney Bear, June 20)
Half-Pint Palomino (Barney Bear, Sept. 26)

His career at Disney had begun in 1950 but he did not voice anything for the studio again until 1954. The studio tapped him in 1961 to play Ludwig Von Drake. Frees pulled out a Germanic accent he employed during his career, but it was never funnier than when he played the cartoon professor, sometimes opposite Walt Disney himself.

He didn’t start his career at Walter Lantz until 1959, the same year he brought life at Jay Ward Productions to Boris Badenov. And Tomsk Parkoff.