Actor Eddie Carroll dead at 76 (voice of Disney's Jiminy Cricket)

[The Straight Story]

Actor Eddie Carroll dead at 76


LOS ANGELES, April 11 (UPI) -- The voice of Disney's Jiminy Cricket -- actor Eddie Carroll -- has died of a brain tumor in California at age 76, his wife says.

Carroll, who was also known for his stage tribute to comic Jack Benney, died Tuesday at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, his wife, Carolyn, told the Los Angeles Times.

Carroll became the second actor to give voice to Jiminy Cricket, starting in 1973, the Times said. The native Canadian holds the record for voicing the same Disney character longer than anyone else, Rick Dempsey, senior vice president of Disney's Character Voices division, told the Times.

"He totally was Jiminy Cricket," Dempsey said. "He really took what the character was into his own heart and in a sense lived that in his own life. He also was one of the best Jack Benny impersonators on the planet."

http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2010/04/11/Actor-Eddie-Carroll-dead-at-76/UPI-83631271006487/

[BuelahWitch]

1. Jack Benny's daughter sent Mr. Carroll's wife flowers

Eddie performed at quite a few Old Time Radio conventions and was even made honorary mayor of Jack's hometown Waukegan, IL. Everyone who came into contact with him said he was a class act, just like the man he portrayed on the stage.