Greg Burson

Gregory Lewis Burson (July 9, 1949 – July 22, 2008) was an American voice actor. He was best known as a replacement for voice actors Daws Butler and Mel Blanc following their deaths in 1988 and 1989, respectively.

Career
Burson was trained by Daws Butler, who was his acting mentor and one of his influences. Following Butler's death, Burson inherited most of his characters, starting with Yogi Bear on The New Yogi Bear Show and many other characters in Hanna-Barbera-related shows. He also inherited the role of Mr. Magoo in the animated segments of the live action feature film of the same name in 1997 (after Jim Backus died in 1989).

Burson was also a voice replacement for Mel Blanc, and voiced many of his characters as well, including Bugs Bunny, for whom he was given the responsibility of voicing in 1995's Carrotblanca, a well-received 8-minute Looney Tunes cartoon originally shown in cinemas alongside The Amazing Panda Adventure (USA and Canada) and The Pebble and the Penguin (non-US). It has since then released on video, packaged with older Looney Tunes cartoons, and was even included in the special edition DVD release of Casablanca, of which it is both a parody and a homage.

Burson also voiced Bugs in the 1997 short From Hare to Eternity, which is notable for being dedicated to Friz Freleng (who had died in 1995). It was also notable for being the final Looney Tunes cartoon that Chuck Jones had directed before his death in 2002. Burson also provided Bugs' voice in new animation for Bugs 'n' Daffy, which ran on Kids' WB from 1995 to 1998. Alternating with Jeff Bergman, Bob Bergen, Joe Alaskey, Jim Cummings, Maurice LaMarche, and Billy West, he also voiced several other Looney Tunes characters including Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Sylvester, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, Tasmanian Devil, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, and Foghorn Leghorn on various Warner Bros. animated television series, films, toys, and video games.

His other voice work includes shows such as CatDog, Batman: The Animated Series, All-New Dennis the Menace, Mother Goose and Grimm, The Angry Beavers, Johnny Bravo, Samurai Jack, The Smurfs, Super Friends, The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat and Garfield and Friends, the feature film Jurassic Park and the three Star Wars video games The Phantom Menace, Jedi Power Battles, and The Gungan Frontier.

In 1995, at the height of the popularity of R. L. Stine's Goosebumps book and television series, though not known at the time, and his only performance in it, he was also the voice behind one version of the commercial that promoted the "Goosebumps Fan Club" in some of the old VHS tapes of the television show of the same name, while Tony Jay recorded a second version of the same promo. Burson also lent his voice to several promos for Fox Kids.

Animated Films

 * Asterix & the Big Fight (1989) - Ardeco, Cacofonix, Vitalstatistix (US Dub)

Animated Specials

 * Bugs Bunny's Learning Adventures (1996-1998) - Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepe Le Pew, Speedy Gonzalez, Barnyard Dog, Papa Bear, Additional Voices

Anime Films

 * Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989) - Nemo's Father, Flap