June Foray and Bill Scott, the voices behind ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle’—in 1983

Nov. 19, 1959, brought the debut of one of the greatest cartoon shows of all time: Rocky and His Friends.

Bill Scott, Bullwinkle, June Foray
(Credit: beyondthemarquee.com).
Click for audio.

Later known as The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and The Bullwinkle Show, it had everything a little kid could want: A protagonist who could fly (Rocket J. Squirrel), a sidekick who was funny (Bullwinkle J. Moose) and parental approval—because it was layered with cultural and political humor a lot of us would only come to understand much later. (Wait: There’s an opera called Boris Gudunov? Really?)

So what a cool thing to meet the people who brought those characters to life, as I did when June Foray and Bill Scott visited the WXRT-FM studios in 1983.

Here are four audio segments, presented in reverse chronological order:

• Dec. 2, 1985: Bill Scott obituary by Charlie Meyerson on WXRT-FM, Chicago.
• Nov. 10, 1983: Full interview on WXRT with Bill Scott and June Foray, in town for an appearance at the Chicago Film Festival; host: Frank E. Lee (at 0:57).
• Nov. 4, 1983: Meyerson’s report for WXRT on Scott and Foray’s then-forthcoming visit to Chicago (at 15:15).
• Nov. 4, 1983: Unedited Meyerson telephone interview with Scott (at 16:35).

Bonus 1: During a visit to the WNUA-FM studios in Chicago in the 1990s, Scott and Foray recorded these promos for host Dean Richards and me.

(My autographed copy. Hear the
audio from this record on YouTube here.)

Bonus 2: Rocky and His Friends Golden Record audio.

If you enjoyed this audio, check out my interviews with TV cartoon pioneer Joe Barbera; Sesame Street co-creator Jeff Moss; the man behind Captain Kangaroo, Bob Keeshan, who was none too fond of Barney the Dinosaur and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers; and even more of my conversations with thought-leaders through the years on this website, in Apple Music, on Spotify, via your favorite podcast player, and at Chicago Public Square.

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