Henry Corden

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name = Henry Corden


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birthdate = birth date|1920|1|6|mf=y
location = flagicon|CAN Montreal, Quebec
Canada
deathdate = death date and age|2005|5|19|1920|1|6
deathplace = flagicon|US Los Angeles, California
United States
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Henry Corden (January 6, 1920 – May 19, 2005) was a Canadian-born American actor and voice artist best-known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone on "The Flintstones" after Alan Reed died in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was on the 1977 syndicated weekday series "Fred Flintstone and Friends" for which he provided voice-overs on brief bumper clips shown in-between segments. (He also provided the singing voice for Reed in the 1966 theatrical film, "The Man Called Flintstone").

Career

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Corden moved to New York as a child and arrived in Hollywood in the 1940s.

Corden gave his voice to a number of other Hanna-Barbera productions, including "The Jetsons", " Josie and the Pussycats", "The Atom Ant Show", "The New Tom & Jerry Show" and "Jonny Quest". Corden also gave voice to the wizard Gemini and Ookla the Mokk in Ruby-Spears Productions' "Thundarr the Barbarian" as well as the Gorilla General Urko in DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' "Return to the Planet of the Apes". He voiced Arnie Barkley, the Archie Bunker-inspired patriarchof DePatie-Freleng's The Barkleys, in 1972.

With his deep voice, jet-black hair and ethnic looks, Corden was frequently tapped to play heavies in films and on television. He can be seen in such live-action films as "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", "The Black Castle" and "The Ten Commandments". He also appeared in dozens of TV shows, including "Dragnet", "Perry Mason", "Hogan's Heroes", and "Gunsmoke". Corden also played landlord Henry Babbitt on "The Monkees".

Corden had one enduring role for which he was never credited. He was called upon to impersonate Jackie Gleason for the "television edit" of "Smokey and the Bandit" [ [http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2005_05_20.html#009882/ newsfromme.com] ] The repeated broadcasts of this version, the liberal use of the nonsense phrase "scum bum" to replace profanity, and the fact that it obviously was not Gleason speaking have given the performance a sort of cult status.

Death

Corden died of emphysema at age 85 at AMI Encino Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Corden's wife of nine years, Angelina, was with him at the time. Besides his wife, Corden is survived by two children, three stepchildren, two grandchildren, and three step-grandchildren.

References

External links

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* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11013900 Photo with Fred Flinstone]