John James MacDonald (May 19, 1906 â€" February 1, 1991) was a
Scottish-American foley artist, voice actor, musician and conductor.
He was the original head of the Disney sound effects department and
was also the voice of Mickey Mouse from 1947 to 1978.He was born in
Dundee, Scotland, on May 19, 1906. His parents were Richard William
MacDonald and Minnie Hall. The family emigrated to America when
MacDonald was one month old. They travelled via the SS Haverford from
Liverpool, England, arriving in Pennsylvania 15 days later.As a young
man, MacDonald landed a job as a musician on the Dollar Steam Ship
Lines, which in 1934 led to an opportunity to record music for a
Disney cartoon. He went on to secure a permanent contract with Disney,
becoming head of the sound department.In addition to directing sounds
for animated shorts as aurally complicated as Mickey's Trailer (1938),
he developed many original inventions and contraptions to achieve
expressive sounds for characters like Casey Jr., the circus train
engine from Dumbo (1941); Evinrude the dragonfly from The Rescuers
(1977); the bees in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966); and
Buzz-buzz (later called "Spike"), the bee who gets the best of Donald
Duck in his 1950s short films. He also made the sound effects of Tick
Tock the crocodile from Peter Pan (1953) and Dragon Maleficent from
Sleeping Beauty (1959) by using castanets.
Scottish-American foley artist, voice actor, musician and conductor.
He was the original head of the Disney sound effects department and
was also the voice of Mickey Mouse from 1947 to 1978.He was born in
Dundee, Scotland, on May 19, 1906. His parents were Richard William
MacDonald and Minnie Hall. The family emigrated to America when
MacDonald was one month old. They travelled via the SS Haverford from
Liverpool, England, arriving in Pennsylvania 15 days later.As a young
man, MacDonald landed a job as a musician on the Dollar Steam Ship
Lines, which in 1934 led to an opportunity to record music for a
Disney cartoon. He went on to secure a permanent contract with Disney,
becoming head of the sound department.In addition to directing sounds
for animated shorts as aurally complicated as Mickey's Trailer (1938),
he developed many original inventions and contraptions to achieve
expressive sounds for characters like Casey Jr., the circus train
engine from Dumbo (1941); Evinrude the dragonfly from The Rescuers
(1977); the bees in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966); and
Buzz-buzz (later called "Spike"), the bee who gets the best of Donald
Duck in his 1950s short films. He also made the sound effects of Tick
Tock the crocodile from Peter Pan (1953) and Dragon Maleficent from
Sleeping Beauty (1959) by using castanets.
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