Edmund Francis Gilbert (June 29, 1931 – May 8, 1999) was an American actor, with extensive credits in both live-action roles and voice work in animation, although he was better known for the latter. He is also credited, under his birth name (Edmund Francis Giesbert), with research in

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

and the discovery of new beetle species.

Career

During the 1960s, Gilbert appeared on television series such as ''

The Gallant Men ''The Gallant Men'' is a 1962–1963 ABC Warner Bros. Television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II. Description ''The Gallant Men'' dramatized the experiences of the ...

'', ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American sol ...

'', '' The Rogues'', and ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private inves ...

''. In 1966, he guest starred as Robert Cramer on four episodes of ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols " ♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...

''. He is well known as Fenton Hardy on the 1970s television series ''

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' (re-titled ''The Hardy Boys'' for season three) is an American television mystery series based on the ''Hardy Boys'' and ''Nancy Drew'' juvenile novels. The series, which ran from January 30, 1977, to Janu ...

''. He provided the voices of Superion (originally voiced by

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

), Thrust and Blitzwing in the second and third seasons of '' The Transformers'', Kissyfur's father Gus in ''

Kissyfur ''Kissyfur'' is an American animated children's television series which aired on NBC. It was produced by Jean Chalopin and Andy Heyward and created by Phil Mendez for DIC Animation City. The series was based on a half-hour NBC special called ' ...

'', Thirty-Thirty, Sandstorm, Shaman and other voices in ''

BraveStarr ''BraveStarr'' is an American space Western animated series that aired 65 episodes from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. The show was created a year after Mattel had released a line of action figures. ''BraveStarr'' was the last a ...

'',

Baloo Baloo (from hi, भालू ur, بھالو ''bhālū'' "bear") is a main fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' from 1894 and ''The Second Jungle Book'' from 1895. Baloo, a sloth bear, is the strict teacher of ...

in the Disney animated series ''

TaleSpin ''TaleSpin'' is an American animated television series first aired in 1990 as a preview on Disney Channel and later that year as part of '' The Disney Afternoon''. It features characters adapted from Disney's 1967 animated feature ''The Jungle Bo ...

'' and

Jungle Cubs ''Disney's Jungle Cubs'' is an American animated series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation for ABC in 1996, serving as the prequel to the 1967 film ''The Jungle Book'' as it's set in the youth of the animal characters years before the ...

General Hawk Hawk is a fictional character from the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' media franchise. He is one of the original members of the G.I. Joe Team, and debuted in 1982 as a Missile Commander, but was later promoted to full commander of the team. ...

in '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', Puggsy and Daddy Starling in '' Tom and Jerry: The Movie'', Mr. Smee in ''

Peter Pan and the Pirates ''Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates'' (known in international markets as ''20th Century Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates'') is an American animated television series based on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan that aired on Fox Kids from September 8, 1990, to ...

'', Phasir in the ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

'' television series, The Mandarin in the first season of '' Iron Man: The Animated Series'' and

Dormammu Dormammu () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (Nov. 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comi ...

in ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

''. He voiced minor characters in '' Batman: The Animated Series''; '' Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'', '' Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero'', and ''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...

''. He also voiced the security guard Daryl in the computer game, '' Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out!''.

Entomology

Under his birth name, Edmund Francis Giesbert, he also pursued the study of

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

and described a number of beetle species and genera, particularly in the family

Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...

, such as '' Linsleychroma'', including '' Linsleychroma monnei''.

Death

In August 1998, Gilbert got sick from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

and stayed home for nine months but never recovered. He was a heavy smoker and, after suffering from complications, Gilbert died on May 8, 1999. His interment was at Eternal Valley Memorial Park and Mortuary in

Newhall, California Newhall is the southernmost and oldest community in the city of Santa Clarita, California. Prior to the 1987 consolidation of Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, and Valencia into the city of Santa Clarita, it was an unincorporated area. It was ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Ed 1931 births 1999 deaths American male television actors American male voice actors Walt Disney Animation Studios people Deaths from lung cancer in California Male actors from Chicago 20th-century American male actors