Jerry Dexter (April 18, 1935 – June 21, 2013) was an American actor and radio presenter best known for playing teenage boys and young men in
animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
for
Hanna-Barbera Productions
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
from the late 1960s to the 1980s.
Early life, family and education
Dexter was born Jerry Morris Chrisman in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Career
He began his radio career at
KENO
Keno is a lottery-like gambling game often played at modern casinos, and also offered as a game in some lotteries.
Players wager by choosing numbers ranging from 1 through (usually) 80. After all players make their wagers, 20 numbers (some va ...
in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, in 1958. After a stop at
KVI
KVI (570 AM) is a commercial radio station in Seattle, Washington. Owned by Lotus Communications, it airs a conservative talk radio format called "News Talk 570 KVI." Its transmitter is on Vashon Island and its studios and offices are located ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, Dexter relocated to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California, and
KMPC
KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean– ...
in late 1959. He took his show, ''The Dexter Affair'', in October 1962 to
KLAC
KLAC (570 AM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles and much of surrounding Southern California. Owned by a joint venture between iHeartMedia, Inc. and the Los Angeles Dodgers bas ...
radio in Los Angeles.
In 1964, Dexter had a semi-regular role, playing Corporal Johnson in ''
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''The show (and CBS) renders the title as ''Gomer Pyle – USMC''. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spin-off of ''The Andy Griffith Sho ...
'' He moved into a full-time television job in June 1968 with the launch of ''
Good Day L.A.
''Good Day L.A.'' is an American morning television news and entertainment program airing on KTTV (channel 11), a Fox owned-and-operated television station in Los Angeles, California, owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Corpo ...
'' on
KABC-TV
KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network. ...
.
Dexter's first cartoon voice work was in 1967 as Chuck in ''
Shazzan
''Shazzan'' is an American animated television series created by Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from September 9, 1967 to January 20, 1968, and continued in reruns until September 6, 1969 ...
''. Among his roles were Gary Gulliver in ''
The Adventures of Gulliver
''The Adventures of Gulliver'' is a 1968 television cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show is loosely based on the 1726 satirical novel ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift. The show aired Saturday mornings on ABC-TV and las ...
'',
Alan
Alan may refer to:
People
*Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname
* Alan (given name), an English given name
**List of people with given name Alan
''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.''
*A ...
in ''
Josie and the Pussycats
Josie and the Pussycats (sometimes simply known as The Pussycats) are a fictional girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense i ...
'', Ted in ''
Goober and the Ghost Chasers
''Goober and the Ghost Chasers'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, broadcast on ABC from September 8, 1973, to August 30, 1975. A total of 16 half-hour episodes of ''Goober and the Ghost Chasers'' were prod ...
'', Hal in ''
Sealab 2020
''Sealab 2020'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972, on Saturday mornings. The series was created by Alex Toth, who also created such other Ha ...
'', Biff in ''
Fangface
''Fangface'' is a 30-minute Saturday morning cartoon produced by Ruby-Spears Productions for ABC that aired from September 9, 1978, to September 8, 1980. The executive producers were Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, and this was their first cartoon the ...
'', Drak Jr. in ''
Drak Pack
''Drak Pack'' is a 1980 animated television series about the classic Universal Monsters villains fighting for good. It aired in the United States on CBS Saturday Morning from September 6 to December 20, 1980. It was produced by the Australian divi ...
'',
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...
in an episode of ''
Super Friends
''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...
'', and
Sunfire in ''
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends may refer to the following shows:
* ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 cartoon series
* ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (2021 TV series), a 2021 Disney Junior cartoon
{{Disam ...
''. He also voiced characters for
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...
Studios during the late 1960s, most notably as the voice of
Aqualad
Aqualad is the name of two fictional comic book superheroes appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The first Aqualad, Garth, debuted in February 1960 in ''Adventure Comics'' #269 and was created by writer Robert Bernstein and artist ...
in the series ''
Aquaman
Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...
''. He later guest-starred on ''
Challenge of the GoBots
''Challenge of the GoBots'' (or ''GoBots'' for short) is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the GoBots toyline released from Tonka. The show was first broadcast in syndication on September 8, 1984, then the show join ...
'', the 1980s revival of ''
The Jetsons
''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced ...
'', as well as ''
Wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
'', ''
Snorks
''Snorks'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and ran for a total of four seasons (consisting of 65 episodes) on NBC from September 15, 1984, to May 13, 1989. The program continued to be available in syndication from 1987 ...
'', ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...
'' and ''
Fantastic Max
''Fantastic Max'' is an animated cartoon series, originally aired from 1988 to 1990 created by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Kalisto Ltd., Booker PLC and Tanaka Promotion Co. and in association with S4C. It centers on a boy named Maxwell "Fantastic ...
''.
Personal life
Dexter resided in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle and Los Angeles.
In June 2013, he suffered a fall in his home which resulted in head injuries. Jerry Dexter died on June 21, 2013.
Filmography
Animation
*''
Shazzan
''Shazzan'' is an American animated television series created by Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from September 9, 1967 to January 20, 1968, and continued in reruns until September 6, 1969 ...
'' (1967–1969) TV series ... Chuck
*''
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure
''The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'' is a Saturday morning Filmation animated series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1968. Premiering on September 9, 1967, this 60-minute program included a series of six-minute adventures featuring various DC ...
'' (1967–1968) TV series ... Aqualad
*''
Space Ghost and Dino Boy
''Space Ghost'' is an American Saturday morning superhero animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It first aired on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 16, 1967, and continued reruns until September 7, 1968. The se ...
'' (1967) TV series ... Chuck (episode: "The Final Encounter")
*''
The Adventures of Gulliver
''The Adventures of Gulliver'' is a 1968 television cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show is loosely based on the 1726 satirical novel ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift. The show aired Saturday mornings on ABC-TV and las ...
'' (1968–1969) TV series ... Gary Gulliver
*''
Josie and the Pussycats
Josie and the Pussycats (sometimes simply known as The Pussycats) are a fictional girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense i ...
'' (1970–1972) TV series ... Alan M. Mayberry
*''
The Funky Phantom
''The Funky Phantom'' is an animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, in association with Australian production company Air Programs International for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The show was a clone of Hanna ...
'' (1971–1972) TV series ... Elmo the Dog
*''
Sealab 2020
''Sealab 2020'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972, on Saturday mornings. The series was created by Alex Toth, who also created such other Ha ...
'' (1972) TV series ... Hal
*''
Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space
''Josie and the Pussycats'' (formatted as ''Josie and the Pussy Cats'' in the opening titles) is an American animated television series based upon the Archie Comics comic book series of the same name created by Dan DeCarlo. Produced for Saturday ...
'' (1972–1974) TV series ... Alan M. Mayberry
*''
Goober and the Ghost Chasers
''Goober and the Ghost Chasers'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, broadcast on ABC from September 8, 1973, to August 30, 1975. A total of 16 half-hour episodes of ''Goober and the Ghost Chasers'' were prod ...
'' (1973–1975) TV series ... Ted
*''
The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' (1973) TV series ... Alan M. Mayberry (episode: "Scooby-Doo Meets Josie and the Pussycats: The Haunted Showboat")
*''
Fred Flintstone and Friends
''Fred Flintstone and Friends'' is an American animated anthology wheel series and a spin-off of ''The Flintstones'' produced by Hanna-Barbera and Columbia Pictures Television that aired in daily first-run syndication from September 12, 1977 t ...
'' (1977–1978) TV series ... Ted
*''
Fangface
''Fangface'' is a 30-minute Saturday morning cartoon produced by Ruby-Spears Productions for ABC that aired from September 9, 1978, to September 8, 1980. The executive producers were Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, and this was their first cartoon the ...
'' (1978–1979) TV series ... Biff
*''
The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
''The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'' is an animated television series produced by Ruby-Spears Productions from 1979 to 1981; it was shown right after ''Super Friends'' on the ABC Network.
The show featured various adventures of the DC Comic ...
'' (1979–1980) TV series ... Biff ("
Fangface and Fangpuss" segment)
*''
Drak Pack
''Drak Pack'' is a 1980 animated television series about the classic Universal Monsters villains fighting for good. It aired in the United States on CBS Saturday Morning from September 6 to December 20, 1980. It was produced by the Australian divi ...
'' (1980–1982) TV series ... Drak Jr.
*''
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends may refer to the following shows:
* ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 cartoon series
* ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (2021 TV series), a 2021 Disney Junior cartoon
{{Disam ...
'' (1981) TV series ... Sunfire (episode: "Sunfire")
*''
The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour
''The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour'' is a 60-minute Saturday morning animated package show co-produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Ruby-Spears Enterprises and broadcast on ABC from September 25, 1982 to December 18, 1982. The show contain ...
'' (1982) TV series ... Additional voices
*''
The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
''The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' is the sixth incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon '' Scooby-Doo''. It premiered on September 10, 1983, featuring the return of Daphne, and ran for one season on ABC as a half-hour prog ...
'' (1983) TV series ... Additional voices
*''
Super Friends
''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...
'' (1983) TV series ... Superboy, Eric
*''
Challenge of the GoBots
''Challenge of the GoBots'' (or ''GoBots'' for short) is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the GoBots toyline released from Tonka. The show was first broadcast in syndication on September 8, 1984, then the show join ...
'' (1984–1985) TV series ... Additional voices
*''
The Jetsons
''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced ...
'' (1985–1987) TV series ... Additional voices
*''
Paw Paws
''Paw Paws'' (also known as ''Paw Paw Bears'') is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that first aired in 1985 and 1986. It debuted as part of the weekday/weekend morning programming block '' The Funtastic ...
'' (1985–1986) TV series ... Additional voices
*''
Wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
'' (1986) TV series ... Additional voices
*''
The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible'' (1986) Direct-to-video series ... Additional voices (episode: "Samson and Delilah")
*''
Snorks
''Snorks'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and ran for a total of four seasons (consisting of 65 episodes) on NBC from September 15, 1984, to May 13, 1989. The program continued to be available in syndication from 1987 ...
'' (1987) TV series ... Additional voices
*''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...
'' (1987) TV series ... WASA Controller (episode: "The Right Duck")
*''
Fantastic Max
''Fantastic Max'' is an animated cartoon series, originally aired from 1988 to 1990 created by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Kalisto Ltd., Booker PLC and Tanaka Promotion Co. and in association with S4C. It centers on a boy named Maxwell "Fantastic ...
'' (1988–1989) TV series ... Additional voices
Live-action
*''
Checkmate
Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game.
In chess, the king is ...
'' (1961) TV series ... The Ticketman (episode: "To the Best of My Recollection")
*''
87th Precinct
The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories by American author Ed McBain (a writing pseudonym of Evan Hunter). McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several o ...
'' (1962) TV series ... Pat (episode: "Man in a Jam")
*''
McHale's Navy
''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC television network. The series was filmed in black and white and originate ...
'' (1963) TV series ... The Ensign (episode: "The Captain Steals a Crook")
*''
Alcoa Premiere
'' Alcoa Premiere'' (also known as ''Premiere, Presented by Fred Astaire'') is an American anthology drama series that aired from October 1961 to July 1963 on ABC. The series was hosted by Fred Astaire, who also starred in several of the episode ...
'' (1963) TV series ... Physical Therapist (episode: "The Broken Year")
*''
Hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
'' (1964) TV series ... Cab Driver (episode: "Welcome Back, Kevin")
*''
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''The show (and CBS) renders the title as ''Gomer Pyle – USMC''. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spin-off of ''The Andy Griffith Sho ...
'' (1964) TV series ... Corporal Johnson
*''
The Reluctant Astronaut
''The Reluctant Astronaut'' is a 1967 American comedy film produced and directed by Edward Montagne and starring Don Knotts in a story about a carnival ride operator who is hired as a janitor at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston and is even ...
'' (1966) ... Technician (uncredited)
*''
Dragnet 1967
''Dragnet'' is an American television series. It ran for four seasons, from January 12, 1967, to April 16, 1970. To differentiate it from the earlier 1950s '' Dragnet'' television series, the year in which each season ended was made part of the ...
'' (1967) TV series ... Himself (episode: "The Subscription Racket")
*''
Downhill Racer
''Downhill Racer'' is a 1969 American sports drama film starring Robert Redford, Gene Hackman and Camilla Sparv, and was the directorial debut of Michael Ritchie. Written by James Salter, based on the 1963 novel ''The Downhill Racers'' by Oakle ...
'' (1969) ... Ron Engel
*''
Apple's Way
''Apple's Way'' is an American drama television series that aired on CBS from February 10, 1974, to January 12, 1975. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr.
Premise
The Apples of Los Angeles—architect George, his wife Barbara, their children Paul ...
'' (1974) TV series ... Harold (episode: "The Applicant")
*''
ABC Afterschool Special
''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American television anthology series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presen ...
s'' (1975) TV series ... Pete Degley (episode: "The Skating Rink")
*''
Ann Jillian
Ann Jillian (born Ann Jura Nauseda; January 29, 1950) is a retired American actress and singer whose career began as a child actress in 1960. She is best known for her role as the sultry Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom ''It's a Living''.
Ea ...
'' (1989–1990) TV series ... (episodes: "Buddy System", "Good Citizen Ann")
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dexter, Jerry
1935 births
2013 deaths
Accidental deaths from falls
Accidental deaths in California
American radio personalities
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Hanna-Barbera people
Male actors from California