Merle Herman Coffman, better known by his stage name Red Coffey (April 24, 1923 – August 1, 1988), was an American voice actor and comedian known for playing Quacker in the ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

'' cartoons at the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsible for producing animated shorts to ...

from 1950 to 1957. Coffey's first role in animation appears to have been in ''

Little Quacker This is a complete list of the 164 shorts in the ''Tom and Jerry'' series produced and released between 1940 and 2014. Of these, 162 are theatrical shorts, one is a made-for-TV short, and one is a 2-minute sketch shown as part of a telethon. ...

'' (released January 7, 1950), and he subsequently was hired to play the little duck in another seven cartoons. After

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...

and

Joe Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian i ...

left MGM and opened their own studio in 1957, they hired Coffey to play a duck similar to Quacker in cartoons such as ''Slumber Party Smarty'' and ''Duck in Luck'' with

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in '' The Huckleberry Hound Show''. Yogi Bear was the first ...

, and ''Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy'', ''Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks'' and ''Loopy De Loop''. However, when Hanna and Barbera turned the character into ''

Yakky Doodle Yakky Doodle is a cartoon duck created by Hanna-Barbera Productions for the 1961 series ''The Yogi Bear Show''. Yakky's name is a spoof of "Yankee Doodle". History Yakky Doodle (voiced by Jimmy Weldon using the same buccal speech technique used ...

'' and gave him his own series in 1961 as part of ''

The Yogi Bear Show ''The Yogi Bear Show'' is an American comedy animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that centers on the misadventures of forest-dwelling bear Yogi in Jellystone Park. The show debuted in syndication on January 30, 1961 ...

'', Los Angeles children's show host

Jimmy Weldon Jimmy Weldon (born Ivy Laverne Shinn, September 23, 1923) is an American retired voice actor, ventriloquist, and former television host. He is best known as the voice of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yakky Doodle and the host and ventrilo ...

was hired for the role. Coffey finally received a screen credit for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon ''This Is My Ducky Day'' starring

Loopy De Loop ''Loopy De Loop'' is a theatrical cartoon short series produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera after leaving MGM and opening their new studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions. Loopy De Loop Profile 48 cartoons were produced between 19 ...

, but his name was spelled Red Coffee. Coffey apparently changed the spelling of his stage name around 1960. Coffey was also a nightclub comic, working in an act through the 1950s with

Jerry Wallace Jerry Leon Wallace (December 15, 1928 – May 5, 2008) was an American country and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including the No. 8 "Primrose Lane" that was later used as the theme ...

. Coffey also appeared on

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV ou ...

's ''The Dude Martin Show'' and spent 1960 in a company of Olsen and Johnson's ''Hellzapoppin'',''Hamilton Journal-Daily News'', Nov. 22, 1960, page 19 which toured the United States with the Harlem Globetrotters.

References

External links

* 1923 births 1988 deaths American male voice actors American stand-up comedians 20th-century American male actors People from Arkansas City, Kansas Male actors from Kansas 20th-century American comedians Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people {{US-voice-actor-1920s-stub