Kent Byron Rogers (July 31, 1923 – July 9, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in several live-action features and shorts, and a voice actor for Warner Bros. Cartoons and

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...

Career

For Warner Bros. Cartoons, Rogers portrayed several Hollywood stars in '' Hollywood Steps Out'', and lent his voice to '' The Heckling Hare'', ''

Porky's Pastry Pirates ''Porky's'' is a 1981 sex comedy film written and directed by Bob Clark about the escapades of teenagers in 1954 at the fictional Angel Beach High School in Florida. The film influenced many writers in the teen film genre and spawned two sequels: ...

'', ''

Horton Hatches the Egg ''Horton Hatches the Egg'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published in 1940 by Random House. The book tells the story of Horton the Elephant, who is tricked into sitting on a bird's ...

'', ''

The Squawkin' Hawk ''The Squawkin' Hawk'' is a 1942 ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on August 8, 1942, and is the first to star the young Henery Hawk. It was animated by Phil Monroe and was written by Michael Maltese, t ...

'' and '' Super-Rabbit''. Rogers also provided the original voice of

Beaky Buzzard Beaky Buzzard is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is a young turkey vulture (sometimes called a "buzzard" in the United States) with black body feathers and a w ...

in '' Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid'' and ''

The Bashful Buzzard ''The Bashful Buzzard'' is a 7-minute animated cartoon completed in 1944 and released on September 15, 1945. It is directed by Robert Clampett and is the second to feature the character Beaky Buzzard. This is the last cartoon in which Kent Rogers ...

''. He also provided the voice of Junior Bear in ''

Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears ''Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears'' is a 1944 ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was released on February 26, 1944, and features Bugs Bunny. This short marks the first appearance of Jon ...

'', the initial 1944 entry of Chuck Jones' The Three Bears series. He also appeared occasionally on radio sitcoms, generally doing one-off characters. In 1941, he had a rare on-camera role as Henry, a boy who had a talent for doing impressions, in the film '' All-American Co-Ed''. For

he voiced

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...

in five theatrical cartoon shorts released from 1942 to 1943. Rogers' career ended upon his enlistment in the Navy in late 1943.

Death

Rogers was killed in the crash of a training flight at Pensacola, Florida, while he was an

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, on July 9, 1944, 22 days before his 21st birthday. Stan Freberg then replaced Rogers as the voice of Junior Bear, while Mel Blanc took over as the voice of Beaky Buzzard, though that character's appearances were limited after Rogers' death.Animation Anecdotes #134
/ref> Rogers is buried in the

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (informally known as Punchbowl Cemetery) is a national cemetery located at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii. It serves as a memorial to honor those men and women who served in the United St ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1923 births 1944 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors American impressionists (entertainers) American male child actors American male radio actors American male voice actors Burials in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Comedians from Virginia Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people People from Virginia Beach, Virginia United States Navy personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Walter Lantz Productions people Warner Bros. Cartoons voice actors {{voice-actor-stub