Yank, Doolde, Dan and Dee

June 26, 2007 4:15 AM

Who was Garry Owens? That’s right, he's an American radio announcer, but kids all over the world grew up with his distinctive voice He probably better known for his work as the voice of this great American cold war warrior, and grist to this gratuitous youtube post. Roger Ramjet and his Eagles Fighting for our freedom
posted by mattoxic (25 comments total)

++
Ramjet had to be the crappiest, cheapest cartoon of my youth...and I loved it dearly.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:20 AM on June 26, 2007

Yup, there is something about the writing, and the ridiculously cheap animation that makes this cartoon dear to my heart.

If any fan can find the episode featuring beatnik jazz drummer HipHop Tune, you're in for a treat.

I love the internet.
posted by mattoxic at 4:24 AM on June 26, 2007

...and I just notices the misspelling in the post's title, apologies.
posted by mattoxic at 4:25 AM on June 26, 2007

He made frequent appearances on Laugh-in ... he appears about 30 seconds into this clip, that also features the Monkees.
posted by Dave Faris at 4:55 AM on June 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

For the longest time I thought Roger Ramjet was a spinoff (or whatever) of Rocky and Bullwinkle. It's basically the same animation and writing as far as I can see.
posted by DU at 5:02 AM on June 26, 2007

DU,

I think they are quite different. Different humour. Ramjet is has ring of satire to it, and takes the piss out of itself, that's why it's endearing.

Rocky and Bullwinkle is very much for kids. Similar crappy animation though.
posted by mattoxic at 5:13 AM on June 26, 2007

That theme music might be the most annoying thing I've ever heard.
posted by the dief at 5:19 AM on June 26, 2007

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say R&B were satirical, but they were definitely subversive. Ramjet is the same, only for a slightly older audience.
posted by DU at 5:45 AM on June 26, 2007

DU - Yeah, I was surprised to realize there wasn't an overlap between the two shows -- They are both of a type.

mattoxic -- rocky and bullwinkle was definitely not *only* for kids, though. Some of the puns were particularly sophisticated. ("Mourning Becomes Electrocuted", for instance)
posted by rmd1023 at 5:59 AM on June 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

I haven't had much exposure to Rocky and Bullwinkle. Ramjet used to be on for the five minutes in Australia before the 7pm news. R&B didn't feature as prominently, but I'll certainly dig some up and have a watch.
posted by mattoxic at 6:10 AM on June 26, 2007

He probably better known for his work as the voice of this great American cold war warrior, and grist to this gratuitous youtube post.

Not to quibble, but I'd argue that Garry Owens is FAR better known for being on Laugh-In than for voicing Roger Ramjet.

Thanks for the cartoons! I haven't seen a Roger Ramjet cartoon in years.
posted by briank at 6:15 AM on June 26, 2007

My first exposure to the name was when he was calling himself "Dinosaur" Garry Owens, trying to sell dinosaur cards or toys or something on Nickelodeon in the mid-80s.
posted by bugmuncher at 6:18 AM on June 26, 2007

I'd never seen Laugh-In, only Sesame Street and Ramjet. Until the arrival of SBS then cable tv and the google, Australia only had 4 TV stations.
posted by mattoxic at 6:28 AM on June 26, 2007

mattoxic writes 'I'd never seen Laugh-In, only Sesame Street and Ramjet. Until the arrival of SBS then cable tv and the google, Australia only had 4 TV stations.'

Interesting to see how poorly it stands up. At the time, it was an enormous hit and passed for cutting edge comedy, I suppose. The only problem was, nothing in that (fairly typical) clip that's linked was funny.

Also, how did those two squares in their dinner jackets ever manage to pass for being hip?

Presumably, people watched for the women.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:42 AM on June 26, 2007

Oops. Talking about Laugh-in in that last comment, not Roger Ramjet.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:42 AM on June 26, 2007

When I was in my early 20s I saw Garry Owens on Hollywood Blvd. I forget why, I think someone was having a star dedicated & he was there for it or something. Anyhow, I was in art student mode so I was wearing really old dirty jeans & a raggy sweater. I forget the interchange, but I remember him asking me if I was homeless. Later I remember thinking I should've said yes & let him give me money.

I still remember cracking up that his voice was the same as on tv.
posted by miss lynnster at 6:44 AM on June 26, 2007

You can hear him as an Oakland DJ back in 1959 here, and he's doing voices as part of the show.
posted by pracowity at 6:50 AM on June 26, 2007

Wow miss lynnster Garry Owens and Nina Simone. You ol' name dropper you ;)
posted by mattoxic at 6:51 AM on June 26, 2007

Dude, you scared me with that whole "was" thing in the opening sentence. As far as I can tell, Mr. Owens is still alive.

How could I forget Gary Owens as Ren and Stimpy's Powdered Toast Man? Rescuing the Pope, no less?

"Quick, man! Cling tenaciously to my buttocks!"
posted by infinitewindow at 7:06 AM on June 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Gary Owens shows up in a random episode of "Night Court", which was surreal to say the least, because I recognized him as the guy from Laugh-In.
posted by jscott at 9:02 AM on June 26, 2007

Guess I'm old, as my first mental picture of Gary Owens is him holding one hand over his ear, as he speaks into a microphone on Laugh-In. He also played a DJ on an episode of The Munsters (the one where Herman became a star for singing "My foot bone's connected to my ankle bone....")

I guess I watched Roger Ramjet as a kid, but had no conscious memory of the show. But in 1986, during my first visit to England, I remember being in a hotel room in the morning, getting ready to check out. The TV was on in the background. Without thinking about it, I started quietly singing along with the song that was playing: "Roger Ramjet, he's our man, hero of our nation..." My traveling companion asked "How in the world do you know this song?" and I shrugged and admitted, "Beats me."
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:59 AM on June 26, 2007

mattoxic, you almost gave me a heart attack withn the "was" and the mis-spelling of his name.

I know Gary Owens (though I haven't spoken to him since before MetaFilter). Back in my radio days, I wrote jokes for him, and got his endorsement in a radio trade paper column he did that I was "funnier than Lorne Greene and Jack Lord combined", which, while obviously faint praise, was golden coming from this proud absurdist.

His book "How to Make a Million Dollars with Your Voice (or Lose Your Tonsils Trying" is less a how-to book and more a star-studded-anecdote-filled autobiography.

Powdered Toast Man! Goes to Washington

And he was the ORIGINAL voice of Space Ghost in the '60s.
posted by wendell at 10:24 AM on June 26, 2007

Thanks wendell, for mentioning Space Ghost! About time someone did in this thread...

I have had the pleasure of meeting Gary Owens on many occasions, as we are both members of the same organization, and I think he's a most gracious and interesting guy. He's a lot funnier when he's just hanging out chatting with buddies than he is working from script, IMO.

And yes by golly, his voice sounds like that all. the. time. Brilliant!
posted by zoogleplex at 4:34 PM on June 26, 2007

And don't forget that Gary Owens appeared on at least one episode of "The Green Hornet" in '66.
posted by davidmsc at 9:23 PM on June 26, 2007

My favorite Gary Owens story (and one he told me himself):
"Garish" (yes, he calls himself that) worked over twenty years DJing the afternoon drive at KMPC in L.A. The station had a trophy case just inside from the reception area, and he had noticed how the then-Station Manager would give tours to boy scout and girl scout troops, and when they got to the case he would give a long speech about all the awards the station had won, looking straight at his audience, and never at the case. Gary himself bought a piece of plastic fake dog poop and had it put on the bottom shelf of the trophy case. It took a couple dozen tours before the Manager noticed what was making the kids giggle when he gave his 'award winning' speech. (Which was consistent with my experience with radio station managers of that era)
posted by wendell at 11:32 PM on June 26, 2007