This is an entry to Mark Evanier's list of the twenty top voice actors in American animated cartoons between 1928 and 1968. For more on this list, read this. To see all the listings posted to date, click here.
Most Famous Role: Bullwinkle J. Moose.
Other Notable Roles: Mr. Peabody, Dudley-Do-Right, Fearless Leader, Tom Slick, Super Chicken, George of the Jungle, Gruffi Gummi (on Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears), Moosel (on The Wuzzles) and others.
What He Did Besides Cartoon Voices: Bill was primarily a writer, gagman and producer for animation. Before he became the main creative talent for Jay Ward Productions, he worked for Warner Brothers animation and U.P.A.
Why He's On This List: Maybe the best-ever acting ensemble in animation was the crew on the Jay Ward shows and Bill was the keystone player. On the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons, William Conrad was the narrator, then Paul Frees, June Foray and Bill did all the voices, each often expertly playing a half-dozen roles in one short cartoon. No guest actors were ever needed.
Fun Fact: Bill was credited on-screen as producer and sometimes as a writer on the Jay Ward cartoons but never as a voice talent even though he usually played the star characters.