Above is a shot from one of the most ghastly shows ever produced — Queen for a Day, which ran quite successfully on radio and then on television for something like two decades. The gent at right was its host, Jack Bailey. Mr. Bailey, who passed away in 1980, was a very busy TV and radio personality and he even had a successful career on the local stage. But every so often, I come across an article that says — matter-of-factly, like it's common knowledge — that he was at one time the voice of Goofy for Walt Disney. Here's a link to Bailey's 1980 obituary in the L.A. Times which says such a thing.
There are those reading this who know more about Disney voices than I do but I don't think that's so. A person named Jack Bailey did some minor voice work in Pinocchio. Maybe it was the same guy. Maybe it was one of several other Jack Baileys who were running around Hollywood then. There was an animator named Jack Bailey who worked for Disney for a while and it could even have been him. In any case, that was not Goofy.
The Queen for a Day Jack Bailey narrated one 1955 episode of the Disneyland TV show that strung old Goofy clips together. As far as I know, that was the only connection that that Jack Bailey had with the character…and unless that was him in Pinocchio, his only work for the studio. And yet you still see things like this piece about Bailey's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: "…Bailey alternated with character actor Hal Smith as the voice of Goofy in the Walt Disney cartoon series."
Here is what I know about the voice of Goofy. The voice was originated by Vance "Pinto" Colvig in 1932 and he did it off and on until his death in 1967. During some of this period, a man named George Johnson was the back-up voice, doing the role on radio and a few other places, and he did Goofy in a few cartoons when Colvig was unavailable. During the long period when Pinto was off in another state working for Max Fleischer, Goofy usually had no voice at all. They did those cartoons where someone narrated and the Dawg remained mute or maybe they'd grab a yell or laugh from an old Pinto track. Eventually, he returned to the studio and Goofy got his full voice back.
After Colvig passed, there wasn't much call for Goofy voicing but when they needed a few lines here or there, that's when Hal Smith would be called upon, or occasionally Walker Edmiston, Will Ryan or Tony Pope. Around 1986, it was decided that Hal could no longer give them the vocal range they wanted so they did a search for a new first-string Goofy vocalist…and that's when Bill Farmer got the gig. Bill is quite amazing and perfect in his Goofiness.
I don't know of anywhere Jack Bailey spoke even a syllable as The Goof and he certainly never alternated with Hal Smith in the job. If any Disney expert can correct me on this, please do. And let no one say we're afraid to tackle the vital issues of the day here at newsfromme.com. Here's a short look at the career of the original Goofy — the guy all these other folks were imitating — Pinto Colvig…
