You may not recognize the name or face, but you know the voice. Gary Owens passed away at the age of 80 from complications from diabetes, which he had suffered from since childhood. The voice actor and announcer was best known for being the original Space Ghost, Blue Falcon, Powdered Toast Man, and the announcer for “Laugh-In.”
As the announcer for “Laugh-In,” he coined the ironic (and iconic) phrase “From beautiful downtown Burbank. . .” and was a key part of the success of the show.
His voice over work gave him ample work on both radio and tv, but especially in the world of cartoons. Of course, I remember him best as the original Space Ghost.
Owens is not to be confused with George Lowe, who provided the voice for Space Ghost in the “Space Ghost: Coast to Coast” series, Owens actually appeared on the SG:C2C Season 5 episode “Warren” as himself/ a replicant of the George Lowe Space Ghost. (Apologies for the teaser image on the video below– that IS, in fact, “Space Ghost: Coast to Coast,” and if you forward the video to 48:25, you’ll start the episode “Warren”)
Owens also provided many other voices in the Hanna Barbera animation universe, among them Blue Falcon, who you may remember better for his robotic sidekick pet Dynomutt.
Owens also provided the voice for Namor, the Sub-Mariner, in the 80’s cartoon “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends,” specifically in the episode “Seven Little Superheroes.”
While I remember Owens from lots of things in my childhood (and adulthood), while very obscure, one of the things I remember him best for was as a host of an hour-long tribute to Goofy that aired on the Disney Channel in the 1980’s. We had this on a VHS we had taped off of tv and it was one of my favorite Disney cartoon video collections growing up. I still have a fondness for Goofy’s “How to” cartoons, largely because of this special.
And who could forget Owens’ work on “Ren and Stimpy” as “Powdered Toast Man”? While I was not an huge fan of Ren and Stimpy themselves, I did love some Powdered Toast Man. And the log song. And that horse who didn’t like things. No sir.
So, thanks for the laughs and the fun. From beautiful downtown Burbank, we’ll remember you, Gary Owens. Here’s a recent interview he did, beginning, ironically, with a funny funeral story: