John Stephenson
Date of Birth
John Stephenson was a voiceover actor best known for his role on The Flintstones as Fred’s boss, Mr. Slate. The animated series premiered in 1960 on ABC primetime, with Stephenson voicing multiple characters on the show in addition to the character Slate.
e Wisconsin native, Stephenson had a long career in acting, particularly voice work, beginning in the 1950s; he found much of his success voicing characters for Hanna-Barbera cartoons during the next decade. In addition to The Flintstones, Stephenson lent his voice to several other animated series, including Top Cat (as one of the main characters, Fancy-Fancy), Birdman, Young Samson & Goliath, Wacky Races, Harlem Globe Trotters, The Addams Family, The New Tom & Jerry Show, The Fantastic Four, G.I. Joe, The Incredible Hulk, The Transformers, Bionic Six and various iterations of Scooby-Doo.
He also did live-action acting work, predominantly in the early stages of his career, on the shows The Lone Ranger, The Loretta Young Show, 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza, Perry Mason, The Real McCoys, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, Green Acres, Hogan’s Heroes, Mission: Impossible, The Doris Day Show, The Six Million Dollar Man and Mod Squad. He also narrated Dragnet 1967.
John Stephenson was a voiceover actor best known for his role on The Flintstones as Fred’s boss, Mr. Slate. The animated series premiered in 1960 on ABC primetime, with Stephenson voicing multiple characters on the show in addition to the character Slate.
e Wisconsin native, Stephenson had a long career in acting, particularly voice work, beginning in the 1950s; he found much of his success voicing characters for Hanna-Barbera cartoons during the next decade. In addition to The Flintstones, Stephenson lent his voice to several other animated series, including Top Cat (as one of the main characters, Fancy-Fancy), Birdman, Young Samson & Goliath, Wacky Races, Harlem Globe Trotters, The Addams Family, The New Tom & Jerry Show, The Fantastic Four, G.I. Joe, The Incredible Hulk, The Transformers, Bionic Six and various iterations of Scooby-Doo.
He also did live-action acting work, predominantly in the early stages of his career, on the shows The Lone Ranger, The Loretta Young Show, 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza, Perry Mason, The Real McCoys, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, Green Acres, Hogan’s Heroes, Mission: Impossible, The Doris Day Show, The Six Million Dollar Man and Mod Squad. He also narrated Dragnet 1967.
Stephenson served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, working as a radio operator and gunner. After leaving the service he decided to pursue acting and took a course in speech and drama at Northwestern University, then worked in Chicago radio before moving to Los Angeles, where he continued to work in radio before making the transition to television.
He was also a spokesman for Philip Morris, and introduced episodes of I Love Lucy.
Stephenson died May 15, 2015, in Woodland Hills, California. He was 91.
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