Flying High With Rocky

Hokey smoke! It’s a big summer for moose and squirrel.

On Friday, the Museum of Television & Radio kicks off “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends,” a three-month festival highlighting the classic TV cartoon characters created by the late Jay Ward. They include the flying squirrel Rocky and the dimwitted moose Bullwinkle, their archenemies Boris and Natasha, as well as Crusader Rabbit, Dudley Do-Right, Snidely Whiplash, Mister Peabody and George of the Jungle.

Friday just also happens to be the opening of the live-action feature animated comedy “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,” which finds Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle the Moose living off the residuals from the reruns of their cartoon show. But they must come out of retirement--even if Rocky is a little rusty when it comes to flying--to save the world from the evil Boris (Jason Alexander), Natasha (Rene Russo) and Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro).

Since the 1959 debut on ABC of the sophisticated and pun-filled “Rocky and His Friends,” June Foray has been the voice of the most famous squirrel in the world, and she continues the role in the new movie. Foray was also the voice of Natasha and countless other cartoon characters, including Granny in the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons.

The late “Rocky” producer Bill Scott was the original voice of Bullwinkle. Australian performer Keith Scott now is the voice.

Foray, who won’t tell her age but whose early credits go back to the 1930s, recently voiced her feelings about Rocky and the reason for the character’s longevity.

Question: Are you surprised that 41 years after Rocky and Bullwinkle were introduced on TV that they are still flying high?

Answer: I anticipated it because when we recorded it we knew it was so mordantly witty and sophisticated and funny. We knew it had to survive. It’s just as topical today as it was 40 years ago. It’s crazy.

Q: How did you get the job of Rocky?

A: I had never met Jay Ward in my life. I had never heard about him. I had never seen [Ward’s earlier series] “Crusader Rabbit” or heard about it. I had been doing shorts for Disney and Warner Bros. and doing a lot of funny commercials with different voices. Bill Scott apparently was a writer at Warner Bros. and heard about me. When they went to cast, [Ward and Scott] called me. My agent called and said there was a man who had an idea for a series and he would like to talk to me because he would like me to do it. I met Jay and Bill for lunch. After a couple of martinis, I thought it was one heck of a good idea. And so that is how it all happened.

Q: How did you arrive at Rocky’s voice?

A: I didn’t even see a picture of Rocky. So I said, “What is Rocky going to sound like?” They said a sophisticated American boy. So I made him an all-American squirrel. I said, “What about Natasha?” They said don’t make her completely Russian--she and Boris were from Pottsylvania.

Q: Did you record the voices of Rocky and Natasha at the same time?

A: Of course, because Rocky would say, ‘Hokey smoke, haven’t I seen you before?” And then I’d say, “No, dahling,” in the same breath. I had to have different colored pencils so I would know what part was coming up. I talked to myself in “Fractured Fairy Tales.” I was the princesses, the fairy godmothers and the witches.

Q: So what colors did you use for your roles?

A: I had a black pencil for Rocky. Natasha was red, naturally. When I did the Three Pigs on “Fractured Fairy Tales,” I brought green and red and black and blue.

Q: Did you work with Rene Russo on her accent for Natasha in the movie?

A: She and Jason Alexander and Robert De Niro had 10 or 15 cassettes [of the show]. We read the script around the table to see how it would sound, and Rene said, “Would you read a couple of lines for me?” I did and that was it. She is remarkable. She sounds a lot like me.

Q: Have you always had a facility for voices?

A: Since I was 6 years old. I was from Springfield, Mass., and my mother and father were very eclectic-oriented people. They would take us to movies, theater and opera. So I would come home and impersonate everybody.

Eleanor Powell had come from Springfield and she became a star as a dancer. So my mother first gave me dancing lessons. I was fortunate enough to get pneumonia, so I didn’t dance anymore. Because my mother was such a marvelous pianist, she thought I should play piano. I broke my finger playing baseball and I was thrilled. I said, “What I really want to do is be an actress.” So my mother and dad were most supportive. They got me [acting] teachers. My teacher had a radio show on WBZA in Springfield. And when I was 12 years old I went on the radio. When I was 15, I joined a professional drama group on WBZA and that’s when it all started.

Q: Aren’t you getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame soon?

A: I’m getting a star on July 7 at 7080 Hollywood Blvd. It’s a block before La Brea, which is the nice part of town. Isn’t it terrific?

BE THERE

“Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends” screens Wednesdays through Sundays at noon from Friday through Sept. 17 at the Museum of Television & Radio, 465 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. Admission is free, but suggested contributions are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, and $3 for children under 13. For information call 310-786-1000 or go to https://www.mtr.org.

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The Series Schedule

“Rarely Seen Episodes”: Friday-July 9

“Jet Fuel Formula Week I”: July 12-16

“Jet Fuel Formula Week II”: July 19-23

“George of the Jungle” and “Fractured Flickers”: July 26-30

“Box Top Robbery”: Aug. 2-6

“Greenpoert Oogle”: Aug. 9-13

“Dudley Do-Right” and “Hoppity Hooper”: Aug. 16-20

“Goof-Gas Attack”: Aug. 23-27

“Wossamotta U”: Aug. 30-Sept. 3

“Rarely Seen Episodes”: Sept. 6-10

“The Last Angry Moose” and “Moosylvania Saved”: Sept. 13-17