OK, I am a little strange. I admit it. But Goofy… no way. I confess, however, I’ve had a long affinity for the floppy eared, big-footed fellow. Yuk Yuk.
It all started when my mother told me that a cousin of hers, Vance ‘Pinto’ Colvig, was the original voice of Goofy.
I had never heard of Pinto so I looked him up. Sure enough, he was the voice of Goofy. In fact Walt Disney was so taken with the voice that he gave Goofy a starring role as one of Mickey’s best buddies.
I was willing to let the connection slide after that. I did trot Goofy out on an occasion, however. In the competitive world of dating, it’s valuable to have a famous relative, even if he’s a cartoon. More than one woman was impressed with my shirttail link, including my wife Peggy.
I never used “I am related to Goofy,” as a conversation starter, though. It was more like a third or fourth date thing.
When Peggy and I recently moved to the Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon, I decided to do more research on Pinto. He’s a native son of the area and grew up in the historic town of Jacksonville, which is where Peggy and I go to play.
Turns out Pinto’s big brother, Donald Colvig, married my mother’s aunt, Star Marshall. I guess that made my mother a second cousin, once removed and makes me… nothing. But I am still going to claim Goofy. And there’s more:
I learned that Pinto was also the creator of Bozo the Clown! Now I have a choice. I can either claim I’m related to Goofy or claim I’m related to Bozo. I am not sure what that buys me but it might make an interesting epitaph.
Pinto was a very talented man who spent his life making people laugh. Here are some of his other accomplishments. He was:
- The voice of Pluto, Mickey’s dog.
- The voice of the anal pig who built the brick house in the Three Little Pigs.
- The voice of Grumpy and Sleepy in the original version of Snow White.
- The co-composer of ‘Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf.’
- The voice of one of the three Munchkins who sang the Lollipop song in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz.
- The voice for Popeye’s nemesis Bluto who was always hustling Olive Oyl.
It’s quite a legacy. Pinto also had a nationally syndicated comic strip and was co-owner of an animation studio. Interestingly to me, Pinto was also one of the first people to urge that warning labels be put on cigarettes. ( I spent three decades doing battle with Big Tobacco.)
You are just full of surprises! Grin!
Sparkle must be special. You mentioned her two times in your list of camp denizens!
Sparkle is very special. The question: Did I throw the extra one in to see if you were paying attention? 🙂
Hi Curt, I really enjoyed finding your blog. Star Marshall was my great grandmother and I can hardly believe the internet presence that she has. Your blog got my daughter and I onto a Pinto Colvig tangent. Thanks and best wishes- Star
Love the contacts that come about because of the blog Star. Drove through Paso Robles a couple of days ago and had a dim memory of visiting your family in the area as a child.