1951

 
  
     Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc (May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989)

Voice actor and comedian Mel Blanc was born in San Francisco and grew
up in Portland, Oregon where he attended Lincoln High School. He began
his nearly six-decade-long career in 1927 performing on the KGW radio
program The Hoot Owls.

Blanc earned the nickname “The Man of a Thousand Voices” when he
worked for Warner Bros. is best remembered for his work with Warner
Bros. during the "Golden Age of American animation" as the voice of
Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird and many more,

He later worked for Hanna- Barbera‘s television cartoons, most notably
as the voice of Barney Rubble in The Flintstones and Mr. Spacely
in The Jetsons. Mel Blanc was one of the most influential people
in the voice-acting industry.

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Mel Blanc (far right) was a cast member of the first Jack Benny radio show 
along with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Don Wilson, Dennis Day and
Rochester.
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Mel on The David Letterman Show

President Reagan presenting Congressional Medal of Honor to the 
Vietnam Unknown Soldier during the 1984 Memorial Day ceremony
at Arlington cemetery in Virginia.

Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, originated after the Civil War  
to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. By the 20th century
Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all
wars. The first known observance of a Memorial Day-type observance was in
Charleston on May 1, 1865.