(I found this image here.)
An explanation: Since the name Gary is going extinct, I thought it incumbent upon me to celebrate more notable Garys than myself. This is the fourteenth of a series!
Gary Owens was an American deejay & voice actor. As the Wikipedia notes, "his polished baritone speaking voice generally offered deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In."
When did you first become aware of him? On repeats of Laugh-In, probably. I was too young to have seen it when it first aired.
But but but Space Ghost! Oh do not get me wrong. I first heard his voice as Space Ghost, that is most definitely the case. But I didn't develop my penchant for reading credits until much later. If you asked me at age eight who voiced Space Ghost, I would have said, "Space Ghost!"
You've never heard any of his actual deejay work? Alas, I have not. Honestly, I always thought the funniest thing he did was send up the fakey deejay voice that everyone expects awful deejays to have. I'm not sure I'd enjoy him using his voice as an actual fm radio deejay. But what do I know?
He has a record - have you heard it? Indeed I have. It's called Put Your Head On My Finger, & it has its moments. Although the Allmusic Guide review is pretty damning. But fuck them - I've played him on Self Help Radio!
But - you're not impressed by him? Do not think that's the case! I appreciate anyone who's able to survive & thrive in the entertainment industry for as long as Gary Owens did! In fact, if you read Mark Evanier's appreciation of him, you'll understand he was that thing we all strive to be: very good at what we do. He was, by any measurement you could imagine, astonishing.
Was his name really Gary? He was born Gary Bernard Altman in 1934.
So you don't know where the inspiration for the name Gary came from? I don't. Maybe a family friend?
