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Candy Candido

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Candy Candido
Candido in 1943
Born
Jonathan Joseph Candido

(1913-12-25)December 25, 1913
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedMay 19, 1999(1999-05-19) (aged 85)
Burbank, California, U.S.
Resting placeSan Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1934–1995
Spouse
Anita Bivona
​
(m. 1933)​
Children4

Jonathan Joseph "Candy" Candido (December 25, 1913 – May 19, 1999) was an American radio performer and voice actor. He was best remembered for his famous line "I'm feeling mighty low". Candido was known for providing many animal vocalizations.

Early and personal life

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Born as Jonathan Candido on Christmas Day in 1913 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Candido, was a bassist and vocalist in Ted Fio Rito's big band, and they can be seen in a Soundie, "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me". He was a childhood friend of Louis Prima, becoming part of his band in 1924.[1] In 1933, he married Anita Bivona.

Career

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Radio

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Candido's distinctive, four-octave speaking voice became familiar to radio listeners and moviegoers. Speaking his lines in his normal tenor, he would suddenly adopt a high, squeaky soprano and just as suddenly plunge into a gruff bass. His weekly repetition of "I'm feelin' miiiighty low" on Jimmy Durante's radio show made it a national catchphrase. The running gag became so familiar that he recorded a song of the same title with Durante. The line can be heard in the 1950 Bugs Bunny cartoon Homeless Hare, although it was not spoken there by Candido.

Voices

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Candido provided the voice of an angry apple tree in The Wizard of Oz (1939),[2][3] and provided the voice of a skeleton in Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion, and he later teamed with Bud Abbott during Abbott's attempted comeback in 1960. He was the voice of the bear in the Gentle Ben TV series, and he worked as a voice actor on animated films, notably for Walt Disney, where he portrayed the voice of the Indian Chief in Peter Pan (1953), one of Maleficent's goons in Sleeping Beauty (1959), the Captain of the Guard the crocodile in Robin Hood (1973), and the deep voiced prisoner in the Haunted Mansion attraction.[4] Other animated films with Candido voices include Chuck Jones' adaptation of The Phantom Tollbooth (1970), and the Ralph Bakshi movies Hey Good Lookin' and Heavy Traffic. His final and personal favorite role was as Fidget the peg-legged bat in The Great Mouse Detective (1986).[5]

Films

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His various credited and uncredited roles as an actor, bassist and vocalist in live-action films include Sadie McKee (1934), Roberta (1935), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), The Wizard of Oz as the belligerent apple tree (1939), Rhythm Parade (1942), Campus Rhythm (1943), Sarge Goes to College (1947), Smart Politics (1948), and The Great Rupert (1950).

Recording

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Candido recorded a few children's 78 RPM records for Capitol Records:

  • CAS-3105 - Side One "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man", Side Two "The Little White Duck" (1952)
  • CAS-3156 - Side One "You're Nothin' But a Nothin'", Side Two "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" (1953)

Death

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Candido died from natural causes in his sleep at the age of 85 on May 19, 1999, in his home in Burbank, California. He was survived by his wife Anita, four children, eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.[5] He was interred in San Fernando Mission Cemetery.

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Boulard, Garry. Louis Prima. University of Illinois Press.
  2. ^ DiNardo, John (June 21, 1974). "Fair 'Promoters' Having Fun". The Times Record. Troy, New York. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Wittman, Bob (May 21, 1999). "Candido (continued)". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Movie Reviews". The New York Times. April 21, 2023 – via NYTimes.com.
  5. ^ a b Wittman, Bob (May 21, 1999). "Disney voice, fair notable dies". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media. p. 278.
  7. ^ ""Minitoons" from Cartoon Films LTD/ Animated Cartoons Inc. |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
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