With a name like Leo De Lyon, is it any big surprise that his biggest claim to fame comes from his involvement with a show about a cat? If I had ever seen an episode of the popular Hanna-Barbera prime time animated series Top Cat, I wouldn’t have needed the autographed photo at right to determine that Leo De Lyon voiced two of the major characters from the series, Brain and Spook. Mr. De Lyon also provided voices for The Smurfs, The Flintstones, and the final animated classic under Walt Disney’s watch, The Jungle Book.
As a live-action performer, he has been seen on The Jackie Gleason Show, The Jack Benny Program, Bewitched, and The Incredible Hulk. He was making an appearance at the Hollywood Show on February 12, 2011, as part of a mini Top Cat reunion of the show. Seated next to him was my old pal Marvin Kaplan, whom I had already met the previous October. He had been the voice of Choo Choo.
Despite not knowing much about the show, I recognized it as one of the legendary Hanna-Barbera productions of the early 1960’s, so I went ahead and picked up a sign picture of Leo. He was a sweet guy, giving away a free photo op along with the signed picture.
Celebrities of the Winter 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…
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