Gordon Hunt (director)

Gordon Edwynn Hunt (April 26, 1929 – December 17, 2016)[2] was an American writer, director and actor who worked in television, film, theatre and voice work.

Gordon Hunt
Born
Gordon Edwynn Hunt

(1929-04-26)April 26, 1929[1]
DiedDecember 17, 2016(2016-12-17) (aged 87)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Recording director
  • television director
  • stage director
  • producer
  • writer
  • actor
  • voice actor
Years active1959–2016
Spouses
  • Jane Elizabeth Novis (divorced)
  • (m. 1995)
ChildrenHelen Hunt
RelativesPeter H. Hunt (paternal half-brother)

He directed such animated productions as The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Super Friends, The Richie Rich Show, The Smurfs, Pound Puppies, Tom & Jerry Kids, The Pirates of Dark Water, Droopy, Master Detective and The New Adventures of Captain Planet.

Early life and career

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Hunt was born on Friday, April 26, 1929[2] in Pasadena, California, the son of Helen F. (née Roberts; originally Rothenberg) and George Smith Hunt II, an industrial designer. He also had a younger half-brother, director and lighting designer Peter H. Hunt. His mother was from a German-Jewish family. His father was from Minnesota, and was a Mayflower descendant, of English origin.[3][4]

He had been working as a freelance director in New York City before being hired to work at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, where he served as their casting director for ten years. He was then hired by Joseph Barbera to direct animated series at Hanna-Barbera. His first voice directing job was Partridge Family 2200 A.D. in 1974.[5]

With a prestigious twenty-year career at Hanna-Barbera, Hunt was now prominent in the voiceover forum, where he was a freelance director for multiple animated productions and video games. As a voice actor, he voiced the character of Wally in the animated adaptation of the comic strip Dilbert. He has often worked alongside colleague voice directors Ginny McSwain, Andrea Romano, Kris Zimmerman and Jamie Thomason. McSwain, Romano and Zimmerman had studied under him as animation casting directors and learned the profession from Hunt before becoming voice directors themselves. Andrea Romano considers him to be her mentor, who makes actors feel so comfortable and relaxed that she said, "Nobody does not like Gordon".[6]

He directed many television series, of which most were situation comedies. In 1996, he received the Directors Guild of America Award; "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series" for Mad About You's episode The Alan Brady Show. Hunt also voice directed multiple video games. Among the games he worked on are Pandemonium, the God of War series, Lair, Final Fantasy XIV, Blur, the Legacy of Kain series, and the Uncharted series. He also served as motion capture director on Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

Personal life

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He was the father of actress Helen Hunt[1] from his marriage to photographer Jane Elizabeth Novis; they later divorced. He later married voice actress B.J. Ward in 1995, they remained married until Hunt's death in 2016.[1]

Death

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Hunt died in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, December 17, 2016[2] of complications from Parkinson's disease at the age of 87.[7][1]

Filmography

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Recording director

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Animated television series
Year Title Notes
1974 ABC Afterschool Specials Episode: "Cyrano"
1974–1975 Partridge Family 2200 A.D.
These Are the Days
1975–1978 The Great Grape Ape Show
1980 The Flintstone Comedy Show
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
1980–1983 The All New Popeye Hour
1981 The Kwicky Koala Show
1980–1981 The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
1980–1982 Super Friends
1980–1984 The Richie Rich Show
1981–1982 Laverne & Shirley in the Army
Trollkins
Space Stars
1981–1989 The Smurfs
1982 The Gary Coleman Show
1982–1983 Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour Recording director for Laverne & Shirley
The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour
Pac-Man
1982–1984 The Little Rascals
Shirt Tales
1983 The Dukes
Monchhichis
1983–1984 The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
The Biskitts
ABC Weekend Specials 3 episodes
1984–1985 Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
Challenge of the GoBots
1984–1986 Pink Panther and Sons
1984–1988 Yogi's Treasure Hunt
1984–1989 Snorks
1985 The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible
Galtar and the Golden Lance
CBS Storybreak 11 episodes
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
1985–1986 The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians
Paw Paws
1985–1987 The Jetsons 1980s revival of the original show
1986 Wildfire
1986–1987 The New Adventures of Jonny Quest
Pound Puppies
1986–1988 Foofur
The Flintstone Kids
1987 Sky Commanders
Popeye and Son
1988 The New Yogi Bear Show
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley Recording Director for "Ed Grimley" and "Amazing Gustav Brothers" segments
Casting Director for "Count Floyd" segment
1988–1990 Fantastic Max
1988–1991 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
1989–1990 The Further Adventures of SuperTed
Paddington Bear
1990 Gravedale High
Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone
1990–1991 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures
Wake, Rattle, and Roll Animated segments only
The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda
Timeless Tales from Hallmark
1990–1994 Tom & Jerry Kids
1991 Yo Yogi!
1991–1993 The Pirates of Dark Water
1992 Fish Police
1992–1993 The Addams Family
1992–1995 Capitol Critters
1993–1994 Droopy, Master Detective
Exosquad
Mighty Max
Animated Classic Showcase
1993–1995 Captain Planet and the Planeteers 33 episodes
1996–2000 Adventures from the Book of Virtues
2000–2001 God, the Devil and Bob

Animated specials and films

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Animated specials and films
Year Title Notes
1982 Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper
1983 Lucky Luke: The Daltons on the Run English Version
1987 The Little Troll Prince
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones
Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers
Yogi's Great Escape
Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats
Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose
Rock Odyssey
'Tis The Season to Be Smurfy
1988 Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School
The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound
Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears
Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
Rockin' with Judy Jetson
1989 Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration
1990 The Yum Yums: The Day Things Went Sour
Jetsons: The Movie
1992 Tom and Jerry: The Movie
Monster in My Pocket: The Big Scream
1993 I Yabba-Dabba Do!
Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby
Jonny's Golden Quest
Nick and Noel
The Halloween Tree
The Town Santa Forgot
A Flintstone Family Christmas
Once Upon a Forest
1994 The Pagemaster
The Bears Who Saved Christmas

Animated shorts

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Animated specials and movies
Year Title Notes
1987 The Duxorcist Daffy Duck cartoon
1988 The Night of the Living Duck Daffy Duck cartoon
1998 Chicken Little

Video games

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Video games
Year Title Notes
1996 Pandemonium
Blazing Dragons
1999 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
2001 Soul Reaver 2
2002 Blood Omen 2
2003 Star Trek: Elite Force II
The Italian Job
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
2004 ShellShock: Nam '67
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
2005 SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs
SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo
2006 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 2
SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Combined Assault
2007 God of War II
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Lair
2009 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
2010 God of War III
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Final Fantasy XIV
Blur
2011 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Actor: animated and film roles

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Actor
Year Title Role Notes
1984 Crimes of Passion Group Leader Live-Action role
1985 Waiting to Act Acting Coach Lars Live-Action role
1989 Cheers Gordon Episode: "The Two Faces of Norm"
1991 (Blooper) Bunny Director / Man in Audience / Movers Animated short
Trancers II Mustard Man Live-Action role
1992–1993 The Addams Family Additional voices Animated series
1992–1995 Capitol Critters Additional voices "The KiloWatts Riot"
1993 Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby Additional voices Television animated movie
1993–1994 Bonkers Additional voices "A Woolly Bully," "Fall-Apart Land"
1998 Mad About You TV Host Episode: "Paul Slips in the Shower"
1999–2000 Dilbert Wally Animated series
2013 I Know That Voice Himself Documentary

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Steve Marble (December 20, 2016). "Gordon Hunt, director, voice actor and father of Helen Hunt, dies at 87. - LATimes.com". latimes.com. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Gray, Tim (December 20, 2016). "Gordon Hunt, Director and Helen Hunt's Father, Dies at 87". Variety. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021 – via Yahoo!.
  3. ^ Helen Hunt ancestry
  4. ^ Robinson, George (February 13, 2008). "Then She Found Me'". The New York Jewish Week. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  5. ^ Gilbert-Hill, Richard (March 16, 2005). "Interview with Gordon Hunt, Director, Part 1". Now Casting. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013.
  6. ^ "Talking Toons With Rob Paulsen: Episode 16 with Guest: Andrea Romano". Talking Toons With Rob Paulsen.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Barnes, Mike (December 20, 2016). "Gordon Hunt, Director, Acting Teacher and Father of Helen Hunt, Dies at 87". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
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