Editing The Flintstones (section)

==Voice-actor details==
Fred Flintstone physically resembles both the first voice actor who played him, [[Alan Reed]], and [[Jackie Gleason]], whose series, ''[[The Honeymooners]]'', inspired ''The Flintstones''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/article/flintstones-hanna-barbera-found-shameless-rip-work-204382|title=In The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera found a shameless rip-off that worked|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=May 12, 2014|last=VanDerWerff|first=Emily|access-date=October 6, 2019|archive-date=August 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813121314/http://www.avclub.com/article/flintstones-hanna-barbera-found-shameless-rip-work-204382|url-status=live}}</ref> The voice of Barney Rubble was provided by voice actor Mel Blanc, except for five episodes during the second season (the first, second, fifth, sixth, and ninth); Hanna-Barbera regular [[Daws Butler]] filled in and provided the voice of Barney while Blanc was incapacitated by a near-fatal car accident in 1961.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://metv.com/stories/mel-blanc-had-to-record-barney-rubble-lines-from-bed-after-a-terrible-car-wreck|title=Mel Blanc had to record Barney Rubble lines from a hospital bed after a terrible car wreck|date=2020-02-28|access-date=2021-11-09|website=[[MeTV]]|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110000346/https://metv.com/stories/mel-blanc-had-to-record-barney-rubble-lines-from-bed-after-a-terrible-car-wreck|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=How a Car Crash Nearly Killed the Voice of Bugs Bunny|url=https://thenewswheel.com/how-a-car-crash-nearly-killed-the-voice-of-bugs-bunny/|last=DiManna|first=Daniel|date=2020-11-20|access-date=2021-11-09|work=The Newswheel|archive-date=May 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525222526/https://thenewswheel.com/how-a-car-crash-nearly-killed-the-voice-of-bugs-bunny/|url-status=live}}</ref> Blanc was able to return to the series sooner than expected because a temporary recording studio for the cast was set up at his bedside.<ref>{{Cite news|title=How Being Bugs Bunny Saved Mel Blanc's Life After A Near-Fatal Accident|url=https://www.throwbacks.com/how-being-bugs-bunny-saved-mel-blancs-life-after-a-near-fatal-accident/|date=2017-08-29|access-date=2021-11-09|work=Throwback|archive-date=November 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109235010/https://www.throwbacks.com/how-being-bugs-bunny-saved-mel-blancs-life-after-a-near-fatal-accident/|url-status=live}}</ref> Blanc's Barney voice varied from nasally to deep before the accident, as he and Barbera, who directed the sessions with Alan Dinehart, explored the right level in relation to comedy and other characters. Blanc uses both Barney voices in one of the earliest episodes, "The Prowler."<ref>{{Citation |title=The Flintstones - The Complete First Season |date=August 15, 2006 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Flintstones-Complete-First-Season/dp/B0001CNQUS/ref=sr_1_2?crid=V8YWOOV07KY4&keywords=the+Flintstones+the+prowler&qid=1664594113&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjg5IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ==&sprefix=the+flintstones+the+prowler,aps,147&sr=8-2&pldnSite=1 |access-date=2022-10-01 |archive-date=May 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525222525/https://www.amazon.com/Flintstones-Complete-First-Season/dp/B0001CNQUS/ref=sr_1_2?crid=V8YWOOV07KY4&keywords=the+Flintstones+the+prowler&qid=1664594113&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjg5IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ==&sprefix=the+flintstones+the+prowler,aps,147&sr=8-2&pldnSite=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Reed was insistent on playing Fred in a relatively natural speaking voice, rather than a broad, "cartoony" style. Few animated short cartoons used this "straightforward" method, except for experimental studios like UPA and feature films with more realistic characters. The performances of Reed and the cast, combined with the writing, helped to ground the animated world of ''The Flintstones'' in a relatable reality. The dialogue style of ''The Flintstones'' set a precedent for acting in animation that continues to exist today, and is sometimes falsely attributed in modern animated productions as "revolutionary."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reed |first=Alan |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/298264275 |title=Yabba dabba doo : or never a star : the Alan Reed story |date=2009 |others=Ben Ohmart |isbn=978-1-59393-313-5 |location=Albany, GA |oclc=298264275 |access-date=October 1, 2022 |archive-date=May 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525222529/https://search.worldcat.org/title/298264275 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a 1986 ''[[Playboy]]'' interview, Gleason said that Reed had done voice-overs for Gleason in his early movies, and that he had considered suing Hanna-Barbera for copying ''The Honeymooners'', but decided to let it pass.<ref name="zehme-playboy">{{cite web|url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/jackie-gleason-1986-interview/index.html?page=2|title=Jackie Gleason – Playboy Interview – Life History|interviewer-last=Zehme|interviewer-first=Bill|date=August 1986|access-date=July 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827152540/http://www.playboy.com/articles/jackie-gleason-1986-interview/index.html?page=2|archive-date=August 27, 2009}}</ref> According to [[Henry Corden]], a voice actor and a friend of Gleason's (who would subsequently take over the role of Fred from Reed after his death in 1977), "Jackie's lawyers told him he could probably have ''The Flintstones'' pulled right off the air. But they also told him, 'Do you want to be known as the guy who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air? The guy who took away a show so many kids love and so many parents love, too?'"<ref>{{cite book| last = Brooks| first = Marla| title = The American family on television: A chronology of 121 shows, 1948–2004| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hyTuAAAAMAAJ| year = 2005| publisher = McFarland & Co.| isbn = 978-0-7864-2074-2| page = 54 }}</ref>

Henry Corden first spoke for Fred Flintstone on the 1965 record album ''Songs From Mary Poppins'', then continued doing the voice for most other Flintstone records on the label.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saving Mr. Flintstone {{!}} |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/saving-mr-flintstone/ |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=cartoonresearch.com |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805225101/https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/saving-mr-flintstone/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Around the same time, Corden was providing Fred's singing voice in two films being produced at the studio: the 1966 special ''[[Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid like You Doing in a Place like This?|Alice in Wonderland, or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?]]'' and the 1966 feature film ''[[The Man Called Flintstone]]''. Corden assumed the role completely after Reed's death in 1977, starting with the TV special, ''[[A Flintstone Christmas]]''.<ref>"[https://archive.today/20120723235456/http://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/28593-Flintstone_Christmas.html A Flintstone Christmas]". ''www.bcdb.com'', April 12, 2012</ref>

Since 2000, [[Jeff Bergman]], [[James Arnold Taylor]], and [[Scott Innes]], who performs both Fred and Barney for [[Toshiba]] commercials, have performed the voice of Fred. Since Mel Blanc's death in 1989, Barney has been voiced by [[Jeff Bergman]], [[Frank Welker]], [[Scott Innes]], and [[Kevin Michael Richardson]]. Various additional character voices were performed by [[Hal Smith (actor)|Hal Smith]], [[Allan Melvin]], [[Janet Waldo]], Daws Butler, and [[Howard Morris]], among others.