Gary Owens

Gary Owens
Years active at Hanna-Barbera	1966-1998
Years active at Warner Bros.	2008
Characters played	Space Ghost Perils of Penelope Pitstop narrator Blue Falcon Commander Ulysses Feral

Gary Bernard Altman, known by his stage name of Gary Owens, was an American radio announcer, personality, disc jockey and voice actor. He originated the voices of the Hanna-Barbera superheroes Space Ghost and Blue Falcon.

Owens died of Type 1 diabetes on February 12, 2015, at the age of 80.

Roles

20th century

• Space Ghost (1966-1967; 1981-1982)
  • Space Ghost
• The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969-1970)
  • Narrator
• Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (1976-1978)
  • Blue Falcon
• Laff-a-Lympics (1977-1978)
  • Blue Falcon
• 2 Stupid Dogs
• Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels (1977-1980)
  • Narrator
• Space Stars (1981-1982)
  • Space Ghost
• SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993-1994)
  • Commander Ulysses Feral
• What a Cartoon!
  • Announcer ("The Great Egg-Scape," 1997)
  • Commander ("The Great Egg-Scape," 1997)
• Dexter's Laboratory
  • Blue Falcon ("Dyno-Might," 1998)

21st century

• Johnny Bravo
  • Himself ("Johnny Makeover," 2004)
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008)
  • Space Ghost

Other roles

From 1968 to 1973, Owens was widely known as the announcer of the variety TV series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, whose baritone speaking voice contrasted with the whimsical nonsense of its hosts, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. He was also the host of its daytime panel game spin-off, Letters to Laugh-In.

Owens' first animated role was for the titular character of the Roger Ramjet TV series, which ran from 1965 to 1969.

On Sesame Street, Owens narrated the "Today's Secret Drawing" series and other animated inserts. In the week of test episodes, aired in summer 1969, he starred in "The Man from Alphabet", a comedic live-action insert.

Behind the scenes

• Owens voiced Space Ghost in the second test pilot to Space Ghost Coast to Coast, but was replaced by George Lowe when the series was picked up. Lowe's voice began by doing an impression of Owens, before realizing that his own voice better suited the Coast to Coast version.