Carl Banas

Carl Banas (January 23, 1929 – April 1, 2020) was a Canadian radio personality and voice actor, known for his voice roles in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and The Raccoons (1980–1992). As a television actor, he appeared in the series Wojeck as police detective Byron James,^[1] and provided voices for numerous TV series and features. He was also known as a radio personality on Toronto radio stations CKFM-FM and MIX 99.9 (currently known as Virgin Radio 999) in the 1970s and 1980s. He mainly hosted weekday evenings, and was known for his deep voice, smooth manner, and vignettes about Toronto.^[2] Additionally, he performed live readings of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol every year before Christmas, utilizing his voice skills to play multiple characters. Polydor Records recorded and published one performance under the title Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Other Yuletide Favorites.

Carl Banas
Born	(1929-01-23)January 23, 1929 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	April 1, 2020(2020-04-01) (aged 91)
Other names	Carl Banis
Occupation(s)	Radio personality, actor
Years active	1959–1998

In 1987, Banas moved to CJEZ 97.3 "Easy 97" (later known as 97.3 EZ Rock and currently as "Boom 97.3") where he continued hosting weekday evenings until he left the station and retired from radio. Banas died on April 1, 2020, at the age of 91. ^[3]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1972	Festival of Family Classics	Multiple roles
1974	Vengeance is Mine	Radio announcer
1976	Noah's Animals	Lion	Voice
1976	Trillium, Affectionately Yours	Narrator	Voice
1978	Battle of York, 1813	Narrator
1989	Babar: The Movie	Old Tusk	Voice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1960	The New Adventures of Pinocchio	Cricket	130 episodes
1961	Tales of the Wizard of Oz	Dandy Lion, Wizard of Oz, Ham the Flying Monkey, Maxamillion Cinema, additional voices	Voice, main role; 68 episodes
1964	Return to Oz	Dandy Lion, Wizard of Oz	Voice, television film
1964	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer	Foreman Elf, Train with Square Wheels	Voice, television film[4]
1965	Prince Planet	Dan Dynamo
1966	The King Kong Show	Additional Voices
1966	Wojeck	Sgt. Byron James	20 episodes
1966	The Marvel Super Heroes	Bucky Barnes	Voice[5]
1967	Rocket Robin Hood	Titanor, Dr. Manta	Voice, 5 episodes
1967	Spider-Man	Scorpion, Charles Cameo, Dr. Manta	Voice, 5 episodes; uncredited
1968	Festival	Steve	Guest star; 1 episode
1969	The Smokey Bear Show	Gabby, Freddy Fume, Floyd Fox, additional voices	Voice, 2 episodes
1969	McQueen	Extra	1 episode
1970	The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show	Ugliola, King Herman, additional voices	Voice
1971	Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince	Sweetums	Voice, television film
1977	King of the Beasts	Lion	Voice, television film
1977	Math Patrol	Mr. Big	Main role; Voice
1978	The Little Brown Burro	Narrator	TV film
1980	Last of the Red-Hot Dragons	King Lion	Voice, television film
1980	The Christmas Raccoons	Schaeffer	Voice, television film[6]
1981	The Raccoons on Ice	Schaeffer	Voice, television film[6]
1981	News from Zoos	Charlie	Voice
1981	The Trolls and the Christmas Express	Additional voices	Voice, television film
1983	The Raccoons and the Lost Star	Schaeffer	Voice, television film[6]
1984	The Raccoons: Let's Dance!	Schaeffer	Voice, television film
1985	The Raccoons	Schaeffer, Mr. Mammoth, Bear, Mr. Willow, Squaredance Callar	Voice, main role; 44 episodes[6]
1987	Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater	Grandpa Kitty	Voice
1989	Babar	Old Tusk	Voice[6]
1993	The Busy World of Richard Scarry	Additional voices	36 episodes
1998	Dumb Bunnies	Grampa Uppity	1 episode