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One of the performers on the Hoot Owls program, Mel Blanc, achieved fame as the author of cartoon characterization in later years in Hollywood where he became the nation’s voice for cartoon characters such as Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny. Blanc, who received his high school education in Portland, joined the program in 1927. Nicknamed "The Grand Snicker" on the Hoot Owls, Blanc became well known for his comedy, as well as his skills as a storyteller, ad-libber, musician, vocalist, and, later, orchestra pit conductor.
Mel Blanc left KGW in 1932 and moved to Hollywood where success eluded him. In 1933, Blanc returned to Portland to perform on KGW’s sister station KEX in the popular "Cobwebs and Nuts" program. In 1935, Blanc moved to Hollywood again to Warner Brothers’ station KFWB. Blanc did the voices for his first Warner Brothers cartoon in 1937, "Picador Porky." While working on animated cartoons at Warner Brothers studios in Southern California, he became known as the "man of a thousand voices."
During his early years in Portland radio, Blanc laid the foundation for many of his later cartoon voices and comedy routines.
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