Lionel Wilson was an American voice actor, reader of audiobooks, stage actor, and author of children's books. He was known for his roles from Tom Terrific through to his last role, voicing Eustace Bagge on the Cartoon Network's Courage the Cowardly Dog.
Career
As stage actor
Lionel Wilson's interest in acting on the stage began at an early age—his first professional stage performance was in 1936 at the age of twelve. A few years later, he was selected for the 1942 Barter Theatre Scholarship, which included summer in a kind of boot camp for aspiring thespians. Over the course of his career he played in at least 25 professional stage productions, including four on Broadway:
Dodsworth, as bellboy and as a lost boy. 1936.
Macbeth, as a witch and as a messenger. 1940.
The Merry Widow, as Nish. 1942, 1955, and 1958.
Janie, as Scooper Nolan, and Deadpan Hackett. Broadway, 1943–44.
The Male Animal, as Wally Meyers. 1944.
Good Morning Corporal, as Alvin Stacey. Broadway, 1944.
Kiss and Tell, as Dexter Franklin. Broadway, 1945–46.
My Sister Eileen, as Frank Lippincott. 1945–46.
Tenting Tonight, as Elliott Smollens. 1947.
Joan of Lorraine, as one of Joan's brothers. 1947.
Although his primary interest continued to be the stage, he also undertook supporting roles in several TV series. Since supporting roles are sometimes not credited, the following list is almost certainly not complete:
Martin Kane, Private Eye, unidentified episode, 1949. NBC TV.
The Silver Theater, as a snooper in “Till Death Do Us Part”, 1949. CBS TV.
Armstrong Circle Theater, as a clerk in “The Jackpot”, season 1, episode 2, 13 June 1950. NBC TV.
The Magic Cottage, as Father Time, 28 December 1950 and an unidentified 1954 episode. Unfortunately, most episodes have apparently been lost, along with the credits. DuMont TV.
The Aldrich Family, as George Bigelow, occasional unidentified episodes, 1952–53. NBC TV.
Broadway Television Theatre, as Kiwi in The Hasty Heart, season 3 episode 4, November 1953; as Scooper in Janie, season 3 episode 5, November 1953; as Leo Davis in Room Service, season 3 episode 14, January 1954. WOR-TV.
Valiant Lady, unidentified episodes, 1953–1957. CBS TV.
Search for Tomorrow unidentified episodes. CBS TV.
As voice actor
Wilson majored in Radio Production at New York University and an early venture in voiceover performance was in 1950, in the NBC radio show Top Secret. To provide an income more stable than that from stage acting he took on more voiceover work in the 1950s with television commercials. In 1957 Gene Deitch invited him to work at Terrytoons, voicing all the characters for the innovative cliffhanger cartoon seriesTom Terrific, including Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog and memorable baddie Crabby Appleton. He continued to be involved in Terrytoon cartoons and cartoon series and he also took on projects with other studios. In 1999, at the age of 75, Wilson landed the role of Eustace Bagge, the main antagonist on the Cartoon Networkanimated series Courage the Cowardly Dog, and he reprised that role in the Cartoon Network's Staylongers series in the summer of 2000. In 2001, having completed 33 Courage episodes, Wilson retired because of illness and was replaced by Arthur Anderson. Here is a more comprehensive list of Wilson's voiceover credits:
Top Secret, voicing Admiral Strassner voicing Karen Gaza in “The Admiral's Strange Identity”.
Tom Terrific series voicing all characters. The series consisted of 26 storylines, each of which had five 5-minute episodes.
John Doormat series of four episodes, voicing John Doormat and his wife.
Clint Clobber Theatrical Series voicing Miss O'Leery, radio announcer, and dog in the episodes Clint Clobber's Cat, Springtime for Clobber, and The Flamboyant Arms.
Gaston le Crayon voicing unidentified characters in "Gaston's Baby".
Sidney the Elephant series of 19 episodes, one of which, Sidney's Family Tree, was nominated for an Academy Award as best short subject in 1958.
Deputy Dawg as voice of Vincent Van Gopher and Possible Possum in unidentified episodes.
Many Moons, voicing Jester, Minstrel, Royal Mathematician, and Royal Wizard. This animated cartoon was later used as one segment of the 1965 film Alice of Wonderland in Paris.
The Hector Heathcote Show, repeating 16 of the Sidney the Elephant series.
The Possible Possum series of 37 shorts, voicing Possible Possum, Macon Mouse, Owlawishus Owl, Billy Bear and other minor characters.
Martian Moochers animated series, spun off from Possible Possum, voicing an unidentified character in the episode "Champion Chump".
The Mighty Heroes animated series of 20 seven-minute episodes, Ralph Bakshi's spoof of super avengers, voicing Rope Man, Cuckoo Man, and James Hound. Ten of these made-for-TV episodes were later released to theaters, some in expanded form.
The Astronut Show voicing Astronut in two episodes, Martian Moocher in one episode, and Cuckoo Man and Rope Man in one episode. This program also included repeats of the Sidney the Elephant series.
The Merry Makers voicing all characters in the four episodes.
The World of Hans Christian Andersen, an English-language version of a Japanese anime, dubbing Hannibal Mouse, Mayor, and Watchdog.
The Emperor's New Armor voicing part of the narration.
Winky Dink and You! voicing all characters in the 52 episodes.
Marco Polo Junior Versus the Red Dragon, an Australian full-length cartoon, voicing unidentified characters.
Enchanted Journey, the English-language release of a Japanese anime, dubbing the voice of Glikko.
Superbook , voicing miscellaneous voices in unidentified episodes.
Miracle at Intervale, voices by Lionel Wilson and six others.
The Season of Our Joy, script by Lionel Wilson, narration not credited.
Braingames, narrating Odd Card Out / Safari Solitaire and Mysteriosos / The Riddler in the six episodes.
Star Blazers, the English adaptation of the Japanese anime series Space Battleship Yamato, dubbing the voice of Jason Jetter in episodes 53-77.
The Secret of Mulan feature cartoon, voicing unidentified characters.
Courage the Cowardly Dog, voicing Eustace Bagge in 33 episodes, each comprising two segments.
Staylongers series, voicing Eustace Bagge.
A Filmography in International Movie Database as of 26 October 2018 lists a few additional voiceover credits but does not indicate the source of the information.
As audiobook narrator
In between his other activities, he narrated or helped narrate over 100 children's audiobooks.
As author
Wilson wrote a dozen books for children, the scripts for several of his audiobooks such as the Clifford series, and authored or co-authored the plays Pocket Full O'Rye, Simon Says, Oh Where Have You Been, Billy Boy, Come And Be Killed, and The Mischief on Merry Mountain.
Death
Wilson died of pneumonia on April 30, 2003, at the age of 79.
