Editing Jack Mercer

{{short description|American voice actor (1910–1984)}}
{{About|the voice actor|the English cricketer|Jack Mercer (cricketer)|the American baseball player|Jack Mercer (baseball)}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Jack Mercer
| image         = Jackmercer.jpg
| alt           = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption       = Mercer in 1978
| birth_name    = Winfield Bennett Mercer<ref name="marriage">''Florida, County Marriage Records, 1823–1982''</ref>
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1910|01|31|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Worthington, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1984|12|07|1910|01|31|mf=y}}
| death_place   = [[New York City]], U.S.
| occupation    = {{hlist|Voice actor|animator|screenwriter}} 
| years_active  = 1932–1984
| notable_works = ''[[Popeye the Sailor (film series)|Popeye the Sailor]]''
| spouse        = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Margie Hines]]|1939|1950|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Virginia Caroll|1950<!--As marriage ended by death of Mercer, not by death of his spouse, the year 1984 is omitted here. See instructions on [[Template:Marriage]] for more info-->}}
}}
}}
'''Winfield Bennett Mercer'''<ref name="marriage"/> (January 31, 1910 – December 7, 1984), known professionally as '''Jack Mercer''', was an American voice actor. He is best known as the voice of cartoon characters [[Popeye|Popeye the Sailor Man]] and [[Felix the Cat]]. The son of [[vaudeville]] and [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] performers, he also performed on the vaudeville and legitimate stages.

==Popeye the Sailor==
Mercer began his work in [[cartoon]]s as an "[[Inbetweening|inbetweener]]", an apprentice animator at [[Fleischer Studios]]. Mercer liked to imitate voices,<ref>As noted in an interview made around 2010, included on the DVD set ''[[Popeye the Sailor: 1938-1940, Volume 2]]''</ref> including one close call when he mimicked the high-pitched and loud voice of the wife of one of the Fleischers after he mistakenly thought she had left the studio.

When [[William "Billy" Costello|William Costello]], the original cartoon voice of Popeye (1933–1935), became difficult to work with, he was dismissed. Mercer had begun imitating Costello's interpretation of Popeye, and he practiced it until his voice "cracked" just right and he had it down. Searching for a replacement for Costello, [[Lou Fleischer]] heard Mercer singing the Popeye theme song and gave him the job of doing the voice. Mercer's first cartoon was 1935's ''King of the Mardi Gras''.

Mercer voiced Popeye for more than 40 years, first for the Fleischers, then for [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]'s [[Famous Studios]] cartoons (1942–1957), then for a series of television cartoons for [[King Features Syndicate]] (1961), and finally for a Saturday-morning cartoon show (1978-1983) produced by [[William Hanna]] and [[Joseph Barbera]]. Mercer also read the lines for the opening segment of the 1980 [[Popeye (film)|the live action film]]; the film's regular role of Popeye was played by [[Robin Williams]].

==Other voice work==
Mercer also did other cartoon voices. In the ''Popeye'' cartoons he also voiced Wimpy, Poopdeck Pappy, and Popeye's nephews. For Fleischer's feature film ''[[Gulliver's Travels (1939 film)|Gulliver's Travels]]'' he voiced King Little, Twinkletoes the carrier pigeon, and the bumbling spies Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch. He played supporting characters Mr.&nbsp;Bumble and Swat (the Fly) for Fleischer's second feature ''[[Mister Bug Goes to Town]]''. He was also regularly cast with [[Pinto Colvig]] (who voiced [[Gabby (cartoon)|Gabby]] from ''Gulliver's Travels'' and the [[Spin-off (media)|spinoff]] ''[[Gabby (film series)|Gabby]]'' film series). Mercer also played numerous supporting characters in Fleischer's ''[[Superman (1940s animated film series)|Superman]]'' series of 1941–1942. Mercer's natural voice was relatively high-pitched for a man, and he was able to do some of the female voices as well.

Beginning in 1958 Mercer also provided all the voices for the ''[[Felix the Cat (TV series)|Felix the Cat]]'' TV cartoons, including The Professor and Rock Bottom, produced by former Paramount animator [[Joe Oriolo]]. Mercer later worked with Oriolo on ''[[The Mighty Hercules]]''.

In addition to his vocal talents, Mercer was also a prolific comedy writer. He wrote hundreds of scripts for various cartoon series at [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]], including a number of ''Popeye'' episodes, as well as for television's ''[[Deputy Dawg]]'' and ''[[Milton the Monster]]''.

Jack Mercer appeared as himself on a 1973 episode of ''[[To Tell the Truth]]'', receiving one of four possible votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=To Tell the Truth |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0aEgVD4Z9Q |website=[[CBS]] | date=September 16, 2014 |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Mercer's first wife was [[Margie Hines]], who provided the voice of [[Olive Oyl]] from 1939 to 1944.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081214211743/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,789548,00.html Milestone column. Time Magazine March 20, 1939]</ref><ref name="divorce">"Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database, ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK7F-LKK : 22 December 2019), Jack W Mercer and Marjorie Mercer, 1950; from "Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database and images, ''Ancestry'' (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Dade, Florida, certificate 11372, volume 517, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville.</ref> They were divorced in 1950. He later married Virginia Caroll, and the couple remained married until Mercer's death in 1984.<ref name="query.nytimes.com">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E1D71538F93AA35751C1A962948260 "Jack Mercer, Provided Voice Of Popeye in Film Cartoons" (obituary)] ''[[The New York Times]]'' (December 9, 1984). Retrieved March 12, 2007.</ref>

Originally a resident of New York City, Mercer moved to Miami, Florida, when Fleischer Studios relocated there in 1938. After Famous Studios took over the Popeye cartoons, Mercer moved back to New York by early 1944. In the late 1970s he lived briefly in Los Angeles but moved back to New York City to live in [[Woodside, Queens]].{{cn|date=October 2024}}

==Death==
He died at [[Lenox Hill Hospital]] in [[Manhattan]] on December 7, 1984, after [[stomach cancer]]-related problems.<ref name="query.nytimes.com"/>

==Filmography==
===Voice acting===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1935–1957|| ''[[Popeye the Sailor (film series)|Popeye]]'' || Popeye || Voice, uncredited
|-
|1939|| ''[[Gulliver's Travels (1939 film)|Gulliver's Travels]]'' || King Little / Royal Chef / Snoop<ref name="CartoonVoices1">{{cite book|last1=Scott|first1=Keith|title=Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 1|date=3 October 2022|publisher=BearManor Media|language=en}}</ref> || Voice, Uncredited
|-
|1941|| ''[[Mr. Bug Goes to Town]]'' || Mr. Bumble / Swat / Insects<ref name="CartoonVoices1" /> || Voice
|-
|1959–1960|| ''[[Felix the Cat (TV series)|Felix the Cat]]'' || All characters || Voice, 126 episodes
|-
|1960–1962|| ''[[Popeye the Sailor (TV series)|Popeye the Sailor]]'' || Popeye / Wimpy / Poopdeck Pappy || Voice
|-
|1963|| ''[[The New Casper Cartoon Show]]'' || Bear / Stork / Spooky || Voice, 2 episodes
|-
|1963–1964|| ''[[The Mighty Hercules]]'' || Newton / Daedalus / Teron / Additional voices || Voice, 12 episodes
|-
|1965–1968|| ''[[Milton the Monster]]'' || Additional voices || Voice<ref>{{cite web |title=Milton The Monster Episode Guide |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204055023/http://www.davemackey.com/animation/seeger/milton/milteps.html |website=Dave Mackey |access-date=31 December 2024 |date=4 February 2012}}</ref>
|-
|1972|| ''[[Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter]]'' || Popeye / Wimpy || Voice
|-
|1978–1983|| ''[[The All-New Popeye Hour]]'' || Popeye / Poopdeck Pappy / Pipeye / Peepeye || Voice, recurring role
|-
|1980|| ''[[Popeye (film)|Popeye]]'' || Popeye - Animated Prologue || Voice, (final film role)
|}

===Writer===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Notes
|-
|1942–1957|| ''[[Popeye the Sailor (film series)|Popeye]]'' || Story writer
|-
|1960–1961|| ''[[Popeye the Sailor (TV series)|Popeye the Sailor]]'' || 19 episodes
|-
|1963|| ''[[Deputy Dawg|The Deputy Dawg Show]]'' || 2 episodes
|-
|1965–1968|| ''[[Milton the Monster]]'' || 
|-
|1978|| ''[[Dinky Dog]]'' || 16 episodes
|-
|1978–1981|| ''[[The All-New Popeye Hour]]'' || 
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Grandinetti, Fred and Braun, Dan. ''I Yam What I Yam: The Works Of Jack Mercer, Popeye's Voice''

==External links==
* {{find a Grave|8076636}} 
* {{IMDb name|id=0580271|name= Jack Mercer}}
* [http://www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/Mercerhines.jpg 1939 publicity photo of Mercer and Hines announcing their marriage]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10OeY3FN1J4 Jack Mercer on ''To Tell the Truth'']


{{Popeye}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Jack}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American screenwriters]]
[[Category:American male radio actors]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:American television writers]]
[[Category:Animal impersonators]]
[[Category:Animators from Indiana]]
[[Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Famous Studios people]]
[[Category:Fleischer Studios people]]
[[Category:Hanna-Barbera people]]
[[Category:Male actors from Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures contract players]]
[[Category:Popeye]]
[[Category:People from Woodside, Queens]]