Noel Blanc

Noel Blanc, who has taken over doing the voices of Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny since his father's death a year ago, says he learned to do them as a toddler. "At 2 and 3 years old, I used to sit on my father's knee and make him read me the Sunday features and any comic books I could find," Mel Blanc's son said in the July 7 issue of TV Guide.

Cartoon voice actor Noel Blanc will not be charged with manslaughter in a fatal 1991 collision above the Santa Paula Airport because he did not violate any rules while piloting a helicopter, county prosecutors said Wednesday. The crash between the Bell JetRanger flown by Blanc and a Pitts S-2A stunt plane occurred 40 feet over the runway as both craft attempted to take off. Killed in the collision were instructional pilot Leigh F.

Cartoon voice actor Noel Blanc will not be charged with manslaughter in a fatal 1991 collision above the Santa Paula Airport because he did not violate any rules while piloting a helicopter, county prosecutors said Wednesday. The crash between the Bell JetRanger flown by Blanc and a Pitts S-2A stunt plane occurred 40 feet over the runway as both craft attempted to take off. Killed in the collision were instructional pilot Leigh F.

The owner of a stunt plane involved in a fatal midair collision at Santa Paula Airport in 1991 has agreed to pay $15,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the parents of a student pilot who was killed. Robert Keenan offered to pay the money because contesting the lawsuit would have been much more expensive than settling, his attorney, Richard T. Miller, said in court documents.

Regarding the TV program "Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist," produced by Judy Chaikin, which aired on PBS Oct. 21, there were shocking historical inaccuracies: It stated that Dalton Trumbo's name "appeared" on "Spartacus." How? By magic? Serious risks were taken by "Spartacus's" producer Kirk Douglas. He was vilified, threatened, picketed and denounced by veterans' organizations, the Hollywood press and private citizens when he decided to put Trumbo's name on the picture. It stated that "things began to loosen up in the '60s."

The owner of a stunt plane involved in a fatal midair collision at Santa Paula Airport in 1991 has agreed to pay $15,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the parents of a student pilot who was killed. Robert Keenan offered to pay the money because contesting the lawsuit would have been much more expensive than settling, his attorney, Richard T. Miller, said in court documents.

Federal investigators at the scene of a midair collision that killed two men and injured three others, including actor Kirk Douglas, said Thursday that the accident was caused by the failure of the pilots of both aircraft to "see and avoid" each other. But, while officials placed blame on both craft, they said the Pitts aerobatic stunt plane taking off from Santa Paula Airport had the right of way when it collided with the Bell JetRanger helicopter.

It's all somewhat baffling to those who see inflation as a 2-cent increase on a pound of ground round. Or who carry their change in a squeeze purse. Yet the truth of the pricey matter is, while increases in the costs of living hover around 4.4% per annum, the cost of exotic and historic and arty things is surprising Sotheby's, the Saudis . . . even publisher Malcolm Forbes, the Cadillac Jack of modern collectors. "Those (prices) are aberrations that have nothing to do with art," Forbes said Wednesday in a telephone interview from New York.

No Charges: Ventura County prosecutors declined to press charges against voice actor Noel Blanc, the pilot in a helicopter carrying actor Kirk Douglas that collided with a light plane, killing its pilot and passenger. Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Grunert said prosecutors were unable to prove that Blanc, the son of the late cartoon voice artist Mel Blanc, was grossly negligent in the 1991 accident, a finding that would be required for charges of involuntary manslaughter.

Three more victims of two weekend plane crashes near Van Nuys Airport were identified Monday, and homeowner leaders seized upon the accidents as evidence that the airport needs to further reduce flights. "This airport is simply too busy for a residential community," said Donald Schultz of Van Nuys, president of Ban Airport Noise. "And these disasters add to the proof."

Federal investigators at the scene of a midair collision that killed two men and injured three others, including actor Kirk Douglas, said Thursday that the accident was caused by the failure of the pilots of both aircraft to "see and avoid" each other. But, while officials placed blame on both craft, they said the Pitts aerobatic stunt plane taking off from Santa Paula Airport had the right of way when it collided with the Bell JetRanger helicopter.

Noel Blanc, who has taken over doing the voices of Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny since his father's death a year ago, says he learned to do them as a toddler. "At 2 and 3 years old, I used to sit on my father's knee and make him read me the Sunday features and any comic books I could find," Mel Blanc's son said in the July 7 issue of TV Guide.

It's all somewhat baffling to those who see inflation as a 2-cent increase on a pound of ground round. Or who carry their change in a squeeze purse. Yet the truth of the pricey matter is, while increases in the costs of living hover around 4.4% per annum, the cost of exotic and historic and arty things is surprising Sotheby's, the Saudis . . . even publisher Malcolm Forbes, the Cadillac Jack of modern collectors. "Those (prices) are aberrations that have nothing to do with art," Forbes said Wednesday in a telephone interview from New York.

Regarding the TV program "Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist," produced by Judy Chaikin, which aired on PBS Oct. 21, there were shocking historical inaccuracies: It stated that Dalton Trumbo's name "appeared" on "Spartacus." How? By magic? Serious risks were taken by "Spartacus's" producer Kirk Douglas. He was vilified, threatened, picketed and denounced by veterans' organizations, the Hollywood press and private citizens when he decided to put Trumbo's name on the picture. It stated that "things began to loosen up in the '60s."

The family of a student pilot killed in a fiery plane and helicopter crash that also injured actor Kirk Douglas at Santa Paula Airport in 1991 has agreed to accept $650,000 to settle a lawsuit, an attorney said Monday. The insurance companies representing the airport, the state Department of Transportation, helicopter pilot Noel Blanc and the owner of the plane agreed to pay $650,000 in the settlement, said Jerry L. Steering, who represents the family of David Tomlinson.

Mel Blanc, the voice behind Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Sylvester and Tweety Bird, will join other Hollywood and San Diego celebrities at noon today to help celebrate the San Diego Humane Society's first Holiday Festival for the Animals. Tickets for the six-hour show at the Al Bahr Shrine Auditorium, 5440 Kearny Mesa Road, are $10 for adults, $5 for children, or $25 for a family of four. The festival will benefit the Humane Society's new mobile "Adopt Us!"