William B. "Bill" Lee was an American playback singer, who provided a voice or singing voice in many films, for actors in musicals and for many Disney characters. As the baritone member of The Mellomen singing quartet, some of his singing roles in Disney productions included a card painter in Alice in Wonderland, one of the Pirates and the Indians in Peter Pan, one of the dogs in the pound in Lady and the Tramp, the singing voice of Roger Radcliffe in One Hundred and One Dalmatians, the ram in Mary Poppins, and the singing voice of Shere Khan and one of the singing elephants in The Jungle Book. In the Disney parks, he provided voices for attractions, such as Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, The Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, and America Sings.
Lee was born on August 21, 1916, in Johnson, Nebraska, and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. He initially began in music as a trombone player, but after singing in several college vocal groups, he decided to concentrate on his voice. He served as an ensign in the United States Navy during World War II, then moved to Hollywood upon discharge. He gained income through singing in commercials for radio and television before singing the lead in a 1953 Gordon Jenkins made-for-record musical entitled Seven Dreams.
Much of Lee's best-known work is as part of the popular singing quartet known as The Mellomen, founded by Thurl Ravenscroft. Outside of Disney productions, the group contributed to films, such as It Happened at the World's Fair, The Glenn Miller Story, Gay Purr-ee, Horton Hears a Who! (1970), Charlotte's Web (1973), and The Hobbit. However, Lee has done some solo work as well. While acting in productions, such as State Fair, The Alvin Show, Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!, Tom and Jerry, and 1965's Cinderella, he gained work as a ghost singer for actors, like Tom Drake (Words and Music), Matt Mattox (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), John Kerr (South Pacific), Edson Stroll (Snow White and the Three Stooges), Christopher Plummer (The Sound of Music), and John Gavin (Thoroughly Modern Millie). Lee also sang the Bat Masterson theme song which aired 1958 to 1961.
Lee died of a brain tumor on November 15, 1980, in Los Angeles, California.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Alice in Wonderland | Card Painter | with The Mellomen |
| 1953 | Peter Pan | Pirates Indians |
with The Mellomen |
| 1954 | Pigs Is Pigs | Singer | |
| 1955 | Lady and the Tramp | Dog | with The Mellomen |
| 1956 | Westward Ho, the Wagons! | Singing voice for George Reeves | |
| 1957-1959 | Zorro | Diego de la Vega (singing voice) | |
| 1958 | Paul Bunyan | Chorus | with The Mellomen |
| 1961 | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | Roger Radcliffe (singing voice) | |
| 1961 | Donald and the Wheel | Voice | with The Mellomen |
| 1964 | Mary Poppins | Ram | |
| 1967 | The Jungle Book | Singing elephant Shere Khan (singing voice) |
|
| 1968 | Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day | Honeypot Quartet | with The Mellomen |
Discography
- 1966 All About Dragons - Vocalist
Roles
(Disneyland LP; Songs From Walt Disney's Mary Poppins)
(Disneyland LP; Songs From Walt Disney's Mary Poppins)
(Children's Riddles and Game Songs)
Gallery
Trivia
- For the song "That's What Friends Are For?", Lee sang for Shere Khan though for years it was commonly believed that Thurl Ravenscroft. Richard M. Sherman confirmed this fact on the audio commentary on its 2007 DVD release. George Sanders, Shere Khan's voice actor, was not available for the finalized recording.
- For the million-selling second-cast Disneyland album of Mary Poppins, Lee performs as Bert and Mr. Banks.
- He has appeared as Goofy in the 1965 LP Children's Riddles and Game Songs.
- At the Disney theme parks, he is the voice of Melvin the moose in Country Bear Jamboree.
