George O'Hanlon is George Jetson
Born on November 23, 1912, George Samuel O’Hanlon, in the years prior to The Jetsons, was best known for his role as Joe McDoakes in a series of live-action short films produced by Warner Bros. Outside of that, he was mostly a character actor, moving from project to project and he was also a writer, penning scripts for shows like The Flintstones and Petticoat Junction. Speaking of The Flintstones, he actually auditioned for the role of Fred, which ultimately went to Alan Reed, but he was remembered by producers when casting began for The Jetsons. Regarding playing George Jetson, the New York Times quotes him as saying, “George Jetson is a very average man. He has trouble with his boss, he has problems with his kids, and so on. The only difference is that he lives in the next century.”
George gave George Jetson his voice in every version of The Jetsons, although for the 1980s revival he had suffered a stroke and was rendered blind with limited mobility as a result. For that reason, he chose to record alone in the booth, with someone feeding him the lines that he repeated into the mic. On February 11, 1989, he suffered a second stroke while in the midst of recording his role in Jetsons: The Movie, and sadly passed away in the booth.
Penny Singleton is Jane Jetson
Prior to The Jetsons, the actress, who was born on September 15, 1908, was best known as Blondie Bumstead — based on the Blondie newspaper comic strip — between 1938 and 1950, and even voiced her on radio from 1939 to 1950. She voiced the character of Jane Jetson originally in the 1962-63 season, and did so again for the revival series in the 1980s, various specials and then 1990’s Jetsons: The Movie. Sadly, she died following a stroke on November 12, 2003.
Daws Butler is Elroy Jetson
Daws Butler is Elroy Jetson Daws, who was born on November 16, 1916, did voice work from 1957 to 1978, with many of his characters likely filling your childhood. Among the animated characters he brought to life are Baba Looey and the title character from Quick Draw McGraw, Barney Rubble on a handful of episodes of The Flintstones, Cap’n Crunch from the TV commercials, Huckleberry Hound, Peter Potamus, Snoopy in Snoopy Come Home, and Yogi Bear. He passed away from a heart attack on May 18, 1988.
Janet Waldo is Judy Jetson
Janet enjoyed a career filled with roles in radio, film, and on TV. Born February 4, 1919, she co-starred in the early (1949-50) sitcom Young Love, had a recurring role on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and spent eight seasons starring in the CBS radio series Meet Corliss Archer. Fans of I Love Lucy can catch her in the episode “The Young Fans,” where she is romantically infatuated with Ricky Ricardo. She voiced the character of Judy Jetson in every version of The Jetsons, although after voicing her for Jetsons: The Movie the controversial decision was made to have pop singer Tiffany — pop flavor of the moment in 1990 — re-record the dialogue and replace her. In a bit of poetic justice, the film tanked and many critics pointed out Tiffany’s awful performance. Janet passed away on June 12, 2016 at the age of 97.
Don Messick is Astro
Don is another actor who will be more recognizable to you from the famous characters that he brought to vocal life. Among them are Droopy Dog, Boo-Boo Bear and Ranger Smith from Yogi Bear, Bamm-Bamm Rubble on The Flintstones, Muttley from Wacky Races, and, of course, Scooby-Doo, who we still think of as Astro’s great-great-great grandfather or something. Two memorable Astro lines on The Jetsons: “Rut-roe, Reorge” and, when George was shrunk to tiny size, “Rook at the rimp; rook at the rimp!” Don was born on September 7, 1926, and passed away on October 24, 1997.
Jean Vander Pyl is Rosie the Robot
Wilma Flintstone was two-timing it on Fred with George Jetson! Well, sort of. In truth, while actress Jean Vander Pyl (born October 11, 1919) was voicing Wilma on The Flintstones, she took on the role of Rosie the Robot on The Jetsons. Prior to both, she enjoyed a successful career in radio, including as Margaret Anderson on Father Knows Best. She made a number of guest appearances on TV shows, but continued voicing both Wilma and Rosie until her death on April 10, 1999.
Mel Blanc is Mister Spaceley
George's boss was brought to life by the acclaimed "man of a thousand voices," Mel Blanc. He, of course, was also the voice of Barney Rubble on The Flintstones and was the man behind all of the Looney Tune characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pigg, Elmer Fudd, etc.). Born May 30, 1908, Mel was a regular on The Jack Benny Program, both the radio and television versions. His last work was as Mr. Spacely in 1990's Jetsons: The Movie, released following his July 10, 1989 death.