Comments on: Who was the narrator of Peter and the Wolf in the 1950s?

Question: Who was the narrator of Peter and the Wolf in the 1950s?

robbie01 — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 00:15:06 -0800

Name that narrator! My mom just sent me on a (fruitless) Google/Amazon quest to find a narrator from a 1950s vinyl recorded version of Peter and the Wolf.

The only details she can remember about the narrator was that his voice was "shaky", he maybe "sounded gay" and it was somewhat high-pitched, but a very good performance. She thinks he would be pretty well known for the era and (will) recognize the name when she hears it, but so far any lists I could find of narrators of this piece (and audio samples on Amazon) didn't set off any lightbulbs.

By: Alylex

Alylex — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 00:45:43 -0800

I think I had the same record as a kid, but Peter and the Wolf was standard fare for orchestra recitals for school field trips. Well, maybe it will show up on this list of Peter and the Wolf recordings?

By: aiko

aiko — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 02:37:01 -0800

Richard Hale? Sound sample on amazon.

By: aiko

aiko — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 02:40:32 -0800

Also, I'm not sure which Hale recording is on that CD; he did at least three different ones of P&TW, including one in the 50s.

By: Lotto

Lotto — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 05:10:36 -0800

Dame Edna Everage? AKA Barry Humphries.. would account for the "sounding gay".

By: puckupdate

puckupdate — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 05:23:40 -0800

Is it Danny Kaye? There's some kind of link I don't quite understand between Peter and the Wolf and Tubby the Tuba: http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/reviews/PeterRabbit.html

By: bystander

bystander — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 05:25:51 -0800

I had one with Peter Ustinov narrating. I thought it was cool when I was young, but I'm not sure if he sounds gay? Maybe the euro accented english and the very cultured tones didn't sound very butch.

By: subatomiczoo

subatomiczoo — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 05:28:34 -0800

Peter Ustinov's version was very popular, tho he may have done it in the early 60's. He got a grammy for it.

By: cosmicbandito

cosmicbandito — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 06:40:42 -0800

The Ustinov is the one I remember from my childhoiod days

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 07:26:46 -0800

my guess is sterling holloway ... he also did the voice for winnie the pooh

By: sol

sol — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 07:51:14 -0800

Growing up, I had an excelent vinyl recording of Tubby the Tuba narrated by Julia Child. Could it have been one of the series?

Not knowing it was her, you might confuse her voice as a male that "sounded gay" and was "shakey."

By: robbie01

robbie01 — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 08:13:58 -0800

GOLD STAR for Pyramid Termite! It was Sterling Holloway. Thanks. No more sleepless nights.