Anecdotes

His parents divorced when he was about 7 years old. He moved with his mother to San Antonio, Texas where he was first aware of regional dialect. He had a childhood stutter problem.

Coached actor Forest Whitaker to an Oscar and Golden Globe with his Ugandan dialect as Idi Amin in Le Dernier Roi d'Écosse (2006).

After his marriage to June Grimstead, an English woman, he lived for several years in England and studied phonetics at University College in London, England.

Was known as the "Henry Higgins of Hollywood," a master of dialects who frequently coached other actors.

He appeared in the original The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) TV series, as well as the movie version (Les allumés de Beverly Hills (1993)).

Began his young career on radio as a teenager in 1945 when he was heard on "Quiz Kids.".

Was a "Quiz Kid," a renowned group of high-IQ children in the 1930s and 1940s.

Cast as "Sparks" in the film of Le sous-marin de l'apocalypse (1961), only three years later he had a regular spot on a submarine as the voice of "Phones" in the UK Children's TV series Stingray (1964).

While a student at the University of Texas in the Spring of 1949, he was inititated into Phi Eta Sigma, a national honorary scholastic fraternity for men.

He is survived by his daughter, Heather Woodruff Perry; and granddaughter.