Mel Blanc is known to the initiated as an impossibly influential figure in the entertainment industry, having provided voices for almost every Looney Tunes character ever created. Would you guess he could be a jumping-off point for a lecture on Portland’s middle class?
Mel Blanc is known to the initiated as an impossibly influential figure in the entertainment industry, having provided voices for almost every Looney Tunes character ever created. Would you guess he could be a jumping-off point for a lecture on Portland’s middle class?
Robert Johnston, author of The Radical Middle Class: Populist Democracy and the Question Of Capitalism in Progressive Era Portland, is dropping by Portland State tomorrow to take part in a roundtable discussion. Joining him will be Anne Richardson, director of the Mel Blanc Project, and PSU’s own David Horowitz, author of The People’s Voice: A Populist Cultural History of Modern America.
As the final lecture of the Mel Blanc Project, Johnston, Richardson and Horowitz will discuss a period of Portland’s history that coincided with Blanc’s time spent in Portland. Although Blanc was born in San Francisco, he grew up in Portland and left for Hollywood in 1935, when he was 27.
Johnston’s book illustrates a time in Portland’s history when, elsewhere in the United States, notoriously obsequious middle class small businesses kowtowed to upper management.
After painstakingly reviewing the history of Portland’s voting records during this time period, along with district-by-district analyses, Johnston discovered that small businesses in Blanc’s Portland actually tended to turn their backs on the upper-management types and instead voted with labor unions. In fact, Mel’s parents, Frederick and Eva were small business owners themselves during this time, making the connection to the Mel Blanc Project even more relevant.
Of course, Johnston’s book delves into more complex issues. For instance: What exactly is a “middle class,” and where is that defined? In recent times, this concept has come under increased scrutiny as the definition has been stretched. While Johnston’s prose isn’t the absolute final word on the topic, his Portland-tinted glasses definitely illuminate the topic from a unique perspective.
What do Mel Blanc fans have at stake in this discussion? From a historical perspective, Blanc’s time spent embroiled in this environment may have provided an interesting platform from which to grow and prosper in the 1930s burgeoning but impenetrable entertainment industry, one that Blanc so seamlessly infiltrated.
The discussion is free to attend and is highly recommended for those who enjoy their history served with a radical edge—just like we Portlanders like it.
