Walker Edmiston

Walker Edmiston began his long career in 1952, voicing the children's series "Thunderbolt the Wondercolt." Though he would later return to voice-over work, Edmiston spent the 1960s in front of the camera, with appearances on several Westerns, including "The Wild Wild West" and "The Big Valley." In 1969, he met pioneering children's TV producers Sid and Marty Krofft, who hired him to voice various characters for their programs in the early '70s, including the puppet show "H.R. Pufnstuf" and the fantasy adventure "Land of the Lost." Comfortably settled into a niche, Edmiston was called upon to provide the voice of Ernie the Keebler Elf for the staunchly pro-cookie ad campaigns of the Keebler Company; he would hold the job for decades. Edmiston was busy throughout the 1980s as well, supplying voices for enduring animated work such as the musical comedy series "The Chipmunks" and the robotic adventure show "Transformers." Though his résumé is dominated by voice-over work, Edmiston continued to appear in front of the camera from time to time; in 1987 he appeared alongside Rip Torn and Treat Williams, as President Harry S. Truman, in a biopic of J. Edgar Hoover. Despite developing cancer, Edmiston continued working, his last credit coming in 2006 on an episode of the cartoon "Toot & Puddle: I'll Be Home for Christmas." Edmiston's condition worsened shortly thereafter, and he died in early 2007.