In a black-and-white world, back in the '50s, were voices from another era. All actors used to sound different. Robert Mitchum sounded different from John Wayne, and John Wayne sounded different from Clark Gable. They were like men's voices, but they weren't Everyman, it was them.

When I was a little kid, I saw a guy with one of those cancer clarinets, and I flipped out. I totally flipped out. I said to my mom, "Mom, what is that thing?" And she happened to know, too, which was the oddest thing. She said, "That's a Bell Telephone artificial larynx, for men that had their voice boxes removed because of cancer." I was like, "Wow." And I couldn't wait to get one. I didn't get one 'til I was all grown up and everything.

Somebody's real voice is probably the hardest one that somebody could attempt.

I didn't create Bugs Bunny. You know what I mean? I can't get mad because I'm the third-best Bugs Bunny in the world.

But the throat just kind of falls into line once you realize in your head what it is. You got to remember the musicality of a character you're going to do.

I consider myself to be flawed, but I made it work. I'm not perfect. Anybody who thinks they are is whacked-out.

You have to have some kind of power of observation, almost like a trained observer.