FROM 2007
PETE RENOUDET
talks about doing the voice of Abraham Lincoln

by Scott Wolf

Pete and his wife Flo are wonderful people who each have an amazing history with the Walt Disney Company. Flo worked in the music department while Pete worked in Art Props.

Pete is an amazingly versatile person, however, and while working for Disney he also worked on numerous Disney films and appeared in some of them. He provided the voice for many of my favorite attractions including Henry, from the "Country Bear Jamboree."

It gives me a great deal of pleasure to share our conversations with you.

Click here to listen our special Pete Renoudet “Abraham Lincoln” greeting.

Pete Renoudet: For Lincoln, for the Hall of Presidents, I was trying to come as close to Royal Dano who had done the original out here (Walt Disney chose him to be Abraham Lincoln in “Great Moment’s with Mr. Lincoln” originally for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair which later moved to Disneyland).

Scott Wolf: Do you know why they didn’t use Royal Dano?

PR: He was either too ill or maybe he had already died, I don’t know.

SW: When you were preparing for that, did they give you recordings to become familiar with his voice or anything?

PR: No, I knew what Royal Dano sounded like, being a movie nut from way back. And I’d seen the Lincoln show here several times.

SW: And you ended up playing Lincoln a few more times after that.

PR: Yes, I played Lincoln on stage in “The Rivalry” and I played it on TV in a Lincoln’s birthday tribute they did on all the local channels with the Gettysburg Address.

SW: And in "Animaniacs"?

PR: Yeah.

SW: And the “Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy"?

PR: (laughs) That’s another Lincoln, yeah.

SW: Are you a Lincoln fan? I see your books on the shelf.

PR: I am, yeah, I sure am, but I’m not so sure Lincoln would be too happy with “Billy and Mandy.” (laughs)

SW: What was that? I’ve never seen it.

PR: It’s the craziest thing. It’s this weird little animation thing about these weird little people, and it’s present day. But, for some reason Lincoln is president. There’s no explanation for it.

SW: Are all of your Lincoln’s the same? The Royal Dano version?

PR: Pretty much the same, yeah.

SW: Had you heard that back then they hired him because-

PR: Well, he looked like Lincoln.

SW: Did he look like Lincoln? Did you hear that’s what they thought Lincoln might have sounded like?

PR: Yeah, I’ve read that Lincoln had a very high pitched voice. Now whether they meant high in timbre or, well to deliver the Gettysburg Address and to be heard there were no microphones so you had to pitch it up just to be heard.

But maybe. Maybe it was high pitched.

SW: I had heard they thought he sounded like that based on his structure and all, but I don’t know if it’s true.

PR: You know, Blaine Gibson was measuring my head for the “Carousel of Progress” (in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom), the addition of the son-in-law that was coming in at the end of the show and when he measured it with the calipers or whatever they used he said, “Oh, this is really strange. You’re the first person I’ve ever met who has the exactly the same size head as Abraham Lincoln.”

(Blaine had sculpted the original Abraham Lincoln head for Walt Disney. For reference he used an actual life mask of Abraham Lincoln that was done in 1860 by Leonard Volk.)

More from Pete:
Doing voices for the Disney parks

See other interviews

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in the interviews are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mouse Clubhouse. Mouse Clubhouse accepts no legal liability or responsibility for any claims made or opinions expressed within.