Dick Beals died. He was in his 80's so he lived a decent span of years and was very successful. Who is he? You've heard him even if you haven't seen him. He was (most famously) the voice of Speedy AlkaSeltzer, an animated character from the 50's/60's who hawked Alka Seltzer.
But even if you don't know that character, you probably know "Davey and Goliath" or perhaps "Gumby" or you've heard one of the 3,000+ voice spots Beals did in his decades-long career.
What makes Beals so special and inspirational is that he because of a glandular condition, he only grew to a towering 4'6" tall, weighed 70 pounds soaking wet with a triangular face that looked like a happy gnome. His voice never changed which is why he was able to voice anything from 5yr-old boys to 13yr-old girls until he died. In fact, he beat out 300 boys who auditioned for the part in an Adams Family animated role when he was 65. (more at link below video)
Small in stature, his spirit was bigger than anything you can imagine. And it started when he was a kid. As a young boy, he couldn't play sports (which he loved) so he became a cheerleader at age seven and carried that all the way to Michigan State where he got his BA and also started doing the radio dramas that would lead to his career He opened ad agencies, coached Little League, piloted his own private plane; his size never worked against him and most certainly always worked for him.
He made a sweet life from a sour start.
Our world and our business specifically is filled with stories like this. Here's the point: succeeding in Hollywood is what you make of it. For all the Will Smiths there are hundreds, thousands of Dick Beals. If you can't be James Bond or Jason Borne, then be Speedy AlkaSeltzer. Mr. Beals died happy, successful, and deservedly fullfilled in a profession that sees a lot of broken promises and dreams.
And if he can do it, so can you.
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz...what an inspiration he is.
