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Of the numerous beloved people from pop culture (books, movies, TV, music) I’ve interviewed over the last few years, three seem to generate more engagement than the rest (by which I mean more comments on the blog and more emails to me):

• Danny Janssen (Scooby-Doo)
• Mick Smiley (Ghostbusters)
• Edward Ormondroyd (David and the Phoenix)

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Introduction to subseries “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” (including list of interviewees).

What were you doing professionally before you were cast as Velma?

I was doing You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The people from Hanna-Barbera—director Gordon Hunt—came to see the show. I must’ve sort of looked like the girl.

Did he approach you after the show?

Yes, he sort of said something after the show and then my agency called me and said he wanted to meet me. They showed me the drawings and gave me lines to read. They must have shown pictures of Velma. She looked like me enough that I could see why he wanted me to come in. He hired me.

What were you told and/or shown about the show before auditioning?

I don’t know if you should write this. In those days, I wanted to be Daniel Day Lewis, Emma Thompson. I was not interested in being in voice-over. I needed to make a living and wasn’t doing anything else at the moment. [With Scooby-Doo], I didn’t think I was doing something iconic. It was like getting a soap opera when you wanted to be in a Scorsese film. I thought it was like a drive-by.

How old were you in 1969?

I don’t remember but young. In Charlie Brown, I played Peppermint Patty. I could see afterward why [Hanna-Barbera] wanted me. I played Patty like a know-it-all, which I guess I am. That character is kind of like Velma. [But] she was sweeter than Velma.

Did you know any of the other voice actors on the show beforehand?

No. The only person I knew was Heather North, but neither of us had any idea what this would be like. Heather was more of a girl next door. She was a great girl. I assumed everyone would look like their character on some level. I don’t even think I thought about the dog. I thought this was a stepping stone to paying my rent and I would go off and do greater things.

Did you socialize with them at the time?

Never. I don’t know what voice people are like today but in those days, I thought they were kind of weird. Somebody of 40 was playing somebody of 20. Somebody was playing a dog. It wasn’t like doing a movie when everybody bonds. Before the show, Heather was on Days of Our Lives. I don’t know how we met. We shared an apartment on Crescent Hei

Introduction to series “Super ‘70s and ‘80s.”

Introduction to subseries “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” (including list of interviewees).

What’s your professional background?

I started out as a musician, a working musician. When I left college I was on the road about a year and a half with a band. Got married, played nightclubs in California, transitioned to studio work. Then I started getting hired. That was in the late 1960s. I came to California from New York in 1966.

What were you doing in 1969 before the Scooby call came?

I was hired by Lee Hazlewood, a record producer in those days. I was doing background dates (meaning I was a background singer) and producing records for him. When I left his company, I went to A. Schroeder, a music publishing company. Randy Newman, Barry White were some of our writers. One of the music catalogs we administered was Hanna-Barbera. In that capacity we also provided theme music for their shows. We put our writers to work on their shows. One of the shows that we did was Scooby-Doo.

How did you get involved with Scooby?

I had a three-and-a-half octave range so I could do girls’ parts. I was handy to have around the studio. When the theme was written for Scooby-Doo, my boss said I want you to do the vocals.

Larry Marks late 1960s

Scooby Artist Scott Neely Draws Shaggy! (Close Up) from Scott Neely on Vimeo.

A close up head shot of Shaggy I drew in real time. It's a bit light at first since I use a 5H for initial breakdowns but it gets darker when I tighten it up.

Scooby Artist Scott Neely Draws Scooby! (Close Up) from Scott Neely on Vimeo.

A close up head shot of Scooby I drew in real time. It's a bit light at first since I use a 5H for initial breakdowns but it gets darker when I tighten it up. I can usually burn one out faster than this but I slowed down a bit when inking it.

Scooby Artist Scott Neely Drawing Scooby - Sketch #2 from Scott Neely on Vimeo.

Testing out my new Flip Slide HD camera and decided to draw Scooby since that is what I do professionally. Still playing with the lighting and such so it will be light on my initial sketching and it gets darker. Penciled with a 5H pencil for the initial breakdown then I tighten it up with an H pencil and then inked with a Pitt Brush Marker. I usually take longer to ink so I burned this out for the sake of a video. This is also in real time and not speeded up. For more: scottneelyart.blogspot.com

Scooby Artist Scott Neely Drawing Scooby - Sketch #1 from Scott Neely on Vimeo.

For more go to scottneelyart.blogspot.com!

Friday, November 21st marks my 9th full year for drawing Scooby-Doo professionally! I've drawn about 20 or so more licenses in-between all the Scooby gigs but he has been my mainstay for all these years. For more go to scottneelyart.blogspot.com!