Vance Colvig
Vance DeBar Colvig Jr. (March 9, 1918 – March 4, 1991) was an American actor and writer. He voiced Chopper the Bulldog on The Yogi Bear Show.
Also recorded as Vance DeBar Colvig Jr. · Vance DeBar Colvig
Vance Colvig
- Name
- Vance Colvig
- Birth Name
- Vance DeBar Colvig Jr.
- Born
- 9 March 1918
- Birthplace
- San Francisco, California, U.S.
- Died
- 4 March 1991
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Education
- Oregon State University
- Occupation
- * Actor
- Spouse
- Virginia G.
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Vance DeBar Colvig Jr. (March 9, 1918 – March 4, 1991) was an American actor and writer. He voiced Chopper the Bulldog on The Yogi Bear Show.
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Note VALÉORINE
Vance Colvig (1918–1991) was an American actor, composer and film actor, among other activities. Born in San Francisco, the actor died in Los Angeles. Vance Colvig studied at Oregon State University. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q4008485 · wikipedia · Vance Colvig
In this article
Biography
Biography
In the 1980s, he made guest appearances in various films, television series, and music videos.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Vance Colvig • Birth Name — Vance DeBar Colvig Jr. • Born — 9 March 1918 • Birthplace — San Francisco, California, U.S. • Died — 4 March 1991 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Education — Oregon State University • Other Names — Pinto Colvig Jr. • Occupation — * Actor • writer • animator • producer • Years Active — 1938–1991 • Spouse — Virginia G. Arslanian • Children — 1 • Parents — Vance "Pinto" Colvig Sr. Margaret Bourke Slavin
Career
Career
Colvig began his career as a page at NBC. In the 1940s, he became a writer for such radio shows as Breakfast in Hollywood, Command Performance, and Bride and Groom. On January 5, 1959, he became the first to portray Bozo the Clown on a franchised Bozo program licensed by Larry Harmon. In the role that his father Pinto Colvig first portrayed on Capitol Records in 1946 and KTTV-TV in Los Angeles in 1949, Vance portrayed the whiteface clown Bozo on KTLA-TV in Los Angeles from 1959 to 1964. His best known cartoon voice is of Chopper the Bulldog, Yakky Doodle's best friend and protector on The Yogi Bear Show. He worked primarily as a character actor in numerous performances spanning the 1980s; many roles subtly express his clowning talent. He made guest appearances on TV shows including The Golden Girls, Hill Street Blues, and St. Elsewhere. One of his last film roles is as a bum opposite "Weird Al" Yankovic in the 1989 cult comedy film UHF. He appeared on a 1990 episode of the TV series Night Court playing a bum. He enjoyed playing several characters at Knott's Berry Farm amusement park and at trade shows. He appeared in commercials and music videos. His cameo appearances in music videos include David Lee Roth's 1985 cover of "Just a Gigolo" as a female cleaner, and Gregg Allman's 1987 "I'm No Angel" as a gas station attendant. He identifies himself by name on the second Negativland album Points (1981). On the track "A Nice Place to Live", his live remote broadcasts from the Los Angeles and Contra Costa county fairs are sampled.
Personal life
Personal life
Colvig was married to Virginia G. Arslanian until his death in 1991. They had a son, Vance DeBar Colvig III.
Death
Death
Colvig died on March 4, 1991, of cancer at his Hollywood Hills home, five days before his 73rd birthday.
Radio
Radio
• Breakfast in Hollywood (1941–1948) — Writer • Command Performance (1942–1949) — Writer • Bride and Groom (1945–1950) — Writer
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the headings Vance DeBar Colvig Jr. And Vance DeBar Colvig. His recorded language was English. He was the child of Pinto Colvig.
Identity
Identity
Vance Colvig is recorded as actor, composer, film screenwriter and film director.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1991
Vance Colvig died at Los Angeles.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
San Francisco.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Film and television
• The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959, TV Series) — Narrator / Tombstone Jones (voices) • The Yogi Bear Show (1961, TV Series) — Chopper (voice) • Death Valley Days (1966, TV Series) — Dusty • Fred Flintstone and Friends (1977-1978, TV Series) • For the Love of It (1980, TV Movie) — Old Hippie • American Pop (1981) — Hobo #1 • St. Elsewhere (1982-1984, TV Series) — Bum / Mr. Pechar • Three's a Crowd (1985, TV Series) — Wino • The Boys Next Door (1985) — Old Man • Amazing Stories (1985, TV Series) — Vaudevillian #1 • My Chauffeur (1986) — Doolittle • Odd Jobs (1986) — Chairman • Barfly (1986) — Alcoholic Man • Yogi's Treasure Hunt (1986-1987, TV Series) — Chopper (voice) • Maid to Order (1987) — Man with Newspaper • Dudes (1987) — Hezekiah • Boys Will Be Boys (1987, TV Series) • Pass the Ammo (1988) — Fritz • Crime Story (1988, TV Series) — Billy Jones • Track 29 (1988) — Me. Ennis • Mortuary Academy (1988) — Uncle Willard • Arizona Heat (1988) — Mr. Gordon • Big Top Pee-wee (1988) — Clownie • All's Fair (1989) — Old Man • Hard Time on Planet Earth (1989, TV Series) — Fan #2 • UHF (1989) — Bum • Night Court (1990, TV Series) — Bum • Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (1990, TV Movie) — Dungeon Warden • The New Adam-12 (1991, TV Series) — Wino • Boris and Natasha: The Movie (1992, TV Movie) — One-Eyed Man (final film role, posthumous release)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Vance Colvig”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4008485: Vance Colvig
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Mother and Wife of Vance Colvig -page 3-
- 2.Obituary Variety, March 11, 1991.
- 3.Cashin, Pat. VANCE COLVIG: Bozo Appearance (1964). clownvalley.net. April 23, 2010.
- 4.Actor Vance Colvig Jr. Dies. AP News Archive. July 2024.
- 5.Negativland, "A Nice Place to Live". Points, Seeland Records 1981.
- 6.Vance Colvig; Roles Included 'Bozo the Clown'. The Los Angeles Times. A 24. March 11, 1991.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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