Fred Jones (Scooby-Doo)
Fred Jones is a fictional character in the American animated series Scooby-Doo, leader of a quartet of teenage mystery solvers and their Great Dane companion, Scooby-Doo. Fred has been primarily portrayed by voice actor Frank Welker since the character's inception in 1969.
| Fred Jones | |
|---|---|
| Scooby-Doo character | |
| First appearance | "What a Night for a Knight" (Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!; 1969) |
| Created by | Joe Ruby Ken Spears |
| Inspired by | Dwayne Hickman's Dobie Gillis by Max Shulman |
| Voiced by |
|
| Portrayed by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | Freddie |
| Gender | Male |
| Significant other | Daphne Blake |
| Relatives | see below |
Character description
In most series, Fred wears a white and/or blue shirt and blue pants. In the original series, Fred wears an orange ascot tie with a blue shirt and white sweater. In the 1990s direct-to-video films, Fred generally wears a light blue shirt. In the 2002 series What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Fred's outfit was given an update, with his orange ascot being replaced with a blue stripe. He is often shown constructing various Rube Goldberg traps for villains, which Scooby-Doo or Shaggy often set off by mistake, causing the villain to be captured in another way. Fred usually takes the lead in solving mysteries. When searching for clues, Fred and Daphne usually go together with Velma coming along, but sometimes Fred and Daphne pair off, leaving Velma to go with Shaggy and Scooby. Although generally a very nice guy, Fred can be bossy at times forcing Shaggy and Scooby to take part in nabbing the villain despite their fears and/or better judgment.
According to Scooby-Doo: Behind the Scenes, his boyhood nickname was "Pickle". He was voted "Best Looking" in school and was once part of a performance troupe before he devoted himself to solving mysteries. His drama training helps him get into the minds of the villains the gang faces. Daphne says that whenever they're feeling particularly scared, Fred would sing songs from Show Boat to soothe them. Fred one day hopes to be a famous mystery writer where he hopes to use all of his talents to the fullest.
In A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Fred was depicted as being somewhat less intelligent and often believed crazy conspiracy theories and legends such as Bigfoot and mole people and read the magazine The National Exaggerator. In each episode, Fred would blame the crime on the neighborhood bully, Red Herring (a play on the idiom red herring). In What's New, Scooby-Doo?, the teenage version of Fred is shown to have many interests such as traps, martial arts, wrestling, and weightlifting. In Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated, his interests are limited to "traps and solving mysteries," although later he admits he has feelings and dates Daphne.
Development
Fred Jones was inspired by the titular character of the late 1950s/early 1960s American sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, as played by Dwayne Hickman.[4] Some network sales presentation art from an early version of Scooby-Doo, entitled Who's S-S-Scared?, featured early designs of Fred with brown hair;[5]
Originally named "Ronnie" when production for Scooby-Doo began in spring 1969,[6] Fred was named by and after Fred Silverman, who was then head of daytime programming at CBS and a key member of the show's development team.[7] Frank Welker, a young comedian and impressionist, was asked by the network to audition for the voice of Fred, although he had originally intended to audition for first Scooby-Doo (whom he eventually did get to voice after Don Messick died in 1997) and later Shaggy (Casey Kasem, who was cast as Shaggy, had originally wanted to voice Fred).[8][9] Being cast as Fred led to the start of a long, prolific career in voice work for Welker, with Scooby-Doo being his first voice acting job.
Fred Jones has been given two different first names. In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays, he is called Frederick,[10][11] while in Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map, he is called Fredward.[12]
In a 2012 r/IAmA, Shaggy Rogers actor Matthew Lillard additionally revealed that the original cut of the 2002 Scooby-Doo film had Fred be revealed to be gay (which is why he always wore an ascot tie), and that Freddie Prinze Jr. had portrayed him as such throughout the film.[13]
In the continuity of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, it was revealed that Fred's father Fred Jones Sr. was not, in fact, his biological father, but instead, a man who kidnapped him as a child and raised him as his own son. His biological parents Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves later returned, but Fred continued to use the last name of Jones. In the series finale, when the universe is restarted to where Fred was never raised by Fred Jones Sr., but rather his biological parents, it is never stated what his last name is in a new reality. In Aloha, Scooby-Doo!, his middle name is stated to be Herman.[14] While every member of the mystery gang is shown to have a catchphrase they use to express shock or surprise, Fred is the only member without one.[15]
Performers
- Frank Welker (1969–present)
- Norma MacMillan (Kenner Talking Show Projector record)[16]
- Keith Scott (Pauls commercial)[17]
- Carl Steven (A Pup Named Scooby-Doo)
- Jerry Richardson (Scooby-Doo! in Stagefright - Live on Stage)[18][19]
- Freddie Prinze Jr. (Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (live-action), Robot Chicken (voice))[20]
- Ryan Vrba (Young Fred in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed)
- Chris Cox (Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed: The Video Game)
- Jamie Wilson (Scooby-Doo! and the Pirate Ghost - Live on Stage)[21]
- Robbie Amell (Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster)
- Kevin Shinick (Mad)[22]
- Jim Wise (Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire (singing voice))
- Noah Michael Fish (Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries (2013))[23]
- Josh Little (Scooby-Doo Live! The Mystery Of The Pyramid)[24]
- Chris Warner Drake (Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries (2016))[25]
- Scott Innes (McDonald's commercial, Scooby-Doo! Playmobil Mini Mysteries)[26]
- Brett Dalton (Robot Chicken)
- Zac Efron (Scoob!)
- Pierce Gagnon (Scoob!, Scoob!: Holiday Haunt (both as a child))[2]
- Glenn Howerton (Velma)[27]
Relatives
Relatives of Fred's shown or mentioned during the series include:
- Mayor Fred Jones Sr.: Fred's illegal "father" in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, voiced by Gary Cole.
- Skip and Peggy Jones: Fred's father and mother in the film Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!. Voiced by Tim Conway and Edie McClurg.
- Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves: Fred's real father and mother in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, voiced by Tim Matheson and Tia Carrere (younger selves voiced by Nolan North and Kari Wahlgren).
- Eddie Jones: Fred's uncle from A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, voiced by Frank Welker. The publisher of the tabloid newspaper The National Exaggerator.
- The Count von Jones: Fred's uncle who lives in a castle near a factory that makes specialized coffins, and runs a Museum.
- Uncle Karl: Fred's uncle who runs a cheese shop near Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. He appears in “Fright House of a Lighthouse." He is shown to be better than Fred at bench-pressing.
- An uncle who is in the United States Air Force and works for a space agency.
- An uncle who is first cymbalist in the United States Marine Corps band.
- A 3-year-old nephew. Mentioned in The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode that guest-starred The Monkees member Davy Jones, "The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall".
- Arlene Wilcox: Fred's cousin living in Salem, Massachusetts, accused of being possessed by an ancestor burned at the stake for witchcraft. Voiced by Janet Waldo.
- Jed Jones: Fred's cousin working for Monstrous, Fright, and Magic. He is voiced by Chris Edgerly in Scooby-Doo! Unmasked.
- Donald Jones alias Professor Huh?: Fred's father in Be Cool, Scooby-Doo with an interesting backstory.
- Bobby Flay aka Uncle Bobby in Scooby-Doo! and the Gourmet Ghost.
References
- ^ "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed: The Video Game". Behind The Voice Actors.
- ^ a b Burlingame, Russ (December 22, 2021). "Scoob!: Holiday Haunt First Look Revealed in HBO Max Teaser". ComicBook.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
- ^ "'Velma': Constance Wu, Sam Richardson & Glenn Howerton Join Mindy Kaling as HBO Max Series Leads". October 6, 2022.
- ^ Mark Evanier (July 10, 2002). . Povonline.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2006. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
Fred was based on Dobie, Velma on Zelda, Daphne on Thalia and Shaggy on Maynard
- ^ . Los Angeles: Hanna-Barbera Productions. Archived from the original on May 8, 1999. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
- ^ . Los Angeles: Hanna-Barbera Productions. Archived from the original on April 27, 1999. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
The original storyboards for "What a Night for a Knight" identify the Fred character as Ronnie
- ^ (2006). Interview with Ken Spears. Eerie Mystery of Scooby-Doo and Dynomutt's History. Excerpt: "That character [Fred] started out... I think his name was 'Geoff'... and then he became 'Harvey'. And then all of a sudden, Fred [Silverman] came in and said [the character] was going to be 'Fred'. So, I guess he had something to do with that."
- ^ (2001). Interview with Frank Welker and Casey Kasem. In Their Own Words [documentary featurette from The Scooby-Doo/Dynomut Hour: The Complete Series DVD bonus features]. New York, Los Angeles, CA: Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.
- ^ Sigesmund, B.J. (June 14, 2002). "The Inside Dope". Web Exclusive. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ^ "The Song of Mystery". Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. Season 1. Episode 5. August 9, 2010. Cartoon Network.
- ^ Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays. DVD. Warner Home Video. 2012.
- ^ Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map DVD. Warner Home Video. 2013.
- ^ u/matthewlillard (May 30, 2012). "I'm Matthew Lillard. Stu from Scream, Shaggy in Scooby Doo, and most importantly Steveo in SLC PUNK!. I now direct, who woulda guessed? AMA". Reddit. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
Hey Matt, loved you in Scream. I heard that Scooby-Doo was originally scripted and shot as a much more adult-oriented movie, but then got edited to be more family friendly. If that's true, any chance you could give some details on the stuff that got cut out? u/matthewlillard gladly answer. It was after the heat of SHREK and the studio was all for a above the kids head line of comedy... they brought in James Gunn (SUPER? SLITHER? He's the best ever, love him) and he delivered that version of the script. Yes to all the things you think it is. Smokey van. Velma eyeballing Daphne. Fred being gay because of the ascot. When we tested the parents flipped their lids and Warners got scarred. Its' one of the crown jewels in their library and couldn't risk a back lash. also the demons were really scarry... they were softened.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Aloha, Scooby-Doo! DVD. Warner Home Video. 2005.
- ^ "Supernatural Recap: 'ScoobyNatural'". TV Source Magazine. April 2, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ "Cartoon Records for the Kenner Talking Show Projector". Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- ^ "Pauls Scooby-Doo Ice Cream (1981) (Australia) Commercial". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ "The Velma Chronicles: Character adds smarts, sensibility to 'Scooby-Doo' production". Las Vegas Sun. March 5, 2003. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
- ^ "What's new, Scooby- Doo? Almost zilch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
- ^ "Voice of Fred Jones in Robot Chicken". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
- ^ "Scooby-Doo and the Pirate Ghost, Mayflower, Southampton". Bournemouth Echo. March 20, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ "Voice(s) of Fred Jones in Mad". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
- ^ "SCOOBY-DOO LIVE! MUSICAL MYSTERIES Comes to Houston, 6/1 & 2". Broadway World.com. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ "Cast announced for Scooby-Doo on stage". Official London Theatre. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ "Scooby-Doo musical – London cast unmasked". Musical Theatre Review. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ "Fred Jones". Behind The Voice Actors.
- ^ "'Velma': Constance Wu, Sam Richardson & Glenn Howerton Join Mindy Kaling as HBO Max Series Leads". October 6, 2022.