Who was that invisible man?

[Shane, Daniel L]

CARMEN ASKS:

> Does anyone know the name of the Disney announcer for most of 
> its television programs, trailers, and theme parks during the 
> 1960s and 70s (and possibly later)? He seems to have been the 
> "official" voice of Disney during this period of my growing 
> up, but I have never seen his name credited. To me he was as 
> much a part of Disney as Donald Duck and (at that time) Dean Jones.
> Sorry if this seems off-topic, but I've been wondering about 
> this for too long--I've always loved this man's voice. To 
> make this more appropriate for the list, I can repeat my idea 
> from long ago concerning using Jimmy Weldon (voice of 
> Hanna-Barbera's Yakky Doodle) as a new voice for Donald Duck. 
> This would certainly make him more understandable while 
> retaining his "Ducky" voice.
> Does ANYONE know what I'm talking about? 

AND I REPLY:

I believe the soft, clear voice you're thinking of belonged to Winston
Hibler.  He narrated most of Disney's True-Life Adventure features and
shorts, as well as many of the TV shows.  Hibler even narrated some of
the Disneyland records, including the IT'S A SMALL WORLD soundtrack.  He
was also a writer and producer for the Disney Studio.

The other likely possibility would be the kindly Texas drawl of cowboy
singer and actor Rex Allen.  He probably narrated as many shows for
Disney as Hibler, and many projects included Hibler as producer with
Allen as the friendly, folksy voice behind the action on the screen.  To
help confirm the answer to your query, Allen was the voice of Father in
the CAROUSEL OF PROGRESS attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World
(if you ever got a chance to visit the parks or see the Wonderful World
of Color episode that promoted the attraction).

Dan