{{Short description|American actor (1890–1978)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}} {{no footnotes|date=March 2013}} {{Infobox person | name = Junius Matthews | birth_name = Junius Conyers Matthews | birth_date = {{birth date|1890|6|12}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1978|1|18|1890|6|12}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | resting_place = Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1917–1977 }}
'''Junius Conyers Matthews''' (June 12, 1890 – January 18, 1978)<ref name="Voicechasers">{{cite web|url=https://voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=1638|title=Junius Matthews|author=|date=|work=Voice Chasers|accessdate=5 May 2021|archive-date=August 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829105306/https://voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=1638|url-status=dead}}</ref> was an American actor in films, theater, radio and television. He was the voice of Archimedes the Owl in Disney's ''The Sword in the Stone'' in 1963. He was also the original voice of Rabbit in the ''Winnie the Pooh'' franchise from 1966 to 1977.
== Career == Matthews began his acting career on Broadway in shows like ''Young Wisdom'' (1914) and ''Any House'' (1916) before he got his first role in a silent film called ''The Silent Witness'' (1917). He briefly stopped performing while serving as a private in World War I. Over the course of the 1920s he alternated between stage and radio productions. He later played the role of the Tin Woodsman on a radio version of ''The Wizard of Oz''. His distinctive voice can be frequently heard in supporting roles in radio, particularly westerns where he was often cast as an old codger, miner, or master of the cook wagon. Matthews appeared on the short-lived series ''Luke Slaughter of Tombstone'' as Slaughter's sidekick, Wichita, and played Ling Wee, a Chinese waiter, in ''Gasoline Alley''. He also made guest appearances on several television series in the 1950s and 1960s.
=== Winnie the Pooh === It was not until the last ten years of his life that Matthews became widely known for his role as Rabbit in the ''Winnie the Pooh'' movies produced by the Disney studio from 1966 to 1977, including the featurettes ''Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree'' (1966), ''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'' (1968), and ''Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!'' (1974) as well as the feature-length compilation film ''The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' (1977). He played other roles for Disney, most notably the owl, Archimedes, in Disney's ''The Sword in the Stone'' (1963).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://d23.com/know-10-wizard-facts-walt-disneys-sword-stone/|title = Did You Know? 10 Wizard Facts About Walt Disney's the Sword in the Stone|date = December 21, 2018}}</ref> After his death in 1978, first Will Ryan and then Ken Sansom took over the role as the voice of Rabbit.<ref name=sltribune>{{cite news |url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/55064636-223/sansom-rabbit-pooh-ken.html.csp |title=Utah actor Ken Sansom, voice of 'Pooh's' Rabbit, dies at 85 |newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=October 11, 2012 |access-date=October 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013153827/http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/55064636-223/sansom-rabbit-pooh-ken.html.csp |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |publisher=Media News Group}}</ref>
== Death == Matthews died at a Los Angeles hospital from cardiovascular disease on January 18, 1978, six months before he would have turned 88, after a stroke the previous year had left him nearly unable to work. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/heres-what-happened-to-disneys-original-winnie-the-pooh-voice-cast/|title=Here's What Happened to Disney's Original 'Winnie the Pooh' Voice Cast|date=August 3, 2020}}</ref><ref name="BTVA">{{cite web|url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Junius-Matthews/|title=Julius Matthews – 2 Character Images|website=Behind The Voice Actors}}</ref>
== Filmography == {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1917 | ''The Silent Witness'' | Bud Morgan | |- | 1943 | ''Seeds of Freedom'' | Speaker | |- |rowspan=3|1946 | ''Without Reservations'' | Charlie Potter | Uncredited |- | ''Black Angel'' | Dr. Courtney | |- | ''I've Always Loved You'' | Little Man | Uncredited |- | 1947 | ''The Shocking Miss Pilgrim'' | Mr. Carter | Uncredited |- | 1949 | ''Chicken Every Sunday'' | Deacon Wilson | Uncredited |- | 1951 | ''Half Angel'' | Timid Man | Uncredited |- | 1952 | ''My Wife's Best Friend'' | Rev. Dr. Smith | Uncredited |- | 1955 | ''Good Morning, Miss Dove'' | Mr. Pruitt | Uncredited |- | 1957 | ''Jeanne Eagels'' | Court Clerk | Uncredited |- | 1958 | ''The Lineup'' | Jeffers | Uncredited |- | 1959 | ''A Summer Place'' | Mr. Hamble | Uncredited |- | 1963 | ''The Sword in the Stone'' | Archimedes The Owl | Voice<ref name="Voicechasers" /> |- | 1966 | ''Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree'' | rowspan=4|Rabbit | Voice<ref name="Voicechasers" /> |- | 1968 | ''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'' | Voice<ref name="Voicechasers" /> |- | 1974 | ''Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!'' | Voice<ref name="Voicechasers" /> |- | 1977 | ''The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' | Voice<ref name="Voicechasers" /> |}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Junius Matthews |sopt=t}} *{{IMDb name|id=0560076|name=Junius Matthews}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Junius}} Category:1890 births Category:1978 deaths Category:20th-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male radio actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:Male actors from Chicago Category:United States Army personnel of World War I Category:United States Army soldiers Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)