Marshall Efron

Marshall Efron (February 3, 1938 – September 30, 2019) was an American actor and humorist born in Los Angeles, California. He appeared on Broadway between 1968 and 1972, with credits including Much Ado About Everything and The Great White Hope, and built a wide-ranging career across radio, television, animation, and children's literature.

Efron first gained recognition through his work on listener-sponsored Pacifica radio stations, including WBAI in New York and KPFK in Los Angeles. At WBAI he was a regular presence on the programs hosted by Steve Post and Bob Fass, appearing alongside figures from left-wing and counter-culture circles such as Paul Krassner. During one broadcast, Efron and Krassner substituted for the vacationing Post and announced themselves as Columbia University students who had seized control of the station, framing the stunt as part of the Columbia University protests of 1968. Though longtime listeners recognized both voices, many others did not, and NYPD officers responded to the station three separate times after listeners reported what they believed to be a genuine takeover. Efron also produced radio features at WBAI, among them a segment called A Satirical View.

On television, Efron was a contributor to the PBS program The Great American Dream Machine, which also served as an early showcase for Chevy Chase. From 1973 to 1977 he hosted and starred in Marshall Efron's Illustrated, Simplified, and Painless Sunday School, an irregularly scheduled Sunday morning program on CBS. In that series Efron performed all of the roles himself, portraying characters including Adam, Eve, God, the Snake in the Garden of Eden, and the Three Wise Men.

Efron was also active as a voice actor in animation throughout the 1980s and into the 2000s. His animated roles included Ratso on The Kwicky Koala Show (1981), Sloppy Smurf on The Smurfs (1982), Mooch on The Biskitts (1983), Fat Cat on Kidd Video (1984–1985), Lousy Lizard on The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo (1985), Stanley on Fluppy Dogs (1986), Hun-Gurrr (2nd Head) on The Transformers (1986–1987), and the Earl of Sandwich on Time Squad (2002). He also contributed voice work to Shirt Tales (1982), Snorks (1987–1988), and the video game The Space Bar (1997). As a recording artist, he appeared on the album The Nutrino News Network alongside Barton Heyman, Dennis Longwell, and Marilyn Sokol, released on Polydor in 1972.

In addition to his performance work, Efron authored children's books, including Bible Stories You Can't Forget: No Matter How Hard You Try. He died on September 30, 2019, at the age of 81, at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey.