John Harrison Frick, Jr., known professionally as Mark Elliott, was an American voice-over artist, who served as the primary voice-over for Walt Disney Entertainment in North America from 1983, until his departure in 2008. He provided voice-overs for trailers, logos, feature presentation bumpers, and commercials. He was best known for his voice-overs in Disney's anthology series. One of his most well-known voice-overs for Disney is his catchphrase: "And now, our feature presentation," which he said at the start of most Disney films on video on a "Feature Presentation" bumper up until 1996 when Beau Weaver took over, with the phrase: "Thanks for joining us for our special preview. And now, our feature presentation." However, by 1999, the original announcement was notably retained throughout the year. The last trailers he narrated were for The Aristocats and the 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure 2008 Special Edition DVDs. He was also the narrator for the Descriptive Video Service section of the Disney movies Lilo & Stitch and Tangled, and for Walt Disney World commercials from late 2008.
Elliott died at age 81 on April 3, 2021 at a Los Angeles hospital after suffering two heart attacks. He had additionally suffered from lung cancer.[1][2]
Selected credits[]
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - 1983, 1987, 1993, 1994
- Pinocchio - 1992, 1993, November 1999-February 2000
- Fantasia - 1990
- Bambi - 1988, 1997, 2005 (Trailer 1 October 2004-January 2005)
- Cinderella - 1987, 1995, January-September 2005
- Peter Pan - 1989, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2007 (October 2006-February 2007)
- Lady and the Tramp - 1998, 2006 (October 2005-February 2006)
- Sleeping Beauty - October 1992, 1995, 1997, 2003 (October 2002-2003)
- One Hundred and One Dalmatians - 1991
- The Jungle Book - 1984, 1990, 1991, 1997, March-September 2007
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - November 2001-2002, 2007 (also narrated the opening documentary for the 1996 VHS release)
- The Rescuers - 1989
- Pete's Dragon - 1991
- The Fox and the Hound 1988
- The Black Cauldron - 1998 VHS release; initially done by TBD
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit - TV Spot
- The Little Mermaid - 1989, 1997, 1998, 2006 (Fall 2005-Summer 2006)
- The Rescuers Down Under - 1990, 1991
- Beauty and the Beast
- Aladdin
- The Muppet Christmas Carol - 1992, video was done by Brian Cummings
- The Lion King - 1994, 2003 (later trailer - initial trailer was done by Andy Geller)
- Toy Story - 1995, 1996
- Toy Story 2 - 2000
- Angels in the Outfield - 1994
- Tarzan - video promo (October 1999-January 2000)
- 101 Dalmatians (1996) - coming to theatres trailer Summer-Fall 1996, video was done by Brian Cummings
- Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection Early 2000-Early 2001
- Lilo & Stitch
- Bambi II - March 2005-January 2006
- Piglet's Big Movie - Teaser (Spring 2002)
- The Jungle Book 2 - 2003
- Home on the Range
- Return to Never Land
Trivia[]
- His stage name came about after he tried to use his old name "Sandy Shore", while the radio manager wanted him to use "Johnny Barron", a name he detested. He wanted to call himself "Mark Anthony", but this was shot down as it was too close to "Mark Antony". He soon saw the names "Petula Clark" and "Mama Cass (Elliot)" on a jukebox and suggested "Clark Elliott", but he had difficulty pronouncing the name. He finally decided to combine the two suggestions as "Marc Elliott" before settling on "Mark Elliott".[3]
