Voice of Jolly Green Giant dead at 80

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) -- Elmer Dresslar Jr., who extolled generations of TV watchers to eat their vegetables as the booming voice of the Jolly Green Giant, has died. He was 80.
Dresslar, also known as "Len," died Oct. 16 of cancer, according to daughter Teri Bennett.
Dresslar was an entertainer and singer for nearly six decades. But his voice rang through millions of households when he sang the simple refrain, "Ho, Ho, Ho," in an ad jingle for Green Giant foods.
"His was the most consistent and most frequent voice of the Jolly Green Giant over the years, the one consumers are going to recognize," said Tara Johnson, a spokeswoman for General Mills, which owns Green Giant Co.
Dresslar, a Kansas native, moved to Chicago with his wife in the early 1950s to study voice after touring with a production of "South Pacific." By the 1960s, the Navy veteran had carved out a career singing in clubs, on television and in advertising jingles.
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