Frozen Peas

This article concerns an audio clip featuring Orson Welles. For the food, see pea.

Related Topics:
Audio - Orson Welles - Pea

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Frozen Peas is the colloquial term for a blooper audio clip wherein American filmmaker Orson Welles performs narration for a series of British television advertisements. Welles reads scripts for commercials concerning frozen peas, fish fingers and beef burgers, all the while balking at their quality. While the commercials' director and producer attempt to convince Welles to complete the recordings, Welles becomes insulted by their suggestions, eventually giving up and leaving the studio.

Related Topics:
Blooper - American - Orson Welles - Narration - British - Television - Pea - Fish finger - Beef - Burger - Producer

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It is uncertain when the clip was recorded, though many believe it was after the late 1960s, when the director was blacklisted from Hollywood for his constant demands for creative control.

Related Topics:
1960s - Blacklist - Hollywood

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Because of Welles' candid, vulgar attitude, the clip is often considered humorous, and indicative of Welles' notorious ego and temper. It circulated around small groups of people during the 1980s before gaining worldwide attention after play on radio shows shortly after the director's death in 1985.

Related Topics:
Humor - 1980 - Radio

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The clip is also informally known as In July, or Yes, Always, based on several of Welles' complaints during the recording. The tape has been parodied many times, often used in conjunction when parodying Welles himself. The most notable among these parodies are from animated series The Critic and Animaniacs, which feature caricatures of Welles or a Welles-like character (The Brain) reciting lines similar to that of the clip. Both parodies feature voice actor Maurice LaMarche. LeMarche is known to parody the "frozen peas" tape before recording sessions as a warm up (a "kid friendly" version of his parody can be heard in the special features of ').

Related Topics:
Parodied - Animated series - The Critic - Animaniacs - Caricature - The Brain - Voice actor - Maurice LaMarche

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A similar recording exists of Doctor Who actor Tom Baker complaining during the recording of a radio advertisement for a furniture company.

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With the advent of the Internet, MP3s of the clip have been widely circulated on the Web.

Related Topics:
Internet - MP3

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