Species Human | Gender Male | |
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Voiced by Frank Welker (1969–present)Carl Steven (1988–1991)Chris Cox (2004)Freddie Prinze, Jr. (2005)Jim Wise (2011; singing) Played by Frank Welker, Freddie Prinze Jr, Robbie Amell, Matt Vogel Similar | ||
Fred "Freddy" Jones is a fictional character in the American animated series Scooby-Doo, about a quartet of teenage mystery solvers and their Great Dane companion, Scooby-Doo. He is voiced by Frank Welker.
Contents
Character description
In all series, Fred wears a blue and/or white shirt and blue jeans. In the original series, Fred wears an orange ascot tie. In the 1990s direct-to-video movies and in the 2000s series What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Fred's outfit was given an update, with the removal of his orange ascot and two blue stripes added to his sleeves. He is often shown constructing various Rube Goldberg traps for villains, which Scooby-Doo or Shaggy would often set off by mistake, causing the villain to be captured in another way. Fred usually takes the lead in solving mysteries. When searching for clues, Fred and Daphne usually go together with Velma coming along, but sometimes Fred and Daphne would pair off, leaving Velma to go with Shaggy and Scooby. Although generally a very nice and handsome guy, Fred can be bossy at times and will force Shaggy and Scooby to hang around until the mystery is solved.
In A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Fred was depicted as being somewhat less intelligent and was often believing in crazy legends such as Bigfoot and mole people and liked reading a magazine called The National Exaggerator. In each episode, Fred would (often incorrectly) blame the crime on the neighborhood bully, red herring (a play on the idiom red herring). This more ditsy and scatterbrained version of Fred was also carried over to What's New, Scooby-Doo? but without his supernatural beliefs. In this teenage version, he is shown to have many interests (obsessions for traps, martial arts, wrestling, and weightlifting).
Development
Fred Jones was inspired by the titular character of the late 1950s/early 1960s American sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, as played by Dwayne Hickman. Some network sales presentation art from an early version of Scooby-Doo, entitled Who's S-S-Scared?, featured early designs of Fred with brown hair;
Originally named "Ronnie" when production for Scooby-Doo began in spring 1969, Fred was named by and after Fred Silverman, who was then head of daytime programming at CBS and a key member of the show's development team. Frank Welker, a young comedian and impressionist, was asked by the network to audition for the voice of Fred, although he had originally intended to audition for first Scooby-Doo (whom he eventually did get to voice after Don Messick died in 1997) and later Shaggy (Casey Kasem, who was cast as Shaggy, had originally wanted to voice Fred). Being cast as Fred led to the start of a long, prolific career in voice work for Welker, with Scooby-Doo being his first voice acting job.
Fred Jones has been given two different first names. In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays, he is called Frederick, while in Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map, he is called Fredward. In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, it was revealed that Fred's father Fred Jones Sr. was not, in fact, his biological father, but instead a man who kidnapped him as a child and raised him as his own son. His biological parents Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves later returned, but Fred continued to use the last name of Jones. In the series finale, when the universe is restarted to where Fred was never raised by Fred Jones Sr., but rather his biological parents, it is never stated what his last name is in the new reality. In Aloha, Scooby-Doo!, his middle name is stated to be Herman.
Performers
Relatives
Relatives of Fred's shown or mentioned during the series include:
Reception to relationship with Daphne
Members of the fanbase of the Scooby Doo series speculated that Fred and Daphne Blake had a romantic attraction to one another. The makers of the Scooby-Doo film originally planned to refer to the rumor by including a scene where Fred asks to stay with Daphne, using a toothbrush to imply that he wanted to stay with Daphne for the night. The scene was not included in the final version of the film. In Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost, Daphne and Velma both inquire as to why Fred always wants to split up with Daphne, and Daphne visibly becomes jealous when Fred is enamored by Thorn, the lead singer of The Hex Girls. In Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, the two are caught kissing at the beginning of the film, it is later stated by Daphne that they are better off just as friends for the sake of Mystery Incorporated. In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Daphne is in love with Fred, and in the episode "Dead Justice" they have their first kiss and Fred asks her to marry him. In later episodes, the engagement is broken off and their relationship continues to evolve. It is never revealed if they became married or not. In the episode "When the Cicada Calls," they have their first date at the Trap Exhibit 3000.
Coincidentally, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr. who portrayed Daphne and Fred in the first two live-action movies are married to each other in real life. They have been married since 2002.