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Stan Freberg | Parody master, 88

Stan Freberg, 88, an influential master of the lampoon who channeled his off-the-wall sensibility into groundbreaking radio shows, comedy albums, and humorous television commercials for products such as chow mein and prunes, died of natural causes Tuesday at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. His family said he had a number of age-related ailments, including pneumonia.

Stan Freberg, 88, an influential master of the lampoon who channeled his off-the-wall sensibility into groundbreaking radio shows, comedy albums, and humorous television commercials for products such as chow mein and prunes, died of natural causes Tuesday at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. His family said he had a number of age-related ailments, including pneumonia.

Mr. Freberg's path to the nation's funny bone was unconventional: Unlike stand-up comics who recorded comedy albums of their nightclub acts, he went straight into the studio at Capitol Records in Hollywood and, bolstered by actors, musicians, and sound effects, created what he called "audio moments."

His 1953 spoof of Jack Webb's Dragnet, called St. George and the Dragonet, captured the cop show's famously staccato, monotone delivery and was widely considered his finest work as a mimic and parodist. - L.A. Times