Frederick Herman "Fred" Jones is a fictional character in the American
animated seriesScooby-Doo, leader of a quartet of teenage mystery solvers and their
Great Dane companion,
Scooby-Doo. Fred has been primarily portrayed by
voice actorFrank Welker since the character's inception in 1969.
Character description
In most series, Fred wears a white and/or blue shirt and blue pants. In the original series, Fred wears an orange Hermés
ascot tie with a blue shirt and white sweater. In the 1990s direct-to-video films, Fred generally wears a light blue shirt. In the 2002 series What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Fred's outfit was given an update, with his orange ascot being replaced with a blue stripe. He is often shown constructing various
Rube Goldberg traps for villains, which Scooby-Doo or Shaggy 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 pair off, leaving Velma to go with Shaggy and Scooby. Although generally a very nice guy, Fred can be bossy at times forcing Shaggy and Scooby to take part in nabbing the villain despite their fears and/or better judgment.
According to Scooby-Doo: Behind the Scenes, his boyhood nickname was "Pickle". He was voted "Best Looking" in school and was once part of a performance troupe before he devoted himself to solving mysteries. His drama training helps him get into the minds of the villains the gang faces. Daphne says that whenever they're feeling particularly scared, Fred would sing songs from Show Boat to soothe them. Fred one day hopes to be a famous mystery writer where he hopes to use all of his talents to the fullest.
In A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Fred was depicted as being somewhat less intelligent and often believed crazy conspiracy theories and legends such as
Bigfoot and
mole people and read the magazine The National Exaggerator. In each episode, Fred would blame the crime on the neighborhood bully,
Red Herring (a play on the idiom
red herring). In What's New, Scooby-Doo?, the teenage version of Fred is shown to have many interests such as traps, martial arts, wrestling, and weightlifting. In Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated, his interests are limited to "traps and solving mysteries", although later he admits he has feelings and dates
Daphne.
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.[4] 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;[5]
Originally named "Ronnie" when production for Scooby-Doo began in spring 1969,[6] 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.[7]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).[8][9] 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.
In the continuity of 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 a new reality. In Aloha, Scooby-Doo!, his middle name is stated to be Herman.[14] While every member of the mystery gang is shown to have a catchphrase they use to express shock or surprise, Fred is the only member without one.[15]
The Count von Jones: Fred's uncle who lives in a
castle near a factory that makes specialized
coffins, and runs a
Museum.
Uncle Karl: Fred's uncle who runs a
cheese shop near
Lake Michigan in
Wisconsin. He appears in "Fright House of a Lighthouse". He is shown to be better than Fred at bench-pressing.
Arlene Wilcox: Fred's cousin living in Salem, Massachusetts, accused of being possessed by an ancestor burned at the stake for witchcraft. Voiced by
Janet Waldo.
^Mark Evanier (July 10, 2002).
"News from Me". Povonline.com. Archived from
the original on May 14, 2006. Retrieved July 16, 2013. Fred was based on Dobie, Velma on Zelda, Daphne on Thalia and Shaggy on
Maynard
^(2006). Interview with Ken Spears. Eerie Mystery of Scooby-Doo and Dynomutt's History. Excerpt: "That character [Fred] started out... I think his name was 'Geoff'... and then he became 'Harvey'. And then all of a sudden, Fred [Silverman] came in and said [the character] was going to be 'Fred'. So, I guess he had something to do with that."
^(2001). Interview with Frank Welker and Casey Kasem. In Their Own Words [documentary featurette from The Scooby-Doo/Dynomut Hour: The Complete Series DVD bonus features]. New York, Los Angeles, CA: Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.
^Sigesmund, B.J. (June 14, 2002).
"The Inside Dope". Web Exclusive.
Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
^u/matthewlillard (May 30, 2012).
"I'm Matthew Lillard. Stu from Scream, Shaggy in Scooby Doo, and most importantly Steveo in SLC PUNK!. I now direct, who woulda guessed? AMA". Reddit.
Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2012. Hey Matt, loved you in Scream. I heard that Scooby-Doo was originally scripted and shot as a much more adult-oriented movie, but then got edited to be more family friendly. If that's true, any chance you could give some details on the stuff that got cut out? u/matthewlillard gladly answer. It was after the heat of SHREK and the studio was all for a above the kids head line of comedy... they brought in
James Gunn (SUPER? SLITHER? He's the best ever, love him) and he delivered that version of the script. Yes to all the things you think it is. Smokey van. Velma eyeballing Daphne. Fred being gay because of the ascot. When we tested the parents flipped their lids and Warners got scarred. Its one of the crown jewels in their library and couldn't risk a back lash. also the demons were really scarry... they were softened.