‘Frosty the Snowman’ Voice Actor Had ‘At Least’ Three Secret Families, Quaalude Addiction: Son

Jackie Vernon played one of pop culture’s most beloved, cheerful characters. Off-screen, his life was anything but cheerful: the stand-up comic had multiple secret families and battled a serious Quaalude addiction.

The shocking truth about the man who famously voiced ‘Frosty the Snowman’ was revealed by his son, David Vernon, in a recent interview on “Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia.”

The star died in 1987 at the age of 63.

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During the sit-down, David said the artist, born Ralph Verrone, had three families before starting a new life with his wife Hazel. The couple married in 1958 and remained together until his death. They shared three children.

Life in the Vernon household was full of surprises. However, nothing prepared David for a knock on the door one fateful day.

“There was a woman there with a child older than me,” he recalled on the show. ‘He was probably in his late teens and a bit rough looking. And the woman asked if I wanted to talk to my father. And I said, ‘My father is on his way. He’s not home.’

Jackie Vernon died in 1987 at the age of 63. (Norman James/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

“And then I remembered she was very steadfast,” David said. “She says, ‘Well, I want to talk to your mother.’ So my mom came, and I think she immediately assessed what the situation was, but my mom told me to go upstairs. …I heard a somewhat heated conversation going on. And a few minutes later they left.”

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David then confronted his mother.

“I asked my mom, ‘Who was that?’” David said. “And it eventually turned out that my father had been married at least three times before our family, which I was quite shocked to find out.”

Vernon rose to fame through a series of “lovable losers” on TV shows such as “The Dean Martin Show,” “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and “The Merv Griffin Show,” among others. the Los Angeles Times reported. But before showbiz came along, the artist already had other marriages – and other children.

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Jackie Vernon is seen here in 1965. (Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)

“One marriage I think happened when he was in the military, when he was about 19,” David said. “And from these marriages he had sons, and he named them all Ralph after himself, after his original name, Ralph Verrone. But he also left all these families. He left them and moved on. My mother wasn’t even sure if he had divorced one of the women or even married another.”

“But when my parents got married, they had a deal,” David continued. “She would name the boys, and he would name the girls. She had gotten the idea that Ralph was an unloved child—a child left behind—and she wanted to make sure I never became a Ralph. That’s when I realized my mother’s plan was for him to stay with our family and not abandon us.”

In later years, Vernon was described as having “sadness radiating from him”. When his career slowed in the 1970s and 1980s, that sadness turned into a battle with depression, David said.

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“He’s been through some of his own demons with depression and addiction,” David said. “His addiction was actually to tranquilizers – Quaaludes and Valium. It really took a toll on him.”

“He had to work very hard to get out of that depression. It was an uphill battle for him. It was hard for us to see him go through that.”

Vernon voiced Frosty in the 1969 animated special. He reprized the role in “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland” (1976) and “Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July” (1979).

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After the 1969 special, Jackie Vernon reprized the role in “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland” (1976) and “Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July” (1979). (Rankin-Bass Productions/ALAMY)

David revealed that his father had strong reservations about taking on the role. The patriarch once joked, “I think all the fat boys were out of town.”

“He didn’t take it very seriously,” David explained.

“He didn’t want to do it. He thought it was a bit beneath him. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it wasn’t a lot of work either. He didn’t have a lot of confidence in it. I think someone else had dropped out and he had the time to do it. He hadn’t really prepared for it. He didn’t think about it. He barely told us about it. being taken off his resume.”

In her later years, Jackie Vernon struggled with addiction and depression. (Disney general entertainment content via Getty Images)

When “Frosty the Snowman” first aired, Vernon’s children received a frosty reception.

“We weren’t impressed,” David said. “… But when Frosty finally melted, it was kind of shocking to us. … We weren’t really ready for that. It actually scared us. My younger sister had been like, ‘What? Dad’s melting? He’s dying.’

“It was like pandemonium. She started crying, and she was really upset, and I was a little confused. And my mother said, ‘Your dad’s fine. He’s not dead. He’s at the Playboy Club in Chicago.’ And she had to try to get him on the phone. Later he called back and assured us he was fine.”

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Before his death, Jackie Vernon became especially fond of “Frosty the Snowman.” (CBS/Courtesy of Getty Images)

After decades of rejecting Frosty, Vernon became proud of the role. David said it gave his father peace and lifted his spirit at the end of his life. He found joy in knowing that his work kept audiences laughing.

“He had accepted his place in showbiz,” David said. ‘One of the last Christmases when my father was still there… We all watched [‘Frosty the Snowman’] together, and he was so proud of it. He enjoyed it. He laughed about it. He was so happy he did it, and it became a very warm place in his heart. And I loved seeing that for him.”

‘Even though my father did so many things – he worked with Judy Garland, Bette Midler, Frank Sinatra – [‘Frosty’] was the only thing people really remembered him for,” he said.

Jackie Vernon is seen here for the “Celebrity Roast of Ed McMahon” hosted by Dean Martin. (Gary Null/NBC/NBC NewsWire/Getty Images)

“And newer generations found it. He really embraced it. He accepted that he would be remembered for it, and he was really proud of it. He loved it when kids would come over and talk to him. Every Christmas, friends would ask him to call their kids and do the Frosty voice. It became a real source of pride for him.”

David emphasized that his father is never too far away, especially during the holidays.

“Every year – it’s already happened once this year – I go to a CVS or Walgreens and I hear my dad’s voice,” he said. “It’ll be that there’s a plush Frosty toy where someone pressed the button, and I hear it from across the aisle. It’s a strange experience, but quite fun. I feel like he, like Frosty, comes back every Christmas.”