The Scream Heard 'Round the World
Thursday October 18, 2007 8:39 AM
There's almost no doubt that you've heard the "Wilhelm Scream." It's a stock scream that's appeared in more than a hundred films since the early 1950s — from sci-fi classic Them! to modern movies including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Star Wars and even Pirates of the Carribean.
But where did it come from? According to ABC News, "The truth is no one really knows — but everyone's best guess is a voice artist and singer by the name of Sheb Wooley, most famous for his one-hit wonder "Flying Purple People Eater." Wooley was one of the few actors called back to do voice cuts for Distant Drums, and so it is likely he was asked to scream as if he were being pulled underwater by an alligator."
