Actor, composer, songwriter, voiceover artist and author. He joined ASCAP in 1956, and his chief musical collaborators included Tony Romano, Ruby Raksin, Walter Gross, and Ed Brandt. His popular-song compositions include "Hollywood Soliloquy", "The Clown", "Drowning My Sorrow", and "Voice in the Wind".


According to author Peter Guralnick (in "Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley"), Frees was an undercover narcotics agent for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in the 1960s. The voice of the "Ghost Host" in the Haunted Mansions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. He was one of the narrators for CBS Radio's "Escape" (1947-1954). He also starred in many of the show's episodes. Portrayed the title role on CBS Radio's "The Green Lama" (1949). His character's real name was Jethro Dumont, a crimefighter with special powers. Was one of Stan Freberg's cast of performers, most notably as the narrator on "Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America, Vol. 1". In the early 1970s, he was reportedly making $50,000 a year just for doing the voice work for the Pillsbury Doughboy. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute under the G.I. Bill. His first wife's failing health forced him to drop out and return to radio work. Provides multiple voices in Flight from Ashiya (1964), getting into three- and four-way conversations with himself.