Article: Casper the Ghost Has Friend in Priest

N EW YORK - It's not true. Casper "the friendly ghost" does have friends - and one even has heavenly connections.

Monsignor Joseph Funaro, a rotund priest with a rusty, red beard and smiling eyes, knows the animated ghost very well.

He brought Casper, the long-suffering, friendless ghost, to life for millions of television fans in the 1960s.

And Casper, in turn, put Father Funaro through seminary school.

Without him, Funaro says seminary school would not have been possible, and without seminary school, well, his life could have been different.

"I probably would be living in California, working for Hanna-Barbera," Funaro, 58, says with a laugh.

Instead, he is sitting behind a ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!