The comedy genius, who was dubbed "the Che Guevara of advertising" by the New York Times, died of natural causes at a Santa Monica, California hospital.

He leaves behind a legacy of irreverent commercials, song parodies and a host of famous fans, including 'weird Al' Yankovic, who paid tribute to his hero on Twitter.com on Tuesday (07Apr15), writing, "Very sad to say that one of my absolute all-time heroes has just passed away. RIP Stan Freberg. A legend, an inspiration, and a friend."

Freberg's popular parodies, including St. George and the Dragonet, landed him his own U.S. radio show, That's Rich, in 1954, and he went on to host The Stan Freberg Show, which won him a Grammy Award in 1959.

He also made a name for himself by voicing cartoon characters, including Junyer Bear and the three pigs, the wolf and the singing narrator in Looney Tunes classic Three Little Bops.

Freberg also provided the voice of Beaver in Disney's Lady and the Tramp.