[2] He took his professional name from radio comedian Fred Allen and 18th century satirist Jonathan Swift.
In the show, he commented on the cartoons, told stories, sang sea shanties and did magic tricks.
[citation needed] He also voiced many of the characters in the 1960s underwater puppet show Diver Dan, and Gene Deitch's 1961–1962 group of Tom and Jerry cartoons, as well as The Bluffers.
According to Mopar magazine, he was also the voice of "Tech" for their series of service training films, providing color commentary and dry humor to help keep things digestible and interesting.
[citation needed] Swift supplied most of the character voices for the NBC Howdy Doody show.
[9] He also wrote the play Checking Out, which was the basis of the film of the same name starring Peter Falk, Laura San Giacomo, Judge Reinhold and David Paymer.
Because of his uncanny ability to create so many different sounds, tones and accents, he was able to voice competing products, including Tip-Top, Braun, Stroehmann or Taystee.