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by - November 27, 2007 - 11:20 AM
My husband and I went to Disney World for Halloween. Returning to our 9-to-5 lives was a little depressing. So, to get our little fix, we started watching some old-school Disney movies. We had on The Jungle Book and I wasn’t paying very close attention (I like to multi-task) when I heard a strangely familiar voice coming from the screen. I looked up and saw Kaa – you know Kaa, the evil snake who tries to hypnotize Mowgli – only I was 
pretty sure I knew that voice from somewhere else.
So I hopped onto the Internet Movie Database and looked him up. Turns out that the voice of scheming Kaa is also the voice of one of the sweetest Disney characters ever drawn – Winnie the Pooh. Let me tell you, my mind was blown. Sterling Holloway, the voice actor, was also the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland.
I started wondering what other voices overlapped and began feverishly searching IMDB. Here are the results of my time-wasting:
1. Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright, AKA Bart Simpson, has also been the voice of Rufus on Kim Possible, Kip Kangaroo on Shirt Tales and, for a few episodes, Chuckie on Rugrats. Plus, extreme fans of Who Framed Roger Rabbit might recognize her as the voice of the “dipped” shoe. OK, probably not.
2. Billy West
No doubt you’ve heard Billy West but perhaps you’ve never heard OF him (or maybe it’s just me who is really oblivious). This guy is all over the place. For five shows, he gave Stimpy a voice on Nickelodeon’s Ren and Stimpy; he’s been Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Pepe Le Pew and Elmer Fudd on various projects since the 1996 movie Space Jam; and he was the voice of Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, Leo Wong and President Richard Nixon’s Head on Futurama. Howard Stern fans will remember West as the voice of the Jackie Puppet and various other characters from 1989-1995. And he’s also the current voice of Buzz, the Honey-Nut Cheerios Bee (Wikipedia claims Sterling Holloway was the original Honey-Nut Cheerios Bee, but we can’t find anything to back that up.)
3. Eleanor Audley
I have to mention Eleanor Audley because she is the voice of the psychic whose head is floating in the crystal ball at the Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion. It’s my favorite ride ever. Paul and I had a goal of riding it 13 times while we were on vacation… alas, we only rode it nine times. I digress. In addition to being in my favorite attraction, Eleanor Audley was also Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty and Lady Tremaine, the wicked stepmother in Cinderella. I guess she just had a perfectly sinister voice.
4. Verna Felton
Verna Felton is another voice actress the Disney company frequently employed. She was one of the fairy godmothers in Sleeping Beauty (Flora), Aunt Sarah in Lady and the Tramp, the fairy godmother in Cinderella, and, my personal favorite, the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland.
5. Patrick Warburton
Seinfeld fans know Patrick Warburton as Elaine’s on-again-off-again boyfriend David Putty. His voice is so distinctive, though, that it’s easy to place it when you hear it coming through the screen. Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove? That’s Patrick Warburton. Joe Swanson, the cop on Family Guy? Brock Samson from the Venture Brothers? Buzz Lightyear in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, the TV show that followed Toy Story? Patrick Warburton. High five.

6. Mae Questel
Although voluptuous Betty Boop and skinny-as-a-broomstick Olive Oyl couldn’t get much different, they are actually the same person: Mae Questel. Interestingly, it looks like she didn’t do Betty’s voice from about 1939 until Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988.
7. Daws Butler
The Hanna Barbera world is just as entwined as Disney and Warner Brothers. Daws Butler is probably best known for being the voice of Yogi Bear, but he was also Elroy Jetson, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Peter Potamus and Wally Gator. He also earned a lifetime of free breakfast cereal (at least I like to think that) when he provided the voices for both Cap’n Crunch and Snap of elf trio Snap, Crackle and Pop. For a time he held an actor’s studio out of his home, where one of his students was none other than Nancy Cartwright.
8. Scatman Crothers
My number one super guy used to be Hong Kong Phooey (sorry… bad joke, I know). His voice, Scatman Crothers, had a career that spanned many genres. One of his first voice-over jobs was with Disney as the appropriately-named Scat Cat in the Aristocats (not to be confused with The Aristocrats). He then jumped to Hanna-Barbera to provide the voice for Meadowlark Lemon of the Harlem Globetrotters, who appeared on the Harlem Globetrotters and Scooby Doo. And although this is decidedly not a cartoon, I love the fact that Hong Kong Phooey was creepy Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.
9. Tress MacNeille
Another favorite of mine was Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers. It came as quite a shock that Chip and Gadget were both voiced by the same person – Tress MacNeille. I looked her up and it turns out she voices about a million of the characters on The Simpsons. OK, so it’s more like 17 (plus some minor characters). Those include Mrs. Skinner, Dr. Hibbert’s wife, Apu’s wife, the crazy cat lady, Lunchlady Doris and Plopper, the pig from The Simpsons Movie. She also voices multiple characters on Futurama, was Babs the Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures and Dot on Animaniacs.
Do you know some characters that have some strange overlaps you wouldn’t expect? And what was (is) your favorite cartoon? I’d love to have Count Duckula and Danger Mouse on DVD… anyone else?
You are wrong about Nancy Cartwright voicing Chuckie on Rugrats, that character was voiced by Christine Cavanaugh, who also voiced the part of Gosalyn in my favorite cartoon Darkwing Duck. She also did Dexter, from Dexter’s Lab and Babe the pig from the movie Babe.
posted by Andie on 11-27-2007 at 11:38 am
I think most of the guys in my generation know Scatman Crothers best for being the voice of Jazz in The Transformers cartoon!
posted by RosiePerez on 11-27-2007 at 11:43 am
It actually says “a few episodes as Chucky” so don’t get all uptight about it…
posted by rosieperez on 11-27-2007 at 11:46 am
Patrick Warburton also recently played the voice of “Ken” in “The Bee Movie”… what a great voice!
posted by Rob on 11-27-2007 at 11:47 am
The voice of Piglet, John Fiedler, was also juror #2 in 12 Angry Men.
posted by Mike on 11-27-2007 at 11:48 am
Most of the guys in my generation know Scatman best as the voice of Hong Kong Phooey.
posted by Craig Giles on 11-27-2007 at 11:52 am
John Fiedler was also Mr. Peterson on the Bob Newhart show…sweet..
my fave voice actress at the moment is Tara Strong…she voices Bubbles in the Powerpuff Girls as well as a host of other cartoon characters…I am fascinated with voice actors, as I myself cannot ‘do’ other voices worth a darn…
posted by donner on 11-27-2007 at 11:53 am
June Foray has some awesome credits at IMDB. Both Rocky and Natasha from Bullwinkle, Granny and Witch Hazel from Looney Tunes, Jokey Smurf, and Cindy Loo Who, among literally hundreds of others.
posted by ianrey on 11-27-2007 at 11:54 am
Cool post - I always enjoy seeing the weird ways these things manage to interconnect.
Lorenzo Music, the voice of Garfield, also appeared (vocally only) in a few episodes of the Mary Tyler Moore Show (and Rhoda) as the voice of Carlton the doorman. I remember watching MTM for the first time on Nick at Nite and thinking how cool it must be to have Garfield as your door cat.
posted by Roger on 11-27-2007 at 11:54 am
Mustn’t forget Hans Conreid. He voiced Snidely Whiplash (Dudley Do-Right’s nemesis), and was Captain Hook in the original animated Peter Pan, among many others. Judging from his imdb page, he was never out of work.
In the same multi-purpose category, Paul Frees. We still hear him each year as Santa in the animated Frosty the Snowman, but of course, mneh-heh-heh, he was Boris Badenov, opposed by Moose and Squirrel.
posted by cybergoober on 11-27-2007 at 11:59 am
re: post #5
John Fiedler! One of the most Piglet-like parts for a human in all the old Disney movies, Mr. Smee in Peter Pan!
posted by cybergoober on 11-27-2007 at 12:01 pm
In the early days of cartoons, and particularly TV cartoons, nearly all of the voice talent were former radio actors. Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Barney Rubble, et.al) was on The Jack Benny Program, Burns & Allen, and many others in addition to hosting his own show ‘The Mel Blanc Show’ for one season. Arthur Q. Bryan (Elmer Fudd) was a regular on Fibber McGee & Molly, The Great Gildersleeve and others. Bill Thompson (Droopy, Audobon J. Woodlore & others) was at least 6 characters on Fibber McGee & Molly. Allan Reed (Fred Flintstone) co starred on Life With Luigi and appeared on many other shows, sometimes as a heavy in dramatic or mystery shows. Bea Benadaret (Betty Rubble) appeared on practically every radio show in the 1940’s and 1950s at one time or another, and was one of the few voice actors to make a solid transition to TV as a face actor, in The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction. Jean Vander Pyl (Wilma Flinstone) and the aforementioned Verna Felton (Mrs Slaghoople, Wilma’s mother) were also huge radio vets. I think this is why early Hanna Barbera, in particular The Flintsones, were so good is because they were basically animated radio plays - in order to overcome the limitations of ‘limited animation’, the story and soundtrack HAD to be good!
posted by Greg Steinmayer on 11-27-2007 at 12:09 pm
Hiya Stacy,
The Tick was not voiced by Patrick Warburton.
Patrick played Tick in the live action series that debuted after the cartoon had ended.
In the cartoon, the Tick was voiced by the famous Townsend Coleman, and Arthur was voiced (for the first 13 episodes) by Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees!
Check them both out on IMDB. They’ve both done a million voicers!
And hey ianrey - thanks for mentioning the excellent June Foray!
posted by Karla on 11-27-2007 at 12:11 pm
My mistake, not as Smee, apparently - - and it was not an animated John Fiedler whom I saw being a Smee-oid character. Where was he ….
???????????
posted by cybergoober on 11-27-2007 at 12:12 pm
Frank Welker - he was Freddy on Scooby Doo, and also had parts in Garfield and Friends, the Simpsons, Gargoyles, Transformers, Johnny Quest, Dexter’s Lab, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Snorks, 2 Stupid Dogs, Smurfs, Muppet Babies, Bobby’s World, Inspector Gadget, Ducktales, Gummi Bears and countless movies. He also did the gopher noises in Caddyshack II :D
posted by Clotho on 11-27-2007 at 12:22 pm
Back in the mid-1980s (I think) I saw a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie called “Marian Rose White” about a young girl who was institutionalized basically because her mother didn’t want her anymore. Anyway, I was thinking about this film the other day and looked it up on IMdB and was surprised to see that a young Nancy Cartwright had played Marian (I think it was her first film role).
posted by Jill on 11-27-2007 at 12:23 pm
Fun post!
I always enjoy when a character is voiced by the same person throughout the life of the cartoon. One thing I cannot stand is when they change the voice for a character and you can tell.
posted by Lindsay D on 11-27-2007 at 12:31 pm
I was TOTALLY gonna mention Frank Welker! But then again, I don’t know where else we’ve heard him other than the four gamillion cartoons he’s done over the past twenty years or so. Talk about always having gainful employment.
posted by Dan on 11-27-2007 at 12:31 pm
Don’t forget Cree Summer (of A Different World)- voiced Penny from Inspector Gadget, Elmyra Duff and Mary Melody in Tiny Toon Adventures, Susie Carmichael in Rugrats, Foxxy Love in Drawn Together, Dulcy the dragon in Sonic the Hedgehog, and Miranda from As Told by Ginger.
posted by Dena on 11-27-2007 at 12:41 pm
I didn’t realize until recently that King Louie from the Jungle Book was voiced by Louis Prima.
I’m also a big fan of Robin Hood. Friar Tuck from that movie was voiced by the great western character actor Andy Devine. The minstrel rooster in that movie was Roger Miller.
posted by Jeremiah on 11-27-2007 at 12:43 pm
Cree Summer:
Freddie in “A Different World” is a prolific voice artist:
Drawn Together - Foxxy Love
Codename: Kids Next Door - Numbuh 5
Rugrats - Susie Carmichael
Atlantis: The Lost Empire - Princess Kida
Tiny Toon Adventures - Elmyra Duff
Captain Planet and the Planeteers - Karen
Inspector Gadget - Penny
This is only a sample of the more notable credits.
posted by opie on 11-27-2007 at 12:47 pm
I’m somewhat infamous for my ability to spot voice actors in their myriad roles, especially in English dubs of anime and in video games - there is a lot of overlap in voice acting between those two.
My favorite oft-heard voice is Steven Blum. Any time my fiance watches dubbed anime on Cartoon Network, I can usually spot Blum; he does a ton of video game work, too. I’m not sure this is going to be a surprising list, since his gravelly voice is very distinctive, but a small sampling:
Spike in Cowboy Bebop
Wolverine in the X-Men Legends video games
Mugen in Samurai Champloo
Vincent Valentine in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
This doesn’t sound like much, but looking at his IMDB listing, the dude is EVERYWHERE. I can always pick his voice out even if he’s just a minor character.
I play a similar game with Johnny Yong Bosch, aka Vash the Stampede in Trigun and Kaneda in the recent dub of Akira (and once, the Black Power Ranger!). He’s not quite as prolific as Blum but he still shows up in a ton of places.
posted by Rachael on 11-27-2007 at 12:56 pm
Star Wars fans … Mark Hamill has found plenty o’ work in the animation world. My favorite is The Joker in “Batman” but also Solomon Grundy on “Justice League”
posted by Lindy on 11-27-2007 at 12:56 pm
And let’s not forget all of the other voice work that Paul Frees has done for Disney, including the Ghost Host of various Haunted Mansions, assorted Pirates of the Caribbean voices, narration for Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, Prof. Ludwig von Drake, and so many more.
posted by Sorcerer Mickey on 11-27-2007 at 1:07 pm
Thank you for this article.
I have always encouraged my children to notice voices and actors in different roles, and they are very good. It is nice to add faces to some of the “voice only” actors.
Last week I was watching a rerun of Coach, my 9 year old stopped in the room and said that he knew the voice. He was right of course - he knew it from the Incredibles.
posted by Elizabeth on 11-27-2007 at 1:11 pm
Among various cartoons (and my favorite Animaniac, Wakko Warner), Jess Harnell did the voices for Ironhide and Barricade in the Transformers movie.
I’m not going to lie; that kind of blew my mind to think of Wakko’s Ringo-esque voice and Ironhide/Barricade’s voices coming from the same guy!
posted by Melodye on 11-27-2007 at 1:12 pm
Gary Cole, who played Bill Lumbergh in ‘Office Space’, provided the voice of Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law. Mr. Cole has also done numerous voice parts on ‘Family Guy’.
Interestingly enough, Stephen Colbert was originally cast as Birdman, but ended up voicing Harvey’s boss, Phil Ken Sebben.
posted by Jordan on 11-27-2007 at 1:24 pm
My favorite identify-the-voice game is trying to figure out what celebrity is narrating the commercial I’m watching. I know Patrick Dempsey does Mazda and George Clooney does Budweiser, but my roommates don’t agree that John Corbett is doing Kraft-Maid cabinet commercials. Does anybody know?
posted by Adrienne on 11-27-2007 at 1:27 pm
I remember how totally surprised I was when I learned that Casey Kasem was Shaggy.
posted by Robin on 11-27-2007 at 1:38 pm
Yesterday there was a commercial on that I swear was voiced by Steve Buscemi and Norm Macdonald.
posted by Leah on 11-27-2007 at 1:44 pm
I’d like to mention Thurl Ravenscroft—the original Tony the Tiger, and the magnificent deep bass voice that sings “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” in the animated Christmas special. He was also the bass of the Sportsmen quartet heard on the Jack Benny radio program and seen in Soundies of the 1940s.
Darla Hood, of Our Gang/Little Rascals fame, also did voices for commercials, including the Chicken of the Sea mermaid. According to the book “Our Gang: The Life and Times of the Little Rascals,” she was once approached to do the voice of a sore toe. “Which foot?” she asked. “I’ll find out and call you back,” replied the agency—and reportedly, they did!
Last but not least, for ubiquity and versatility, the great Arnold Stang, who is still alive and well and, I’ve heard, still doing voice work.
posted by MandC on 11-27-2007 at 1:48 pm
Great post! Sterling Holloway goes way back… he was also the voice of the stork in Dumbo.
posted by Miss Cellania on 11-27-2007 at 1:54 pm
speaking of Office Space, Stephen Root, who played Milton (Swingline stapler) voices Bill Dauterive in King of the Hill…he’s also been in American Dad, The Fox and the Hound 2, Ice Age 1 & 2, and Finding Nemo among others
:)
posted by Clotho on 11-27-2007 at 1:56 pm
I’m a big fan of Pamela Adlon, who voices Bobby on King of the Hill.
In fact, the whole cast is great. Mike Judge, Kathy Najimy, Steven Root, and Brittany Murphy all do some great voice over work on the show.
posted by hifidigitalboy on 11-27-2007 at 2:05 pm
Whoa! You didn’t mention Billy West’s greatest contribution! He offered his voice the old Nickelodeon show, “Doug.” He was Doug!
posted by Andy on 11-27-2007 at 2:21 pm
OMG! I can’t believe that more of you didn’t mention June Foray. She is the Queen of Cartoon Voices having done Rocket J Squirrel from Rocky and Bullwinkle, Witch Hazel of Looney Tunes (the most wonderful cackle with hairpins flying. She and Mel Blanc were a wonderful team when they’d get together.
posted by Jamie Smith on 11-27-2007 at 2:25 pm
the theme song from Doug is the song most often stuck in my head…it can get annoying :P
:)
posted by Clotho on 11-27-2007 at 2:26 pm
I love cartoons. Being an adult I own tons of Hanna Barbara dvd s - Scooby doo is probably my favorite as a child. I have Ducktales and HongKong Phooey and Top Cat Flintstones Jetsons
A bunch of others, just can’t think of them yet.
posted by Janet on 11-27-2007 at 2:59 pm
Um - No Mel Blanc…???
posted by Erik on 11-27-2007 at 2:59 pm
Rosie Perez is the voice of Click! the Camera on the Go, Diego, Go! cartoon. I’d still rather run my fingers over a cheese grater than have to hear it!
posted by Jill on 11-27-2007 at 3:04 pm
Boy, you guys will mention Frank Welker (who did a LOT of voices), but not Peter Cullen. He’s best known as the voice of Optimus Prime, but he has also done a TON of other voices as well. I had no idea the guy did Eeyore as well as Mogwai and various gremlins from the Gremlins movie. This guy was my childhood and he is still going strong. Seriously, check out his really impressive listing at IMDB, he practically voiced every show in the late 70’s through the 80’s.
posted by Allen on 11-27-2007 at 3:08 pm
Dena- THANKS SO MUCH you just solved what was bothering me about Foxxy Love… sounds JUST like Susie Carmichael!
posted by Kelly J on 11-27-2007 at 3:12 pm
No love for Maurice LaMarche? Best known as “Brain” (as in “Pinky and the Brain”), he also played “Kif” on Futurama, “Gus” on Tripping the Rift (yes, I admit it, I watched it), and much, much more? (check him out on imdb.com)
With a voice like that, I could try to take over the world.
posted by Ken on 11-27-2007 at 3:41 pm
How about Paul Winchell among his credits are: Tigger, Zummi Gummi, Goober, Dick Dastardly, Fleegle, Gargamel, Baby Smurf, Nosey Smurf
posted by Rance on 11-27-2007 at 3:46 pm
Tom Kenny is the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, but I knew him first from all of his characters on Mr. Show, a decidely non-kiddie show.
posted by Rachel on 11-27-2007 at 3:48 pm
And also: H. Jon Benjamin, who was probably best known as Ben on the Dr. Katz series, but then went on to do voices in every single cartoon on Adult Swim haha. You can recognize that voice anywhere. My favorite is the can of vegetables from “Wet Hot American Summer.”
posted by Rachel on 11-27-2007 at 3:53 pm
Boo, Wikipedia! The voice of the original Honey-Nut Cheerios Bee belongs to none other than Mr. Arnold Stang, who you might have seen being thrown around a garage by Jonathan Winters in “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World,” or, if you’re my type of movie fan, co-starring with Arnold Schwartzenegger in Arnie’s debut film, “Hercules In New York.”
posted by Joe Maz on 11-27-2007 at 4:10 pm
Yay, Wikipedia! Just checked the HNCB page, and it’s been corrected.
posted by Joe Maz on 11-27-2007 at 4:14 pm
If you are a trecie then you probably already know this, many actors on Star Trec Generations does the voices for Disney’s Gargoyles (the best cartoon ever)
Not being a trekie but living with one i found it very odd to here Desdemona and Cold Stone talking as trec characters
Great blog
posted by Lindsey U on 11-27-2007 at 4:38 pm
How about the great Casey Kasem, the voice of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo. He also did Robin on the SuperFriends and several characters in the Transformers cartoons.
posted by Walt Buchanan on 11-27-2007 at 4:59 pm
I’ve got four kids, and have been catching these voices out the corner of my ear in different animated movies for a long time. There are some really great ones.
If you haven’t watched it yet, rent “Cars” on DVD and watch the extra bits at the end; in it they do spoofs on some of the other Disney animations. John Ratzenberger (Cliff Claven from Cheers), does the voice of a semi truck in the movie, and in the spoof he is watching different movies at a drive-in theater. He comments on the voice talent in a couple of them (his voice!) then says, “Hey! They’re just reusing the same voice over & over again!” (it really is funny; I just can’t tell a joke very well.)
Sterling Holloway is one of my all-time favorites in animation and movies, probably stemming from the Pooh part that really immortalized him. But he did a lot more than what’s listed; check out his profile on IMDB: www.imdb.com/name/nm0001359/
Patrick Warburton also voiced the Prince in “Happily N’Ever After”. A minor part, but even my 8 year old was able to pick him out; “Hey, that’s Kronk!”
There are also some animated movies where they cast the parts all wrong; Bruce Willis in “Over the Hedge” was all wrong to me. Sure, Willis is a big name, but they could’ve done better.
posted by Dave on 11-27-2007 at 5:28 pm
And AGAIN, speaking of Office Space, David Herman, who played Michael Bolton (no relation!) has done a lot of voice-over work himself: Futurama, King of the Hill, Bee Movie, American Dad, and I’m sure many, many more. Those Office Space guys really get around!
posted by Erin S. on 11-27-2007 at 5:45 pm
I should also mention that I was watching Christmas Vacation last weekend and discovered that Mae Questel (Betty Boop and Olive Oyl) was also Aunt Bethany. Don’t throw me down, Clark!!
posted by Stacy on 11-27-2007 at 5:52 pm
“Mark Hamill has found plenty o’ work in the animation world.”
He’s also on “Metalocalypse.”
Check out Regina King’s work on “The Boondocks.” Emmy-worthy.
posted by cazart on 11-27-2007 at 5:55 pm
Thanks so much for this post! I literally spend HOURS looking on IMDB and follow links to different Disney movies based on who the voices were. Back in Walt’s hey-dey, you can get to a lot of movies. Here’s a few I found:
Wendy from Peter Pan and Alice of Alice in Wonderland were both voiced by Katherine Beaumont.
Eva Gabor was Duchess in Aristocats and Miss Bianca in both Rescuers movies.
Ben Wright played Pongo on 101 Dalmations and years later played Grimsby in The Little Mermaid. Accordig to IMDB, the people who hired him didn’t know he’d done a Disney movie prior, he had to tell them.
The last one is not technically a voiceover, but Patrick Warburton is the announcer of the ride “Soarin’ Over California” at Disney’s California Adventure in California. He’s the one who tells you to buckle up and take off your hats.
Thanks for writing about something I’m so passionate about.
posted by Tricia on 11-27-2007 at 6:22 pm
Looking into the matter, I discovered that Townsend Coleman was also the voice of Michelangelo on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, and further, that the voice of Shredder was none other than James Avery, better known as Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Another connection to TMNT is Jim Cummings, who has a HUGE IMDB listing. He was the singing voice of Christopher Lloyd’s Rasputin in Anastasia, he took over as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger after the death of Sterling Holloway, he was Darkwing Duck, and Monterey Jack from Rescue Rangers. Makes me want to get into some voiceover work.
posted by Gerald on 11-27-2007 at 7:10 pm
Patrick Warburton wasn’t the voice of Buzz Lightyear. That was Tim Allen.
posted by Walter on 11-27-2007 at 9:30 pm
The thing I am most appreciative to Sterling Holloway for is his mother’s cheese cake which is in the 1st edition Betty Crocker Cookbook and is the best I’ve ever eaten. (And I’ve tasted a LOT of cheesecake!)
Betty says, “First enjoyed at a buffet supper at the Bob Rypinski’s in Pasadena. The recipe comes from Mrs. Rheba Holloway, Sterling Holloway’s mother.”
posted by punkinsmom on 11-27-2007 at 10:23 pm
I almost came outta my chair until I read that at least a couple of you recognized Casey Casem as a voice you could pick out all the time. I was so juiced as a kid when I figured out that Shaggy was also a voice in Josie and the Pussycats. YAY 8 year old ME!!!!
posted by Krick on 11-27-2007 at 10:45 pm
Another one that just occurred to me is in the Thomas the Tank Engine series & videos, narration is done by either Alec Baldwin or George Carlin! I was absolutely floored when I heard Carlin’s voice when my son started watching that show; all I could think of was “The Seven Words You Can’t Say On TV” (I won’t tell you what they are!)
posted by Dave on 11-28-2007 at 12:21 am
Let’s not forget Larry Storch, of F-Troop fame, who contributed his voice to countless cartoons. AND Don Adams (Maxwell Smart, agent 86 of CONTROL) who voiced Tennesee Tuxedo!
posted by Steve on 11-28-2007 at 3:22 am
If you ever watched the TV show Coach, Hayden Fox played by Craig T. Nelson does the voice of Mr. Incredible in the Incredibles movie. Also off Coach Dauber played by Bill Fagerbakke does a ton of voice over work including Patrick Starfish on Spongebob Squarepants.
posted by James on 11-28-2007 at 3:51 am
Here’s something I always found interesting. Lorenzo Music, who i first remember as the voice of the unseen Carlton the Doorman on Rhoda was the voice of voice of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray’s character) on the Ghostbusters cartoon and Garfield. He had passed away by the time Garfield hit the big screen, so who did they get to voice Garfield? Bill Murray!
posted by Billy2Times on 11-28-2007 at 7:31 am
No where do I see mentioned Paul Winchell whose credits include the voices of Tigger, Fleagle from the Banana Splits and Gargamel from the Smurfs
posted by Martin on 11-28-2007 at 7:33 am
Great post, my kids and I love figuring out where we’ve heard that voice before. Just lately I notice that Kevin McDonald (from Kids in the Hall) keeps turning up in cartoons. My personal favorite, though, is Tim Curry.
posted by WayMobyGirl on 11-28-2007 at 7:52 am
I don’t think any list of great American voice actors is complete without mention of Jason Marsden.
He’s been doing voice acting since 1990, and a copule of my favorite examples of his work include Max Goof (A Goofy Movie/ An Extrememly Goofy Movie/ House of Mouse); Kovu (The Lion King II); Haku (Spirited Away); Tino (The Weekenders); and Chase Young (Xaolin Showdown). He also does a lot of work with Warner/DC animated properties.
posted by mercurialwater on 11-28-2007 at 8:26 am
Oh, goodness! You forgot Rob Paulsen!
A few of his roles:
Snowjob (GI Joe)
Gladstone Gardner (Duck Tales)
Gusto Gummi (Gummi Bears)
Many voices in Tiny Toons (Fowlmouth, Arnold Dog, etc)
Yakko, Pinky, Dr Scratchensniff, (and about 8 million other voices in Animaniacs)
PJ (Gooftroop)
Max (from Mighty Max)
Antoine (Sonic the Hedgehog, SatAM)
Raphael (TMNT)
Arthur (from The TICK)
Carl (Jimmy Neutron, and he also played Carl’s mom and dad)
Mark Chang (Fairly Odd Parents, along with Chester’s dad, Bucky McBadbat)
The Box Ghost (Danny Phantom, along with Jack Fenton)
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Basically, if something is being animated and voice actors are required, there’s a very good chance you’ll see Rob Paulsen’s name in the credits. Check out his IMDB listing. It’s insane.
posted by Stephanie on 11-28-2007 at 8:56 am
Not sure if this counts, but I watched “Pushing Daisies” for the first time last week. I was astonished and pleased to hear the voice of Jim Dale as the narrator. I am familiar with Jim Dale’s work as the reader of the Harry Potter books on tape. I listened to all but the first two books on tape, having read the first two in old-school page-turning format. It’s reassuring to hear a familiar voice in new surroundings.
posted by Ken on 11-28-2007 at 8:58 am
I can’t believe only one other person mentioned Maurice LaMarche! He’s in everything…. along with Patrick Warburton, of course. Maurice is an icon.
posted by Erica on 11-28-2007 at 9:24 am
One of my relatives, Pinto Colvig, was one of the first and greatest voices of Disney. He acted two of the seven dwarfs, Goofy, one of the Three Little Pigs, and others. (You can google him and see his credits.) If you are old enough you will remember one of the first “talking books” for kids, the Bozo the Clown series (Bozo at the Circus, Under the Sea, and so forth…turn the page when you hear the honking horn.)That was Pinto!
posted by marthe on 11-28-2007 at 9:25 am
FYI, Billy West did both Ren and Stimpy after John K — who was the show’s creator and did Ren’s voice — was fired from the show. John K. still resents that Billy stayed with the show and didn’t leave in a soidarity move.
Also, someone mentioned Frank Welker. He not only does Freddie on Scooby-Doo and all those great voices, but he’s also the voice of Nibbler on Futurama.
posted by Joel on 11-28-2007 at 9:59 am
Walter - Tim Allen was the voice of Buzz Lightyear for the Toy Story Movies. Patrick Warburton was the voice of Buzz Lightyear for the Buzz Lightyear cartoon series.
Sterling Holloway was also Prof. Oscar Quinn in the Adventures of Superman TV series in the 50s. He has such an unforgettable voice that he was always instantly identifiable.
posted by sperry on 11-28-2007 at 10:22 am
Grey DeLisle -
She voices at least one character on on almost every cartoon currently on nick or cartoon network.
Lizzie - Kids Next Door
Franky - Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends
Mandy - Grimm Tales of Billy and Mandy (and others)
Hana - Kim Possible
Riley - The Replacements
Azula - Avatar
Sam - Danny Phantom
Frida - El Tigre
Lupe _ Gym Partner is amonkey (and others)
Kimiko - Xioalin Showdown
Vicky - Fairly Odd Parents
Yumi - Puffy Ami Yumi
Daphne - Most new Scooby Cartoons
And thats just where she is a regular character.
posted by George on 11-28-2007 at 10:36 am
Excellent article and comments.
This is a little off the orginal topic, but does anyone remember “Spider-Man: The New Annimated Series (Shown on MTV)? It had a lot of famous actors doing voices. Here are some…
Neil Patrick Harris - Spiderman
Lisa Loeb - Mary Jane
Ian Ziering - Harry Osborn
Rob Zombie - Dr. Curt Conners/The Lizard
Michael Dorn (ST:TNG) - Kraven the Hunter
Michael Clarke Duncan - The Kingpin
James Marsters (Buffy and Angel)- Sergei
Harold Perrineau Jr. (LOST) - Turbo Jet
Gina Gershon - Shikata
Others: Jeremy Piven, Eve, John C. McGinley and Kathy Griffin
posted by Phrank Loyed on 11-28-2007 at 10:38 am
Hal Smith, who did tons of cartoons from the 1960s until his death in the 1990s, was Owl on the Winnie the Pooh TV series and played Otis Campbell, the drunk on the old “Andy Griffith” TV show.
posted by Mr. Jones on 11-28-2007 at 12:00 pm
Has anyone mentioned Keith David yet? He was Goliath on Gargoyles, Spawn in Spawn, Despro in Justice League, Atlas in Teen Titans. He was also the Dad in Pitch Black. He has an incredible list himself.
I also like Phil LaMarr who also gets around: Futurama, Green Lantern in Justice League and others.
Some of my other Fav’s:
Kevin Conroy - The Best Batman voice ever
Carl Lumbly - The Martian Manhunter and the Progressive Auto spokesman
posted by Chris on 11-28-2007 at 12:38 pm
John Fiedler was also, of course, the psychotic Redjac (aka Jack the Ripper) on the classic Star Trek episode “Wolf in the Fold”.
posted by Jeff Wilson on 11-28-2007 at 1:08 pm
Holy mackeral - how could any discussion of ubiquitous modern cartoon voices exclude Tom Kenny?!
Known chiefly for Spongebob, but the voice of a passel of others, including Heffer the Cow on Rocko’s Modern Life, Dog from CatDog, the Narrator and Mayor on Powerpuff Girls, the Penguin on Batman, Eduardo on Foster’s Home… and Algonquin C. Lumpus on Camp Lazlo… along with at least one appearance in nearly any other cartoon you could think of!
On the other side of the coin, Allen Reed - the voice of Fred Flintstone - did almost no other voice work but the classic Fred (with a few notable exceptions, like Lady & The Tramp)..
posted by pappyredux on 11-28-2007 at 1:35 pm
Congratulations on discovering the hobby of voice chasing! There is even an entire website dedicated to such a thing. Too bad the talented actors don’t often get the credit they deserve for these memorable roles.
posted by John on 11-28-2007 at 2:01 pm
Hi there!
Excellent tribute and compilation of voice actors here on this list.
Thank you for writing. What a treat :) I will be linking to your article tomorrow from my blog, VOX Daily.
Cheers,
Stephanie Ciccarelli
Co-founder of Voices.com
posted by Stephanie Ciccarelli on 11-28-2007 at 2:05 pm
Patrick Warburton is awesome. He now is in a sitcom called Rules of Engagement, which I actually enjoy.
posted by Preeti on 11-28-2007 at 2:35 pm
I only knew Scatman Crothers as Turkle from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”
posted by bobwalrus5 on 11-28-2007 at 3:13 pm
Let’s not forget Brad Garrett, star of ‘Til Death and Everybody Loves Raymond. Among his voice work is Trypticon (Transformers), Bibbo and Lobo (Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited), Torque (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command), Bloat (Finding Nemo), Gusteau (Ratatouille), and from one of my favorite cartoons, he was the voice of the Big Dog on 2 Stupid Dogs.
posted by Brian on 11-28-2007 at 3:38 pm
No mention of Phil Lamarr? That guy is in almost every animated show on TV including Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, Justice League, Futurama, Transformers, Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Family Guy, Kim Possible and many more.
posted by Hubert on 11-28-2007 at 4:11 pm
Only one mention of the great Thurl Ravenscroft? Tsk!
In addition to the voices of Tony the Tiger and the vocals on You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch, he also, with Paul Frees, did some voice work for the Disney parks, including singing the “Grim Grinning Ghosts” song that plays in the Haunted Mansion.
posted by Andy Anonymous on 11-28-2007 at 6:22 pm
I also have to give special mention to the late Chris Latta, for doing the distinctive voice of two characters children in the 80s would know well: the Decepticon, Starscream, and Cobra Commander from G.I. Joe.
posted by Andy Anonymous on 11-28-2007 at 6:24 pm
Billy West is also the voice of the Red m&m in the m&m commercials.
posted by Rain on 11-28-2007 at 6:57 pm
As I was watching the fantastic comedy classic “Ball of Fire”, I noticed that the man who played Professor Oddly sounded VERY familiar. I checked the credits at the end of the film and my guess was right… The actor was a man named Richard Haydn… best known as the voice of The Caterpillar on Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. Yes, he either REALLY talks like that or it’s a voice in his repertoire. I kept expecting Professor Oddly to shout “WHO… R… U?!?!”
posted by Mike on 11-28-2007 at 8:13 pm
As a die-hard SpongeBob SquarePants fan, I was surprised to find out that Tom Kenny also voices Jake on My Gym Partner is a Monkey and was also the voice of a kangaroo on an episode of Wild Thornberrys way back when. Actually, the kangaroo’s voice was a lot like SpongeBob’s, which was odd, since I’m used to hearing it issued from a cartoon sponge.
posted by Ellen on 11-28-2007 at 9:26 pm
Debi Derryberry is the voice of Jimmy Neutron, Clay on Disney Playhouse, Coco Bandicoot in countless video games starring him, and countless other voices. Other interesting note, she’s about 4′ 11″ tall, and knows how to scuba dive - that landed her the part of stunt double for the kid in Free Willy - that’s right folks, in the underwater scenes with the whale, that’s not Jason James Richter, it’s Debi.
I think Debi is fabulous!!
posted by Jennifer on 11-29-2007 at 7:06 am
one vote for Mary Elizabeth McGlynn voice of The Major in Ghost in the Shell work post the original movie.
posted by kalsf on 11-29-2007 at 8:28 am
Finally, 2 Phil Lamar mentions, now 3 with this. This guy is in everything and most of the time you can’t even tell it is him. I guess people will recognise him as the hyperactive UBS delivery guy from MadTV. His list of voice-overs is a mile long.
Samurai Jack - Jack
Justice League - Green Lantern
Static Shock - Static
Futurama - Hermes
Jimmy Neutron - Bolbi Stroganofsky
Shrek the Third - Lancelot
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends - Wilt
Harvey Birdman - Black Vulcan
And this is the stuff that I can remember.
posted by Kool G on 11-29-2007 at 8:53 am
Where is Peter Cullen? He is the iconic voice of Optimus Prime. “At the end of this day, one shall stand and one shall fall!”
The new movie blew, but just hearing his voice as Optimus brought back some great memories.
Not to mention that he has been the voice of Eeyore for over 20 years.
posted by Bill Cowell on 11-29-2007 at 9:25 am
Maybe not the most prolific, but certainly one of my favorites is Pat Buttram.
Most notably the voice of the Sheriff of Nottiham in Disney’s Robin Hood, his high pitched drawl can be heard in Roger Rabbit, AristoCats, the Rescuers, the Fox and the Hound. Also loved hearing his voice as one of the old timers in the saloon in Back to the Future III.
posted by Chris on 11-29-2007 at 12:24 pm
I can’t believe noone mentioned Gilbert Gottfried. He does the voice of Dr. Bender/Wendell Bender in the Fairly Oddparents, Digit in Cyberchase, the Troll in Dilbert, Mr. Mxyzptlk in Superman cartoons, Iago the Parrot in Aladdin, Art De Salvo in Duckman and he is always on The Tonight Show performing as some twerpy character.
posted by RayS on 11-29-2007 at 2:36 pm
I’m shocked no one has mentioned Scott McNeil yet, being one of the most prolific voice actors around today. Probably best known to Transformers fan as he did Beast Wars/Beastmachines as Rattrap, Dinobot, Silverbold, Waspinator (ie, half the cast) and
Tranformers: Armada, Energon and Cybertron as Jetfire, Snarl, Backstop, Strongarm.
His credits also include:
Reboot, the new He-Man series (again, half the cast), all the Gundam series, Dragon Ball Z, X-Men Evolution (Wolverine), the Dawn of War games, the new GI Joes, Mega Man, Bucky O’Hare, Darkstalkers, Escaflowne…
And that’s just a selection. I advise looking at his IMDB page for more.
posted by gemnoire on 11-30-2007 at 5:17 am
wow! so many things i didn’t know about my fave cartoons. Nancy Cartwright rules! she also played gusty in my little pony, one of my childhood favs. i have her autograph, its one of my prized possessions. go to the nancy show.com and you can find out more about her work and recent events.yes, for a while she did play chuckie from the rugrats, but that was after christine, so i think its amazing that she can change her voice like that. also, tara strong plays timmy from fairly odd parents-i love that show too! i was so surprised to see just how many other voice overs billy west did, i only know him from futerama as fry. he doesn’t look as i’d imagined him to. what talent! i also agree about mel blac and verna felton- i love her voice. i was so surprised to hear that she played the queen of hearts from alice in wonderland. from soft and kind to loud and dangerous, lol. i admire them all and they inspire me to get into voice acting. i also love cree summer. i used to love inspector gadget, and was surprised to hear that she played penny, but now i can recognise her. she also plays the dragon in barbie as repunzel. i just love her voice!
posted by Hannah on 11-30-2007 at 3:08 pm
amazing
posted by david jones on 12-5-2007 at 8:33 am
Great list - I need to throw in Cam Clarke - Leonardo on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Die Fledermaus in The Tick, Liquid Snake in Metal Gear Solid game, Prince Adam/He-Man (2002 version), voice of the Blood Elf Male in World of Warcraft, plus heaps of other shows, movies and videogames.
posted by Ksenia on 12-9-2007 at 4:19 am
Steve Buscemi and Norm MacDonald do the voices of gingerbread men in a commercial airing now for AT&T.
Lorenzo Music was also the voice of Tummy Gummy on the Gummy Bears.
posted by smikwily on 12-11-2007 at 12:10 pm
Doesn’t Antonio Banderas voice the cartoon bee in the Nasonex commercials?
posted by Bryan on 12-14-2007 at 8:38 pm
What I most remember is how shocked I was that Jerry Orbach is the voice of Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast. I knew him from Law and Order, and had watched the movie dozens of times before I made the connection thanks to IMDb.
posted by Rioux on 12-16-2007 at 3:05 pm
typo under billy west: “For five SEASONS, he gave Stimpy a voice on Nickelodeon’s Ren and Stimpy.” and yeah, he was both ren & stimpy toward the end.
some guy named charlie adler did quite a few voices: buster bunny on ‘tiny toons’, mr. & mrs. bighead on ‘rocko’s modern life’, cow AND chicken, I R baboon…a ton of stuff.
cree summer: penny from ‘inspector gadget’, elmira from ‘tiny toons’, foxxy love on ‘drawn together’, susie on ‘rugrats’, and she was on ‘a different world’.
but you know who i CAN’T STAND? kath soucie. she may be most popular as the voice of phil & lil on ‘rugrats’, but her annoying voice is EVERYWHERE…i don’t think there’s a cartoon she hasn’t been on…look her up on IMDb. c’mon, if you’re gonna play THAT many characters, at least make them SOUND DIFFERENT!
posted by Rachel on 12-18-2007 at 6:35 pm
Fun article. In Disney’s Peter Pan, Mr. Smee was voiced by the aforementioned master, Bill Thompson.
Have to mention Stan Freberg’s work in many late-’40s Warner Bros cartoons (particularly Junyer Bear in the Three Bears series). According to IMDB, he did some work for Disney in the ’50s, too, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t do any voice work for the Beany and Cecil cartoon series in the ’60s–rather, he, along with Daws Butler, created all the Beany and Cecil voices when the show was was a live puppet show in Los Angeles in the early ’50s.
posted by faboofour on 12-19-2007 at 6:17 pm
Anyone remember all the great voice over work that the late, great comedian Paul Lynde did? Templeton the Rat in the original animated “Charlotte’s Web”, the nosey next door neighbor in “Where’s Huddles?”, and countless others.
My favorite was Sylvester Sneakly/The Hooded Claw from “The Perils of Penelope Pitstop”.
But I do have to agree with another comment too: Listening to the annoying voice of Rosie Perez is like listening to a cat with it’s tail stuck in a meat grinder!
posted by Duffy on 12-26-2007 at 7:46 am
All these comments from Disney movies and no one mentioned Phil Harris?
He did Baloo the Bear in the Jungle Book, Thomas O’Malley from The Aristocats and Little John in Robin Hood.
posted by Crystal on 12-26-2007 at 1:45 pm
I was wondering if anyone was going to mention Phil Harris!
Also:
Dave mentioned John Ratzenberger who played Cliff on Cheers. In the scene the end of the movie “Cars”, they show the characters at the drive-in movies. The movies they are watching are Disney/Pixar movies with a “Cars” spin. As Dave said, Ratzenberger’s character says “They keep using the same voice over and over!” This is a joke in reference to his own voice–Ratzenberger has voiced a character in every Disney/Pixar movie:
Toy Story/Toy Story 2: Hamm (the Piggy Bank)
A Bug’s Life: P.T. Flea (ringmaster of the bug circus)
Monsters, Inc.: The Abominable Snowman
Finding Nemo: Fish School
The Incredibles: Underminer
Cars: Mack
Ratatouille: Mustafa
posted by Kaitlin on 12-28-2007 at 4:15 am
“c’mon, if you’re gonna play THAT many characters, at least make them SOUND DIFFERENT!”
Kanga - Winnie the Pooh
Maddie Fenton - Danny Phantom
and my personal favorite
Lola Bunny - Space Jam
posted by Mac on 1-10-2008 at 5:11 am
Tom Kenny should be on the list. He voices SpongeBob SquarePants, Jake from My Gym Partner’s A Monkey, and many others (I might be confusing him with someone else, but I think he voices Rodney in Squirrel Boy, Invader ZIM, and Billy in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy).
posted by Nulikka on 1-17-2008 at 10:16 pm
I am greatly dissappointed that there was no mention of Mel Blanc, who was the orginial voice of every Looney Tunes character since Porky Pig (and also took over for Joe Dougherty as Porky after the poor guy’s death.) Nulikka, you do have Tom Kenny confuses with someone else–Richard Horvirtz, who does in fact voice the three characters you listed in parenthsis.
posted by Seth on 1-30-2008 at 2:22 pm
I’m surprized that no one remembers that Billy west was the voice of Geeker!
It was the top-rated show on saturdays in the mid-late 90’s, and VERY well written.
Look it up, Project G.K.R.
posted by Vast on 4-3-2008 at 7:27 pm
I’m surprised no one mentioned the distinctive voice of Nicole Sullivan, who played Holly Shumpert on the King of Queens. In addition to Mira on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, she is also the voice of Shego on the Kim Possible series.
posted by Jennifer on 5-1-2008 at 10:47 am