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Voice actors in the Sierra Leonean radio soap opera Atunda Ayenda

Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films, television programs, animated short films, and video games) and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.

Mel Blanc

Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists or simply voice talent, and their roles may also involve singing, although a second voice actor is sometimes cast as the character's singing voice. Voice artists are also used to record the individual sample fragments played back by a computer in an automated announcement. At its simplest, this is just a short phrase which is played back as necessary, e.g. the Mind the gap announcement introduced by London Underground in 1969. In a more complicated system such as a speaking clock, the voice artist usually doesn't actually record 1440 different announcements, one for each minute of the day, or even 60 (one for each minute of the hour), instead the announcement is re-assembled from fragments such as "minutes past" "eighteen" and "pm." For example, the word "twelve" can be used for both "Twelve O'Clock" and "Six Twelve." For some automated applications, such as London Underground's Mind the gap announcement, the sound of a voice artist may be preferred over synthesized voices because the human voices sound more natural to the listener.

A list of voice acting by one voice actor, one director, or on one subject, is sometimes called a voxography.

United States[link]

Broadcast media[link]

For live-action production, voice acting often involves reading the parts of computer programs (Douglas Rain; Majel Barrett), radio dispatchers (Shaaron Claridge), or characters who never actually appear on screen but who give instructions by telephone (John Forsythe in Charlie's Angels), or mailed recording (Bob Johnson in Mission: Impossible). "Stunt double" voice actors are sometimes employed; if a voice actor or actress loses his or her voice, someone who sounds similar can step in. For example, when Jeremy Irons' vocal cords became strained during the recording of The Lion King song "Be Prepared", Jim Cummings was called in to finish the song.

It is not unusual to find among the ranks of voice actors people who also act in live-action film or television, or on the stage (see e.g., J. Scott Smart, an "old time radio" actor). For those actors, voice acting has the advantage of offering acting work without having to bother with makeup, costuming, lighting, and so on. An occasional advantage is the fact that through voice acting, an actor can reprise a role that he has played in live action but would be otherwise too aged to portray. An example of this is Walter Koenig in Star Trek New Voyages who reprises his role as Lt. Pavel Chekov.

A common practice in animation is to cast a woman to play the role of a young boy. On The Simpsons, for example, Nancy Cartwright plays Bart Simpson and several other juvenile males. Other voice actresses who would fit this criterion are Tara Strong, who voices Timmy Turner, Poof and, other young boys on The Fairly OddParents, and she voices other young boys on other TV shows, or Regina King as the voice of Huey and Riley Freeman on the Adult Swim show The Boondocks. This casting practice goes back to the early 1930s with actresses such as Mae Questel providing the voices of various male babies and children in Fleischer Studios cartoons, and continues with Elizabeth "E. G." Daily as Tommy Pickles on Rugrats and All Grown Up! today. June Foray, even as a senior citizen, can still faithfully voice Rocket J. Squirrel. Casting adult women for these parts can be especially useful if an ad campaign or a developed series is expected to run for several years, for while the vocal characteristics of a male child actor would change over time, the voice of an adult female will not.

Notable exceptions to using women to voice young boys' roles are the Peanuts animated specials and films, in which boys were actually cast to read the boys' lines (e.g., Charlie Brown, Linus, Schroeder).^[1] In South Park, the authors Trey Parker and Matt Stone are also voice actors for most male roles, especially the boys: Parker voices Stan, Cartman and others while Stone is the voice of Kyle, Kenny, Butters and others. South Park kids' voices are pitched up a little in order to seem more "childish". In addition, kindergarten kids on the show are voiced by actual young children for realism. Jason Marsden has portrayed young male.

Rise in use of film actors for voice roles[link]

For much of the history of North American animation, voice actors had a predominantly low profile as performers, with Mel Blanc the major exception. Other early exceptions include Cliff Edwards in Pinocchio, Edward Brophy in Dumbo and Peggy Lee in Lady and the Tramp. Over time, many movie stars began voice acting in movies, with one of the earliest examples being The Jungle Book, which counted among its cast contemporary stars such as Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders and Sterling Holloway. The film which truly brought about this modern perception, however was Aladdin which was marketed with a noted emphasis on Robin Williams' role, against the actor's own wishes. The success of this film eventually spurred the idea of highlighting the voice actors as stars of a film, this becoming the norm in movie marketing, with a greater focus on hiring Hollywood celebrities for name power, rather than performers with most experience in voice acting, particularly the Toy Story (Tom Hanks and Tim Allen) and Shrek (Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas) franchises. British animation also used big names, most notably Chicken Run (Mel Gibson, Timothy Spall, Jane Horrocks and Miranda Richardson) and Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Ralph Fiennes, Liz Smith, Peter Kay and Helena Bonham Carter). By contrast, using anime voice actors as a box office draw was developed far earlier in Japan.

Voice actor Billy West on the problem with the use of celebrities in voice acting.

Some voice actors, such as Billy West, are highly critical of using movie stars for voices in animated features.^[2] A particular point of contention is the practice of bringing in veteran voice actors (who are generally capable of greatly altering their voices and inflections in order to create personalities for characters) to read for a part, and then use the recording of the professional voice actor as a guide for the movie star, even though the actual character creation work is being done by the unpaid voice actor. West struck back at this practice in Comic Book: The Movie, in which the entire main cast comprises voice actors, including Jess Harnell, Lori Alan, Daran Norris, Mark Hamill and Tom Kenny. The practice of hiring singers to "fill in" for voice actors in a singing role has also seen change, as both Jeremy Irons and Mel Gibson have done singing in the respective films The Lion King and Pocahontas, rather than have a singer as substitute (However, the former did most of his own singing, but due to straining his vocal cords, he didn't finish; instead, Jim Cummings did his partial singing voice for the rest of the song).

Voice actors for commercials and local television[link]

Voice actors have a relatively small but dedicated fan base, with appearances at large events like Comic-Con International, various anime conventions, and websites dedicated to profiling their work.

Commercials for television and radio are also cast using voice acting agencies. Ernie Anderson was one of radio's most prominent voices throughout the 1970s and 1980s and was heard on radio stations across the United States. While Don LaFontaine filled the category of "The Voice of God" until his death in 2008, Ashton Smith, Howard Parker and Miguel Ferrer provide most of the narration for movie trailers. David Mark was heard around the world for various radio stations and across the country for Fox TV, UPN TV and ABC TV.

Training and how-to classes[link]

Many VO coaches who have had success in commercial, narration, and animation offer private training, tele-seminars and weekend workshops for both novice and experienced voice actors. However, care should be exercised when looking for such services. A weekend workshop or tele-seminar cannot possibly set forth all the material needed to begin a career in VO. Many of those offering VO training include making a voice demo MP3. If this is the case, ask to listen to several examples of the work. Learning the art of VO is a process and the longer the training the better the result.

Japan[link]

Voice actors in Japan largely mirror that of their Western counterparts: performing roles in animated cartoons and video games, performing voice-overs for dubs of non-Japanese movies, and providing narration to documentaries and similar programs. However, because the animation industry in Japan is so prolific, voice actors in Japan are able to have full-time careers as voice-over artists. Japanese voice actors are able to take greater charge of their careers than in other countries. Japan also has the institutions to support the career path, with around 130 voice acting schools and troupes of voice actors that work for a specific broadcast company or talent agency. They often attract their own appreciators and fans who watch shows specifically to hear their favorite actor or actress.

Many Japanese voice actors frequently branch into music, often singing the opening or closing themes of shows in which their character stars, or become involved in non-animated side projects such as audio dramas (involving the same characters in new storylines) or image songs (songs sung in character that are not included in the anime but further develop the character).

See also[link]

• List of voice actors
• Adventures in Voice Acting
• The Magic Behind the Voices
• National Audio Theatre Festival
• Voice-over
• Audiobook
• www.ReadThrough.com performs scripts with the help of voice actors everywhere

References[link]

Tom Kenny
Tom Kenny at 2004 the Los Angeles Animation Festival
Born	Thomas James Kenny (1962-07-13) July 13, 1962 (age 49) Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, comedian, voice actor
Years active	1980–present
Spouse	Jill Talley (1993-present)
Children	2 children

Thomas James "Tom" Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor, voice actor, and comedian. He is known for his long-running-role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the television series of the same name, as well as the live-action character Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail and the French narrator based on Jacques Cousteau. He is also the Mayor and narrator of Cartoon Network's The Powerpuff Girls and ScoutMaster Lumpus and Slinkman from Camp Lazlo. Aside from voice acting, Kenny starred in the short-lived Fox sketch show The Edge and was a cast member of the HBO sketch comedy program Mr. Show, where he worked with his wife, Jill Talley. He is also known for being one of the longest-working voice actors to voice Spyro in the Spyro the Dragon series. He voiced Spyro three times, followed by Elijah Wood who voiced Spyro on the same number of instances. Later in 2011, the role of Spyro was passed on to Josh Keaton in: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure.

He currently voices the Ice King in the Cartoon Network animated series Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, and voices additional characters on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. He also voices Quantum Ray in Cosmic Quantum Ray and Plastic Man in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. As of 2007, he hosted the TV show Funday Night at the Movies on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) which encourages children to watch old movies.^[1]

Kenny was born and raised in Syracuse, New York.

Musical career[link]

He was the lead vocalist for the Syracuse, New York-based band The Tearjerkers since the early 1980s, when he replaced the original vocalist Buddy Love. Other members of The Tearjerkers included Charlie Robbins, Dave DeCirce, and Dave Soule, who is still active in the central New York music scene. "Syracuse Summer" is the group's best-known song, and is included on The History of Syracuse Music, Volume XII and XIII. While the Tearjerkers did not become a national act, one Tearjerkers roadie would go on to achieve fame: comedian Bobcat Goldthwait. Goldthwait's film Shakes the Clown features Kenny as Shakes' bitter archrival. In 1980, Kenny was briefly a member of Syracuse-based pop punk band The Trend along with Goldthwait.

Kenny appeared regularly on NBC's music video show Friday Night Videos, in a recurring comedic Music News segment. In 1991, he took over as the show's regular host until being replaced later that year by Frankie Crocker.

In 1996, Kenny appeared along with his wife, Jill Talley, in the music video for "Tonight, Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins, playing a young couple taking their honeymoon on the moon. The video was very popular, winning six MTV Video Music Awards. Kenny also appeared in the music video for "Sing" by the band Travis.

In 2006, Kenny co-wrote and recorded SpongeBob SquarePants: The Best Day Ever with producer Andy Paley. Kenny's singing on the CD is done in the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants and other characters from the show. Other musical artists on the CD include: Brian Wilson, Tommy Ramone, and Flaco Jiménez. The music pays homage to The Beach Boys, The Archies, The Lovin' Spoonful, and The Troggs, among others.^[2]

Kenny makes a vocal cameo in the track "TMZ" on Weird Al Yankovic's 2011 album Alpocalypse.

Acting career[link]

Kenny has acted in many films and TV shows, debuting in How I Got Into College (1989) and later he appeared in films such as Shakes The Clown and Comic Book: The Movie. He appeared in sketch comedies The Edge and Mr. Show. He also appeared in the live-action segments of SpongeBob SquarePants as Patchy the Pirate.

Voice acting career[link]

Kenny at the 2008 Comic-Con International

Although most famous for being the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants since the series premiere in 1999, in "Help Wanted", Tom Kenny has voiced many characters in over 200 productions. It was revealed by Kenny, that his favorite character to voice for, was Slinkman in Camp Lazlo. ^[3] Kenny said that he voices "a lot of sweet yellow characters for some reason."^[4]

He is known to provide the voice of the various meows of Gary the Snail in SpongeBob, but he played his first set of voice actor roles for Rocko's Modern Life, primarily as Heffer Wolfe.^[4] Joe Murray auditioned Kenny for voice acting roles for the series in a casting call in Los Angeles, California.^[5] On one occasion, the producers required Kenny to fill the role of Charlie Adler, who was absent on that occasion. In addition, Kenny had to perform one song and learn how to play another song within ten minutes due to time constraints. He said that this helped him believe that he could stand "toe to toe" with other voice actors.^[6]

Joe Murray chose Kenny for a voice acting position in Camp Lazlo as Lumpus and Slinkman, because Murray, after seeing Kenny's previous work for Rocko's Modern Life, felt that Kenny "adds writing to his roles" and "brings so much".^[7]

He was the voice of Dog in CatDog, as well as the voice of Cliff. He also had a few roles in The Powerpuff Girls TV show. He was the Mayor, the Narrator, Mitch Mitchelson, Snake and Little Arturo from the Gangrene Gang, Rainbow the Clown, etc. He plays a number of roles in the Transformers Animated TV show. A few of the characters he voices in this series are Starscream and his clones, Isaac Sumdac, and Waspinator. He is also the voice of the Autobots Skids and Wheelie in the live-action Transformers film series. He has voiced the Penguin on the TV show The Batman. On Dilbert, Kenny voiced Ratbert, Asok and other one-time characters. He played Mr. Hal Gibson in the animated kids show Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force GO!.

In 2009, Kenny became a regular cast voice in the Fox comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up. He voices Muhammad Sabeeh "Happy" Fa-ach Nuabar, the secretive custodian who is plotting a terrorist attack, as well as Happy's interpreter.^[8] The series premiered on April 19, 2009.^[8] Kenan Thompson, Kristin Chenoweth, Jason Bateman, Nick Kroll, Cheri Oteri, Henry Winkler, Will Arnett and Will Forte are the other main cast members.^[8]

He is also the voice of Rin in the English versions of video games Final Fantasy X and its sequel, Final Fantasy X-2.

He also voiced the Best Buy elf from the retail stores' Christmas TV commercials.

He replaced Ken Sansom as the voice of Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh (2011).

He will voice the Sandman named Sandy in the upcoming film Rise of the Guardians, which in theaters November 21, 2012.

Kids' Choice Awards[link]

Nickelodeon's annual Kids' Choice Awards is narrated by Tom Kenny. At the 2005 Kids' Choice Awards, he called himself "The World's Best Announcer". At the 2006 Kids' Choice Awards, he called himself the "Man of 1,000 Voices, all of them this one." Kenny was featured as the Voice in a Box at the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards. On the 2009 Kids' Choice Awards, he called himself, "the only announcer who does all of his own stunts." At the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards, he described himself as, "the only announcer that makes all this stuff up as he goes." At the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards he called himself as "the only announcer who was born this way." At the 2012 Kids' Choice Awards he called himself "the invisible announcer."

Personal life[link]

Kenny is married to Jill Talley. They have two children, a boy and a girl, Mac and Nora. He is friends with many actors such as Adam Sandler, Bill Faggerbakke, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence, William Shatner, David Cross and many others.^[9]

Filmography[link]