Olan Soule
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Olan Soule (February 29, 1909 - February 1, 1994) was an American voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne in the Super Friends cartoons of the early-1970s before giving the role over to Adam West in 1983.
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[edit] Early life and career
Born in La Harpe, Illinois to Elbert and Ann Williams Soule (descendants of three Mayflower passengers), Olan left Illinois at the age of 7 in favor of Des Moines, Iowa. He lived there until he was 17, then launched his theatrical career joining Jack Brooks' tent show out of Sabula, Iowa. After leaving the tent show, Soule started acting on stage in Chicago for seven years until becoming involved in radio work in beginning in 1933.
While on the radio he performed for 11 years in the daytime soap opera Bachelor's Children. Soule also played the male lead characters in plays presented on the evening radio show First Nighter for 9 years beginning in 1943. Listeners of First Nighter who met Soule in person were often surprised by the sight since his slight 135 pound body didn't seem to match the voices he gave to his characters.
[edit] Television appearances
After concluding his 9 year run on First Nighter, Soule moved to Hollywood, where he eventually worked his way into film and television. From there, Soule built up a reputation as a reliable character actor. He appeared on such television programs as I Love Lucy The Andy Griffith Show, the 1951 and 1967 versions of Dragnet, Mister Ed, The Twilight Zone, Bewitched, The Munsters, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Monkees, Mission: Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man, Fantasy Island, Little House on the Prairie, Dallas, and Simon & Simon just to name a few.
[edit] Batman
However, Olan Soule is most likely best remembered for his voice work of comic book hero Batman. Soule first performed as the Caped Crusader on the 1968 Filmation produced series The Batman/Superman Hour. He would reprise his role as Batman on The Adventures of Batman, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and the various incarnations of Super Friends. He also appeared as a newscaster on the live-action Batman television series (in an episode entitled The Pharaoh's in a Rut) with his Super Friends successor Adam West. Although Soule would eventually give up the Batman mantle to the man who portrayed him in live-action, he would still contribute to the Super Friends series. Instead of portraying Batman, Soule now provided the voice of Professor Martin Stein, who was the mentor and subconscious of fledgling hero Firestorm.
He died of lung cancer on February 1, 1994 at the age of 84.
[edit] External links
| Batman in popular media | |
|---|---|
| Actors: | Lewis Wilson • Robert Lowery • Adam West • Olan Soule • Michael Keaton • Kevin Conroy • Val Kilmer • George Clooney • Rino Romano • Christian Bale • Casts |
| Live-action television: | Batman • Legends of the Superheroes • Birds of Prey • Return to the Batcave |
| Film: | 1940s serials • Batman (1966) • Batman (1989) • Batman Returns • Batman Forever • Batman & Robin • Batman Begins • The Dark Knight |
| Animation: | Batman/Superman Hour • New Adventures of Batman • Batman: The Animated Series/New Batman Adventures • Mask of the Phantasm • SubZero • Batman Beyond • Return of the Joker • Mystery of the Batwoman • The Batman • The Batman vs. Dracula |
Categories: 1909 births | 1994 deaths | American character actors | American television actors | American voice actors | American stage actors | The Andy Griffith Show | Bewitched actors | Bonanza | Dallas (TV series) actors | Gunsmoke actors | Lung cancer deaths | American radio actors | Little House on the Prairie actors | Mission: Impossible actors | American film actors | People from Illinois | Battlestar Galactica cast and crew | Chicago actors
