Rob Paulsen

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Rob Paulsen
Birth Name Robert Fredrick Paulsen, III
Born March 11, 1956
in Detroit, Michigan
Age 50
Statistics
Occupation Voice Actor
Other Names Rob Paulson, Vocal Magic
Gender Male
Marital Status Married
Spouse Parrish Todd
Children Ashton Paulsen (son)
Notable Credit(s) Animaniacs
as Yakko Warner
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
as Carl Wheezer
Pinky and the Brain
as Pinky
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
as Raphael
Goof Troop
as P.J.
The Fairly OddParents
as Mark Chang
The Transformers
as Air Raid/Slingshot
The Land Before Time
as Spike
Official Website Rob Paulsen.com
Agent Sutton, Barth and Vennari

Robert Fredrick Paulsen, III (born March 11, 1956 in Detroit, Michigan) (sometimes credited as "Rob Paulson" or "Vocal Magic") is an American voice actor best known as the voice behind Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner from Animaniacs and Pinky from Pinky and the Brain. His role as Yakko won him a Daytime Emmy Award for male vocal performance; he won a second one for his portrayal of Pinky.

In total, Rob Paulsen has been the voice of over 250 different animated characters and performed in over 1000 commercials. He continues to play minor parts in dozens of cartoons as well as supporting characters in animated movies. He is represented by the Sutton, Barth, & Vennari Talent Agency in Los Angeles, California, where he lives with his wife, son, and his two Yorkshire terriers, Tala and Pooshie.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Paulsen is married to Parrish Todd and has one son, Ashton Paulsen, born September 10, 1984. In an interview with a Chicago TV station, Paulsen described himself as "a singer who decided to become an actor".[1] Growing up in Grand Blanc, Michigan, Paulsen sang in choir throughout his youth and adolescence and began performing in plays in grammar school. However, his idol growing up was Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings; he considered the arts to be a secondary career choice, primarily interested in becoming a professional hockey player.

Paulsen has long supported childrens' charity organisations, and donated considerably for cancer research. He has worked a lot for GOALmodels, a program for adolescents, and is a sponsor of Camp Will-A-Way, a camp for mentally and physically disabled children.

[edit] Career

[edit] Early career

He began his voice over career on The Smurfs animated television show as an extra in 1981. A few years later, his career launched into more substantial roles such as G.I. Joe and The Snorks. He had an impressive turn as the villain "Jesse Blue" in the series Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs. The character has a bit of a cult following, due in part to Paulsen's excellent portrayal.

During the 1980s Paulsen also explored the field of live action cinema. His first movie was Eyes of Fire in 1983. He played supporting roles in Body Double, Stewardess School, and Warlock. He appeared in television shows during this time as well, such as MacGyver and St. Elsewhere. However Paulsen preferred to work on shows for children. He mentioned in an interview, regarding his role in Body Double, that he would not want his child (who was very young at the time of the interview) to see the movie, so he could not really be proud of his work.

Paulsen's first major role was in 1987, as Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series.

[edit] Advertising

Paulsen became more prevalent in the world of advertising as well. In the 1980s he had been the announcer for the popular sitcom Cheers and continued to secure roles as an announcer. He appeared as the voice of "Mr. Opportunity", spokesman of Honda commercials on TV and radio, announcer for Buffalo Duck's Radio Ranch, and the spokesman for Lucky Stores, a West-coast grocery store chain, before it was acquired by Albertsons in 1998.

However Paulsen's most famous advertising role was in the original commercial of the now ubiquitous Got Milk? campaign. The famous commercial, Who Shot Alexander Hamilton?, aired in 1993, and launched the Got Milk? campaign into a monstrously successful enterprise. Paulsen continues to be one of the most sought-after commercial voice actors in the industry.

[edit] Tuning in to Spielberg

Throughout the early 1990s, Paulsen continued to co-star in popular animated series, which proved so successful that he branched further into radio and television announcements and dropped live-action acting from his repertoire. In 1993, he voiced Antoine D'Coolette in ABCs series Sonic the Hedgehog, and Arthur, an insecure accountant in a moth costume (wings included), in the superhero series The Tick in 1995.

With a plethora of voice acting roles under his belt, it was only a matter of time before Paulsen was given the starring role. In 1993, he starred as the title character in both Mighty Max and The Mask. Also at this time he starred in what became one if his most popular characters, Yakko Warner of Animaniacs. Paulsen also provided the voice of "Pinky" from Pinky and the Brain, a show which won him several Annie Awards and a Daytime Emmy in 1999.

He also did a number of characters in Tiny Toon Adventures, including Fowlmouth, Arnold the Pit Bull, and Concord Condor. In the direct-to-video movie Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, he did the voices for BanJo Possum, Mr. Hitcher (who would also appear in other episodes), and Fifi Le Fume's dream movie star skunk hunk, Johnny Pew, whom she later discovered to be nothing but an arrogant jerk, after he gives her photo of him away to a voluptuous pink skunk named Bimbette and she quite literally kicks him to the curb.

[edit] Current roles

[edit] Animation

Paulsen recently took on the role of "Reuben (Experiment 625)" in Lilo & Stitch: The Series. Rob also currently does the roles of "Jack Fenton", "Box Ghost", and "Technus" in Danny Phantom, "Carl Wheezer" in Jimmy Neutron, "Mark Chang" and "Peppy Happy Gary" of The Fairly OddParents, and "Gordon" on the Nickelodeon cartoon Catscratch. He was also the voice of Rothchild in the early episodes of Samurai Jack.

It was not long before Paulsen returned to Warner Bros. Animation, which had diverged into a new era of television serials (following what is sometimes referred to as the "Silver Age of Animation"). Paulsen appeared as "Rev Runner" of the new show Loonatics Unleashed and stars in Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island. He also voiced "The Source" in the Teen Titans episode "Employee of the Month". Paulsen also provides the voice for the Honda character "Mr. Opportunity." In the upcoming Rob Zombie animated film, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, Paulsen will voice a character named El Gato a.k.a. Col. Hans Wolfburger.

[edit] Video Games

In the new generation of video gaming, much voice talent has bled over from television and radio voice actors. Paulsen has appeared in video games such as Doom 3 and Clay Fighter 63 1/3. He plays "Morte", a floating, talking skull, in Planescape: Torment and the Cyborg Ninja in Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. He also voiced "Crash Bandicoot" in many of the later games for Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Xbox platforms. More notably, he portrays "Tobli" and "Lian Ronso" in the English version of Square Enix's Final Fantasy X-2 and has played the lead character in Bubsy. Although an extremely minor role, Paulsen also has done the voice for the Greek soldiers in God of War.

[edit] Awards

Rob Paulsen has been nominated for an Annie Award for his role of "Pinky" for 4 consecutive years, which he won in 1996, 1997, and 1999. In 2004 he was nominated for his role The Troubador in The Three Musketeers, and in 2005 he was nominated for his role in The Happy Elf. In 1999 he also won the Daytime Emmy Award for the role of Pinky.

[edit] Public Appearances

Paulsen has been a regular industry guest and featured panelist at Comic-Con International over the past several years. He's also been known to appear at animation industry-related events such as the World Animation Celebration in 1998, among many others. He's also been either a guest or guest of honor at several anime conventions, including JACON, Mikomicon, and Anime Overdose. Paulsen will be the guest of honor at Anthrocon in 2007.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rob Paulsen Interview
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