Fred Newman (actor)

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Fred Newman at work during an episode of A Prairie Home Companion
Fred Newman at work during an episode of A Prairie Home Companion

Fred Newman (born 1952 in LaGrange, Georgia) is an American actor, voice actor, composer, and sound effects artist, as well as a former talk show host.

An alumnus of the Harvard Business School, Newman soon capitalized on his unique vocalizations, writing the book MouthSounds (first published in 1980, recently reprinted in an expanded edition). As a regular on the radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion, his vocal sound effects are showcased frequently; he fills in for regular sound-effects man Tom Keith whenever the show performs away from its home base in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has also worked heavily as a voice actor with numerous film, television, and video game credits including Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Doug (as Skeeter Valentine, Mr. Dink, and other characters), and Grand Theft Auto 2. His creature sounds have been heard in the films Harry and the Hendersons, Gremlins, Munchies, Wolf, and Men in Black.

As a talk show host, Newman was the host of Livewire, a kids' talk show on Nickelodeon in the early 1980s. Livewire was known for giving bands their first television appearance, including R.E.M.

Newman worked with Jim Henson and the Muppets in the 1980s, first as a contributor to Muppet Magazine, and then as the writer of the Muppet Show On Tour live show. In 1987, Newman played the lead role in Henson's sitcom pilot, Puppetman. (The pilot aired on CBS, but wasn't picked up as a series.) Newman also appeared in a 1988 Henson direct-to-video special, Neat Stuff to Know & to Do.

Prior to the 2000 Presidential Election, Newman was cast as the voice of Garry Trudeau's comic strip character Uncle Duke. He provided both voice and motion capture for Duke 2000, a series of online computer animated shorts, and can still be heard in the "Ask Duke" interactive game. He also provided the voice of Trudeau's Jimmy Thudpucker for a NetAid concert.

As an on-camera performer, he was one of only two adult regulars on the 1990s incarnation of The Mickey Mouse Club, and can currently be seen performing wacky sounds while teaching phonics on the PBS series Between the Lions (for which he also writes and provides animated voices). As a musician, he has composed music for the animated series Doug and PB&J Otter, and wrote songs for Doug's 1st Movie.

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