Joe Bevilacqua
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joe Bevilacqua (born 1959) is an award-winning voice actor, radio producer, dramatist, humorist, and documentary film producer.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Joe grew up in Newark, New Jersey, the son of a reactionary policeman and an eccentric housewife. This dysfunctional environment, reminiscent of Archie Bunker, sowed the seeds for a personal wit marked by humor and irony.
Bevilacqua's true calling was found in 1975, at age 16, when he wrote to Daws Butler, the voice of famous Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and Quick Draw McGraw. Daws responded, and their correspondence blossomed into a 13-year mentorship, Joe serving as Daws' young apprentice.
His relationship with the late Daws Butler resulted in numerous private tape recordings, many featuring the voice of Yogi Bear, and these sometimes can be heard on Bevilacqua's radio shows. Joe Bevilacqua maintains a close relationship with the estate of Daws Butler, which allows him use of many rare audio materials.
This learning experience also made Joe Bevilacqua a professional expert on animated cartoon history in general, and fictional character voice acting in particular.
[edit] Career
Joe Bevilacqua is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, and, in 2004, was awarded a Silver Reel Award from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters for his personal essay A Guy Named Joe Bevilacqua. He hosts, writes, and produces a weekly program, The Comedy-O-Rama Hour, for XM Satellite Radio's Sonic Theater Channel (163), which includes a regular segment called Scenes from the Daws Butler Workshop. He has written and produced hundreds of radio plays, including the popular radio comedy series, The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes, which he co-wrote with Daws Butler, and his pet project, The Whithering of Willoughby and the Professor, 18 surrealistic half-hours in which he performs all the characters himself.
He co-edited, with Ben Ohmart, a book of Daws Butler scripts entitled Scenes for Actors and Voices in 2003 and in 2004 co-wrote the authorized biography: Daws Butler: Characters Actor.
His credits include such radio documentaries as From Moonshine to Armadillos: the Birth of the Austin Music Scene (2003), One Song at a Time: Tales from the Kerrville Folk Festival (2000) and We Take You Now to Grover's Mill: The 50th Anniversary of The War of the Worlds Broadcast (1988). His radio documentary Lady Bird Johnson: Legacy of a First Lady (2001) was heard on over 400 public radio stations and was a finalist for best radio documentary at the 2001 New York Festivals competition.
Bevilacqua continues to regularly contribute to NPR magazines, including "All Things Considered," where he most recently was cartoon legend Joe Barbera's official obit producer.
His current radio show THE COMEDY-O-RAMA HOUR [1] can be heard it on XM Satellite Radio's XM radio[2] Sonic Theater Channel (163) and Public Radio stations nationwide: Fridays, 5:00 am, 1:00 pm., 9:00 pm (Eastern Time) Sundays, 8:00 am, 8:00 pm (Eastern Time)
[edit] Personal life
Bevilacqua and his wife, Lorie Kellogg, recently renovated their cottage in the woods of Napanoch, NY, to look like a (Yogi Bear) Jellystone Park Ranger's Station. They live together with their three dogs, George, Gracie and Zasu, and their two cats, Offica Pup and Krazy Kat. Their uniquely cartoonish home is the inspiration for one Bevilacqua’s radio comedy creations: Camp Waterlogg, about a dilapidated Catskills kid’s camp populated by a cabal of crazy characters.
