Tom Kenny
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| Tom Kenny | ||
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 Tom Kenny at the 2007 Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, United States on a panel for Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
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| Birth name | Thomas James Kenny | |
| Born | July 13, 1962 East Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
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| Occupation(s) | Voice actor | |
| Spouse | Jill Talley (1993-present) | |
| Children | Mac Kenny and Nora Kenny | |
Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962, in East Syracuse, New York) is an American voice actor and comedian perhaps best known for his work in the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants, in which he is the voice of SpongeBob, the narrator, and Gary among others. He also provided a few additional voices for the Ocean Group dub of the popular anime series Dragon Ball Z. 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 Jill Talley, whom he subsequently married. He also hosts the show Funday Night at the Movies on TCM. This show tries to encourage kids to watch "old movies." Kenny got his start in comedy performing stand-up with people such as Wendell E. Wild Jr. and Barry Crimmons. He is good friends with voice over actors Bill Fagerbakke and Clancy Brown. He also voices in the show Out Of Jimmy's Head. He voiced Alpha 6 in the Winx Club TV Movie, Winx vs. Power Rangers (same as Osmosis Jones).
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[edit] Musical career
Tom Kenny was the lead singer for a Syracuse-based rock band, The Tearjerkers, in the early-1980s. He replaced 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. One of The Tearjerkers' roadies would also go on to fame: Bobcat Goldthwait. "Syracuse Summer" was the group's best-known song, which is included on The History of Syracuse Music, Volume XII and XIII. The record also contains early recordings by Ronnie James Dio, under the names "Ronnie and the Red Caps" and "Ronnie Dio and the Prophets." The Tearjerkers did not become a national act.
Kenny played a role in a Smashing Pumpkins music video. He appeared in the 1996 video for "Tonight, Tonight," in which he and his wife (Jill Talley) play a young couple taking their honeymoon on the Moon. The video won seven MTV Video Music Awards. Kenny also appeared in the music video for "Sing" by Travis.
Tom Kenny came full-circle with his musical past in 2006 when he co-wrote and recorded SpongeBob SquarePants: The Best Day Ever. While Kenny's singing on the CD is done in the voice of SpongeBob and other characters from the show, he was very serious about the quality of the actual music on the disc and was able to enlist help from such musical royalty as Brian Wilson, Tommy Ramone, and Flaco Jimenez. The music pays homage to The Beach Boys, The Archies, The Lovin' Spoonful, and The Troggs, among others. [[1]]
[edit] Voice acting career
Kenny voiced many characters in many productions. Kenny said that he voices "a lot of sweet, kind of stupid yellow characters for some reason."[1]
Kenny's acted his first set of voice actor roles for Rocko's Modern Life[1] Joe Murray auditioned Kenny for voice acting roles for the series in a large casting call in Los Angeles, California, United States. [2] On one occasion during the production, 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 the song within ten minutes due to time constraints. Kenny achieved this goal. He said that this helped him believe that he could stand "toe to toe" with other voice actors.[3]
Joe Murray chose Kenny for a voice acting position in Camp Lazlo 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." [4]
He voiced Alpha 6 in the Winx Club TV Movie, Winx vs. Power Rangers (a similar to Osmosis Jones)
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Kids' Choice Awards
Nickelodeon's annual Kid's Choice Awards is narrated by Tom Kenny throughout the show. At the 2007 Kid's Choice Awards, he called himself the "Man of 1,000 Voices, all of them this one." Kenny was just recently featured as the Voice in a Box at the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "A discussion with Tom Kenny of 'SpongeBob Squarepants'." St. Augustine Record
- ^ "Lisa (Kiczuk) Trainor interviews Joe Murray, creator of Rocko's Modern Life," The Rocko's Modern Life FAQ
- ^ Lawson, Tim and Alisa Persons. The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors. "192."
- ^ Q & A with Joe Murray," Cartoon Network Pressroom
[edit] External links
- Tom Kenny at the Internet Movie Database
- Tom Kenny at the Voice Chasers Database
- Interview with Tom Kenny on Fresh Air
| Preceded by original voice |
Portrayer of SpongeBob SquarePants in the American version 1999- |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by Paul Williams |
Actors to portray the Penguin 2005- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Carlos Alazraqui |
Voice of Spyro the Dragon 1999-2002 |
Succeeded by Jess Harnell |
| Preceded by Daniel Ross |
Voice of Starscream 2008- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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