Frank Welker
Franklin W. Welker (born March 12, 1946) is a veteran American voice actor. He is responsible for a broad spectrum of character voices, and other vocal effects that have appeared over the last 40 years in American television and motion pictures.
Welker is listed as the number one "All Time Top 100 Stars at the Box Office," not as a box office draw, but in terms of the total revenue generated by the films he has participated in.[1]
Biography
Early life
Welker was born in Denver, Colorado. He attended college in California, where he later began his career appearing in commercials. While in college he appeared in numerous plays, and developed a stand-up comedy act which got him started on the concert circuit touring with The Righteous Brothers and Sergio Mendes. He continued with stand up, appearing in places including Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe as the opening act for headliners like Sonny and Cher, Diana Ross, Loretta Lynn, Ann-Margret and Neil Sedaka.
Acting career
Welker's first on camera film role was as a bar fight participant in Stan Dragoti’s Dirty Little Billy. He played a college kid from Rutgers University in the Elvis Presley picture The Trouble with Girls. He later co-starred with Don Knotts in Universal’s How to Frame a Figg. Welker also appeared in two Disney films, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and Now You See Him, Now You Don't.
His on camera television appearances included Love American Style, The Partridge Family and The Don Knotts Show. He played a prosecutor in highly acclaimed ABC special The Trial of General Yamashita and as Captain Pace beside Richard Dreyfuss' Yossarian in Paramount television’s pilot, Catch-22. He appeared on Laugh In, The Dean Martin Roast, The Mike Douglas Show, The Tonight Show, Merv Griffin, The Smothers Brothers Show, The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour and Laugh Trax. In the latter show, he was a cast member alongside Jim Staahl and Howie Mandel. Frank also played an on camera role of a voice actor on an episode of Simon and Simon.
Voice acting career
Welker has been referred to as a "voice acting god" (by John DiMaggio and Billy West in the DVD commentary for Futurama) in Hollywood for the sheer number of voices he has done—over 1,200—ranging from his work on Scooby-Doo to the present day. His voice acting credits include television shows and films such as Curious George, Aladdin, Pocahontas and computer games such as the Baldur's Gate series, and CarnEvil. Frank's ability goes beyond creating human voices and is often cast as animals and used for animal vocals, for example the animal-spirit Totoro and Catbus in the Disney 2005 re-dub of My Neighbor Totoro. He was described as "unbelievable" at imitating animal sounds by Maurice LaMarche in a Futurama DVD commentary.
Welker starred in more live action movies during the 1990s. His work includes vocal effects for the character of Sil in Species, Goro in 1995's Mortal Kombat, the Devil in 1986's The Golden Child, and Malebolgia in 1997's Spawn. Welker also provided the voice (both speaking and non-speaking) of Nibbler in the cartoon TV series Futurama.
As of 2002, Welker is the voice of both Fred Jones and Scooby Doo. This includes the most recent What's New, Scooby-Doo?, and the series-based spinoff, Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Also, Welker starred in most of the 2000s Scooby-Doo projects as Fred Jones and Scooby-Doo. He also was Sasquatch in The Legend of Sasquatch. Welker's talent was also recognized in Disney's Stitch: Experiment 626, voicing the jealous and maniacal Experiment 6-2-1.
Transformers
In the 1980s, Welker voiced many recurring characters in the Transformers animated series. He voiced eight of the original 14 Decepticons: Megatron/Galvatron, Soundwave, Skywarp, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, and Ratbat. He also did voicework as the Autobots Mirage and Trailbreaker. With the release of the animated film in 1986, he took on the role of the Autobot Wheelie and afterwards, took over the role of Galvatron from Leonard Nimoy. Having already provided the screams for Nimoy's character Mr. Spock in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, this marked the second time he had inherited a role from Nimoy. Welker was asked to audition to reprise his original role of Megatron in the 2007 live action Transformers movie. Apparently due to a conflict in schedules, Welker never met with the producers or director Michael Bay. Bay, however, had Welker send him a couple of recorded lines and concluded that Welker's Megatron did not fit his new interpretation of the character and that having him use a different voice would defeat the purpose of casting him. Although this did not occur in the film itself, Welker reunited with Transformers co-star Peter Cullen in the 2007 Transformers: The Game, with both returning to voice their signature roles. He also reprised his role in the animated prequel, a bonus premium of the DVD package.
Welker also returned to two of his most famous Transformers roles when he portrayed Megatron and Soundwave as part of a spoof in the third season episode of Robot Chicken, aired shortly after the release of the live action film.
Filmography
TV/Movies
- 101 Dalmatians - Various animal vocal effects including Pongo, Perdita, and the puppies
- 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure - Various animal vocal effects including the dogs, and the puppies
- 101 Dalmatians: The Series - Scorch, Cynde
- ABC Weekend Special - O. G. Readmore
- Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius - Goddard, others
- Aladdin, The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves - Abu, Rajah
- Aladdin (TV series) - Abu, Rajah, Xerxes, additional voices
- All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 - Vocal sound effects for dogs
- Alvin and the Chipmunks - Additional voices
- Anaconda - vocal effects for the anaconda as well as other animals
- Animaniacs - Runt, Flavio Hippo, Buttons, Ralph the Guard, Thaddeus Plotz, and Chicken Boo, occasional segment narration
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker - Woof, Ace
- Bobby's World - Roger the Dog
- Bonkers - Fall-Apart Rabbit, Toots, Roderick the Toon Radio, Toon Handbag, Cadet Quark, Elmo, additional voices
- Born To Be Wild - Vocal sound effects for Katie Gorilla (uncredited)
- The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour - Regular Cast Member
- A Bug's Life - The Bird
- Buzz Lightyear of Star Command - Grubs
- Caddyshack 2 - Vocal effects for the gopher
- Captain N: The Game Master - Game Boy (Seasons 2 & 3)
- Capitol Critters - Presidential Cats
- Cats Don't Dance - Farley Wink
- Cat's Eye - Vocal effects for General the cat and the troll
- Challenge of the Gobots - Scooter, Zeemon, Blaster, Rest-Q
- Challenge of the Superfriends - The Toyman
- Clay Fighter 63 1/3 - Blob, Ickybod Clay, Lockjaw Pooch and the Zappa Yow Yow Boyz
- Codename: Kids Next Door - Professor XXXL, Mr. Uno
- Cro - Gogg, Bobb, Earle, Big Red
- Curious George - voice of George
- Cyberchase - Vocal effects for Chooey Jr. (2 episodes, 2004-2006)
- Dexter's Laboratory - Monkey, Quackor, The Infraggible Krunk and Mr. Luzinsky
- Dink, the Little Dinosaur - Scat and Crusty
- Dino Riders - Krulos
- Dollman vs. Demonic Toys - Voices of Baby Oopsy Daisy, Jack Attack, and Zombietoid
- The Don Knotts Show - Regular Cast Member
- Droopy, Master Detective - Mighty McWolf, Dweeble
- DuckTales - Bigtime and Baggy Beagle, Bubba, Tootsie and Poe De Spell
- Dungeons & Dragons - Uni and Tiamat
- Dynomutt, Dog Wonder - Dynomutt, the dog wonder
- Eight Legged Freaks - Various giant spider vocal effects
- Evil Con Carne - Boskov the Bear
- The Fairly Oddparents - Doidle, Dinkledog, The Sewer Gator, Evil Bug
- Felix the Cat: The Movie - Master Cylinder
- Fangface - Fangs/Fangface
- Fangface and Fangpuss - Fangs/Fangface, Baby Fangs/Fangpuss
- Family Guy - Freddy Jones, Kermit the frog
- Foofur - Foofur
- Futurama - Nibbler (both talking and non-talking versions), Seymour, and numerous other animal and humanoid voices
- G.I. Joe - Copperhead, Flash, Freedom, Junkyard, Polly, Short-Fuse, Timber, Torch, and Wild Bill
- Garfield and Friends - Booker, Sheldon, Bo, Mort, Fred Duck, Dr. Garbanzo Bean
- Garfield Gets Real - Garfield, Hardy, Keith, Prop Boy, Two-Headed Guy, Goth Kid.
- Gargoyles - Bronx and Baby Alex
- George of the Jungle - Little Monkey, Shep, Tooki Tooki Bird, and gorilla sound effects
- Godzilla - Vocal effects for Godzilla and the Godzilla Jrs.
- Goof Troop - Waffles and Chainsaw
- The Golden Child - Vocal effects for Charles Dance's Demon form
- The Great Mouse Detective - Toby the Dog, Felicia the Cat
- Gremlins - Stripe and other Mogwai and Gremlins
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch - Mohawk, Daffy, Lenny, George, and other Gremlins.
- Hercules: The Animated Series - Pegasus, Abu ("Hercules and the Arabian Night"), additional voices
- Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey - Special Vocal Effects including Sassy's yowls and Chance's grunts and growls
- House of Mouse - Gus Goose
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Max
- Independence Day - Alien vocal effects
- Inspector Gadget - Brain, Doctor Claw, and Mad Cat
- The Island of Dr. Moreau - Various hybrid creature vocal effects
- Jabberjaw - Jabberjaw
- The Jetsons - Orbity (Seasons 2 & 3, 1984-1987)
- Jim Henson's Muppet Babies - Kermit, Beaker, and Skeeter (1985-1990)
- The Jungle Book - Various animal vocal effects including Baloo, Bagheera, Grey Brother, Shere Khan, and King Louie
- The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story - Baboon / Jungle Noises
- The Land Before Time - Sharptooth / Domeheads
- The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure - T-Rex (uncredited)
- The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving - Velociraptors
- The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists - Tickles
- The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island - Giganotosaurus / Giant Shark (uncredited)
- The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire - Fast Biters (uncredited)
- The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze - Sharptooth (uncredited)
- The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses - Velociraptor (uncredited)
- The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers - Spinosaurus (uncredited)
- The Lion King - Animal vocal effects
- The Little Mermaid - Max the Sheepdog, shark, other animal vocal effects
- The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea - Max the Sheepdog
- The Little Troll Prince - Prag #2
- Mafia! - Various animal vocal effects including the guard sheep, Vincenzo Cortino's cat, and the dinosaurs.
- Man's Best Friend - Vocal Effects for Max the experimental dog, Ed the parrot, and Boo the cat.
- Mars Attacks! - Martians
- The Mask: The Animated Series - Milo and Baby Forthwright
- Mighty Max - Warmonger
- My Neighbor Totoro - Totoro / Catbus (Disney English version)
- Monkey Shines - Vocal Effects for Ella the monkey
- Mortal Kombat - Voice of Shao Kahn (provided vocal effects for Goro)
- Mulan - Khan, Cri-Kee
- Munchies - Arnold and other munchies voices
- Oliver & Company - Louie the Hot Dog Man, additional voices
- The Pagemaster - Voice of Horror, Dragon, Parrot
- The Pirates of Dark Water - Niddler, Dark Dweller, Morpho, Lugg Brother #2
- Pocahontas - Flit
- Police Academy - Additional animals
- Pound Puppies - Catgut / Nabbit
- Prancer - Prancer's vocal effects
- Prehysteria - Vocal effects for Elvis, Paula, Jagger, Hammer, and Madonna
- Raiders of the Lost Ark - Seig Heil the monkey, snakes, scorpions, demons
- Rambo: The Force of Freedom - Mad Dog
- The Real Ghostbusters - Slimer, Ray Stantz, Samhaine, The Marshmallow Man and The Bogeyman
- The Robonic Stooges - Curly
- The Road to Eldorado - Altivo
- Roger Rabbit
- Roller Coaster Rabbit - Bull
- Trail Mix-Up - Beaver / Bear
- The Santa Clause - Comet and other reindeer vocal effects
- SeaQuest DSV - voice of Darwin the Dolphin
- Scooby-Doo - Freddy Jones (1969-present) and Scooby-Doo (succeeding Scott Innes in 2002)
- Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics - Tinker, Yakky Doodle, Magic Rabbit, Sooey Pig, Dynomutt
- Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! - Scooby-Doo
- occasionally provides the voice of Fred if the character appears in this incarnation
- The Simpsons - Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II, among others
- The Smurfs - Clockwork Smurf, Hefty Smurf, Peewit, Poet Smurf, Puppy, Wild, additional voices
- The Snorks - Occy, Tooter
- Spawn - Malebolgia
- South Park - The Big Giant Black and Dark Monster, Nibblet and Stray Dog in episode Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery
- Species - Alien Sil's vocal effects
- Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends - Bobby Drake/Iceman, Flash Thompson, Ms. Lion (Firestar's pet Dog)
- SpongeBob Squarepants - Giant clams, Mystery the seahorse, gorilla, misc. voices.
- Stargate - mastadge pack animal
- Superfriends - Marvin
- Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show - Darkseid, Kalibak, Mr Mxyzptlk, Dollmaker
- Super Mario Bros. - Vocal effects for Yoshi, Goombas, and other creatures.
- The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians - Darkseid, Kalibak, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Joker (comics), Toyman
- Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron - Dr. Viper
- Tarzan - Special Vocal Effects for noisy animals, Baby Baboon
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze - Tokka and Rahzar
- The Little Engine That Could - Perky the Elephant/Eagle/Farnsworth/Jebediah/Rollo
- Time Squad - French Captains, Horses, James Sherman/Zombie
- Tiny Toon Adventures - Gogo Dodo, Little Beeper, Calamity Coyote, Furrball, Byron Basset, and Barky Marky
- This Is America, Charlie Brown - Various characters.
- The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show - Spike, Droopy, Slick Wolf, Barney Bear
- Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring - Jerry
- Transformers - Megatron, Galvatron, Soundwave, Trailbreaker, Mirage, Teletraan II, Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak, Skywarp, and many others
- Troll - voice of Torok the troll and various other creatures
- What's New, Mister Magoo - McBarker
- What's New, Scooby-Doo? - Freddy Jones, Scooby-Doo
- Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch - Wheelie and Chopper
- The Wild Thornberrys - Various animal vocal effects
- Yogi's Great Escape - Bopper, Yapper, the Real Ghost
Video games
- Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge - Abu
- Disney's Stitch: Experiment 626 - Experiment 621
- Jumpstart Spelling - Perry
- Kingdom Hearts II - Abu
- Monster Hunter - Creepy Monsters
- Monster Hunter Freedom 2 - Vocal effects for monsters
- Peter Jackson's King Kong - Vocal sound effects for King Kong and dinosaurs
- Rampage: Total Destruction - Vocal sound effects for monsters
- Spore - Vocal effects for Creatures
- Transformers: The Game - Megatron
References
- ↑ http://www.the-numbers.com/people/records/
External links
Preceded by
Mel Blanc |
Voice of Barney Rubble
July 1989 —
(programs and some commercials, Jeff Bergman does Barney for commercials) |
Succeeded by
present |
Preceded by
Scott Innes |
Voice of Scooby-Doo
September 2002 — |
Succeeded by
present |
Preceded by
none |
Voice of Fred Jones
1969- Present |
Succeeded by
present |
Preceded by
Dan Aykroyd |
Voice of Dr. Raymond Stantz
1986-1991 |
Succeeded by
present |
Preceded by
Bill Murray |
Voice of Garfield the Cat
2007-present |
Succeeded by
present |
The Simpsons cast members |
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Main cast |
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Recurring cast |
Pamela Hayden · Tress MacNeille · Maggie Roswell · Russi Taylor · Karl Wiedergott
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Recurring guest stars |
Albert Brooks · Kelsey Grammer · Jan Hooks · Jane Kaczmarek · Maurice LaMarche · Jon Lovitz · Joe Mantegna · Marcia Wallace
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Former cast |
Christopher Collins · Doris Grau · Jo Ann Harris · Phil Hartman · Marcia Mitzman Gaven · Frank Welker
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Futurama |
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Media |
Episodes · Comic books · Video game
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Characters |
Fry · Leela · Bender · Professor Farnsworth · Zoidberg · Hermes · Amy · Zapp Brannigan · Kif · Nibbler · Cubert · Mom
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Themes |
Politics in Futurama · Religion in Futurama
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Technology |
Planet Express Ship · Suicide booth · Chroniton · Cryonics
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Cast |
Billy West · Katey Sagal · John DiMaggio · Tress MacNeille · Maurice LaMarche · Phil LaMarr · Lauren Tom · David Herman · Frank Welker · Guest stars · Crew
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