| Simon Prebble | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 13, 1942 Croydon, Surrey, England, UK |
| Spouse | Marie-Janine Hellstrom |
Simon Prebble (born February 13, 1942) is an English actor and narrator.
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Born and raised in Croydon, England, Simon Micawber Prebble is the son of the novelist, screenwriter and historian John Prebble and fashion artist Betty Prebble (both deceased). He is brother to Jolyon Gade Prebble and Sarah Bryony Prebble
In 1960 he attended Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London[1] and began his acting career in one of Britain's first live television soap operas, 'Home Tonight' with David Hemmings. For the next eleven years he worked extensively on radio and television and in provincial repertory theatre including a year with Ian McKellen's Hamlet. In 1972, in a change of direction, he worked as a continuity announcer for Southern Television. Prebble then joined Capital Radio, the first legal commercial music station in Britain, where he hosted a daily news magazine programme London's Day. He then embarked on a freelance career as a presenter and voice-over announcer, including thirteen years as the promo voice of Thames Television, and from 1984 he was the announcer for the British version of the phenomenally successful game show 'The Price Is Right' with Leslie Crowther.
In 1990 Prebble moved to New York where he continued doing voice-over work. As well as recording numerous radio and television commercials, he hosted and narrated several television documentary series, notably Target-Mafia. He has also voiced characters in various television cartoon series, such as Courage the Cowardly Dog. His film voice work includes playing Ernest Shackleton in the 2000 documentary 'The Endurance' and the opening and closing voice of the elderly Casanova in Lasse Hallström's 2005 film of the same name. In 1996, he was a lead actor for a year (as the villain Martin Chedwyn) on the American daily soap opera 'As the World Turns'.
In the U.S., he also began narrating audio books,[2] and to date (2011) has recorded well over 500 titles. As one of AudioFile Magazine's 'Golden Voices' and 'Best Voices of the Century', his work has gained him five 'Listen Up' awards, twentyseven 'Earphone' awards, and in 2005, he was named 'Narrator of theYear' by Publishers Weekly. Nominated fifteen times for the 'Audies' (the audiobook 'Oscars'), he was finally awarded a coveted 'Audie' in 2010, the year he was also named Booklist's 'Voice of Choice'. Reviews of his audiobook narrations can be found at www.simonprebble.com
In 2003, at Chiswick House, London, he married Swedish graphic artist, Marie-Janine Hellstrom. In 2007, both he and his wife became US citizens.