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Tom Wagner

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:51 pm

Joined: 14 Dec 2007 Posts: 597 Location: Long Island, NY

I think I asked this question before but I believe it was on the "old board":

What was THE voice that made you want to get into the voice acting business? The first voice that you may have heard on TV or movies that intrigued you and made a light go off in your head?

I'll open this question to everyone. What was the first voice that hooked you?

For me, it was waiting anxiously every year to watch "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" (before DVD) on TV and wanting, no, NEEDING to hear that voice sing "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch." I had no idea who he was but that voice, THAT VOICE, hooked me to want to find out who these people are that do amazing things with their voices.

How about you?

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Alex Weitzman

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 12:27 am

Joined: 07 Jan 2012 Posts: 21 Location: Southern CA

Well, since this one's open to everyone...

Tom Wagner wrote:

I'll open this question to everyone. What was the first voice that hooked you?

You know, it's a harder question than it looks. There were all sorts of voice performances and characters that I adored as a kid, but I think they guided me more in personality and taste development rather than my ambitions and dreams. Hmm.

As I think about it, I guess one answer does come to mind. I'll be putting a blaring klaxon on my age (b. 1983), but I honestly think that my interest in voice-acting as a potential career goal began with my fondness for Rob Paulsen in Animaniacs. I'd seen many, MANY a cartoon with multiple characterizations and voices coming from one artist, but Animaniacs hit me just as I was growing old enough to appreciate the actual craft of cartoon-making as a kid. And when I discovered that Rob had provided the voices for three particular characters (all of whom happened to be amongst my favorites), I was astounded. Yakko, Pinky, and Scratchnsniff - all of whom were incredibly different and almost undetectable as one man. That was the moment when I thought, "Wow, imagine doing that for a living." Just something about that combination of range and excellence really hit me. And as I continued to pursue stage training and all that jazz, I never lost my awareness and fondness for this specific section of the acting world.

So, that's me. I'd love to hear everyone else's. Smile

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:41 pm

Joined: 14 Dec 2007 Posts: 905 Location: HERE!

The great impressionists on TV in the '60s must have initially switched the spotlight on the human potential to emulate other voices and personalities "for fun and profit" - and that I might even be able to cultivate a viable career as a mimic, once attaining enough vocal range and maturity to create convincing enough illusions to captivate and entertain people - though I never had any real desire to perform on Stage or be seen On Camera, as a Comedian or Actor. Thought I'd like to be a popular Announcer, like Gary Owens on "Laugh In" and be heard through the magical loudspeakers at Disneyland, and don a vocal tuxedo to announce at The Hollywood Palace or represent the gravitas of network newscasts, National Geographic documentaries and major events like The Academy Awards...

But the first inkling of the possibility of making a living as a Cartoon Voice Man came at a very early age, with the idea that a man called Mel Blanc was behind "most of" the bizarre and funny character voices on TV and in movies, and was endlessly fascinated by those seemingly superhuman "trick voices" he produced - like his "Polly the Parrot" sound I spotted all across the spectrum of audible media venues - until I discovered that Paul Frees was actually the source of the characterizations that had the greatest impact on me; and once stepping into Disneyland's astonishing new "Haunted Mansion" attraction, I was indeed irreversibly "hooked" on this business.

Alex Weitzman wrote:

...interest in voice-acting as a potential career goal began with my fondness for Rob Paulsen in Animaniacs.

Funny how my generation of Hollywood Voice Men (and Women) has become so well established as to be regarded as "Classics" by present-day adults. Was bound to happen, I suppose - but as terrific as many of my peers are, I just don't think anyone alive compares to the remarkable brilliance of those Vaudeville-era voice talents whose work continues to thrill and inspire all who encounter their timeless imprints - which founded this entire field vocal performance craft. That's a whole other realm of genius!

Brian Sommer

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 10:02 pm

Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Sorry to be late to the party. A great question Tom, and I was just talking to someone about this.

I was always engaged by the re-re-re-broadcasts of the old radio shows from the Golden Age. Those BIG voices, those saturated character sounds that came out of vaudeville (as Corey mentioned) they were FANTASTIC to my ears. There were great showcases of voice talent in radio, like the Fred Allen show, The Great Gildersleve, and the Jack Benny show. Those characters were so perfectly sustained. There wasn't an inkling of someone 'doing a voice'. THEY WERE THE CHARACTERS. Those are the ones that sparked my interest.

But there was one particular performance that put the fire under me. One performance that made me think.... "Could I?" That was Paul Frees in Disneyland's (sadly) extinct attraction "Adventure Thru Inner Space". By todays standards the attraction was void of any 'special effects'. You rode through the dark with Paul's character in your ear. It was a very intimate setting. His performance had such immediacy, wonder, and excitement to it. "....before I go on shrinking!!" You were drawn into the adventure. Dangerous but exciting. It was Paul's performance that really sold the show. I swear every time I rode my atom-mobile into the Mighty Microscope, I was not sure if I would make it out safely. THAT is the job of a voice actor! Thank you Paul.

Alex Weitzman

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:28 am

Joined: 07 Jan 2012 Posts: 21 Location: Southern CA

CB wrote:

No question about it, and I have since come to respect and adore many of the great voices that significantly precede my lifetime! The question was aimed, of course, at determining when we "clicked" into this business, and so it's one that inevitably exposes what you was watching most of all in your youth. To that extent, I can only admit that my tutelage in the Golden Age (save Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, which dominated my entire young life and still does to an extent) began when I was old enough to seriously seek out my own self-education and enrichment on the topic. I would not be surprised to learn twenty years or so from now that there will be young up-and-comers whose interest in the business was initiated by the major talents whose careers are just beginning now. What's important is that the resources continue to be available for people to learn about all the greats of all the eras of the VO business.

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