Frank Welker

Last updated

Frank Welker
Frank Welker Photo Op GalaxyCon Raleigh 2023.jpg
Welker at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2023
Born
Franklin Wendell Welker

(1946-03-12) March 12, 1946 (age 78)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Alma mater Santa Monica College
OccupationActor
Years active1967–present
Works Full list
Website frankwelker.com

Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) [1] is an American actor. [2] He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2023, making him one of the most prolific voice actors in history. With his films earning a total worldwide box-office gross of $17.4 billion, he is also the fourth-highest-grossing actor [a] as of 2024. [3]

Contents

Welker is best known for voicing Fred Jones in the Scooby-Doo franchise since its inception in 1969, and the title protagonist himself since 2002. In 2020, Welker reprised the latter role in the animated film Scoob! , the only original voice actor from the series in the movie's cast. He has also voiced Baby Kermit in the original Muppet Babies, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in Epic Mickey and its sequel; Megatron, Galvatron, Soundwave, and various characters in the Transformers franchise; Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II on The Simpsons ; Shao Kahn and Reptile in the 1995 Mortal Kombat film; Curious George in the Curious George franchise; Garfield on The Garfield Show ; Nibbler on Futurama ; the titular character in Jabberjaw ; Speed Buggy in the Scooby-Doo franchise; Astro and Orbitty on the 1980s revival of The Jetsons ; and various characters in The Smurfs . Much of his work includes animal and monster vocalizations.

In 2016, he received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award. He was nominated for the Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice Performance in an Animated Program in 2022.

Early life

Franklin Wendell Welker was born on March 12, 1946, in Denver, Colorado. [1] His parents were Merrill Welker, a mining engineer, and Lillian. [4]

Career

Voice-acting career

Welker in 2016 Frank Welker Headshot 2016.jpg
Welker in 2016

Welker began his career as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in 1967, [1] before transitioning to on-screen acting and later voice acting. [5] His first major voice role came in 1969 as Fred Jones in the Scooby-Doo franchise. Welker has voiced Fred in almost every series and incarnation of the Scooby-Doo animated franchise (with the exceptions of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Scoob!, and Velma , the latter in which he portrayed Fred’s father) and has also provided the voice of Scooby-Doo since 2002. With the death of Casey Kasem in 2014, Welker is the only original voice actor still in the Scooby-Doo franchise. [6]

His next major character voice was for Wonder Dog (which was inspired by Scooby-Doo) and Marvin White on the 1973 series Super Friends (also produced by Hanna-Barbera). That same year, he played Pudge and Gabby on DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' animated series Bailey's Comets . Welker continued to provide voices for many characters for Hanna-Barbera for several years, which include Jabberjaw , Dynomutt, Dog Wonder , and the Shmoo in The New Fred and Barney Show and its spin-off, The Flintstones Comedy Show . Frank Welker described the voice he used for the Shmoo as "a bubble voice" (one he later used for Gogo Dodo in Tiny Toon Adventures ).

In 1978, he played the title character on Fangface and later in its spin-off, Fangface and Fangpuss, and also voiced Heckle and Jeckle and Quacula on The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle , and Spike, Tyke, Droopy, Slick Wolf and Barney Bear on The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show .

During the 1980s and 1990s, Welker became a very busy voice actor, providing the voice for many popular cartoon characters in multiple TV series, including Uni on Dungeons & Dragons ; Brain, Doctor Claw, and M.A.D. Cat on Inspector Gadget ; Mister Mxyzptlk, Darkseid, and Kalibak on Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show ; Iceman & various characters on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends ; Baby Kermit, Baby Beaker and various other characters on Muppet Babies; Wild Bill, Dreadnok Torch, and various G.I. Joe heroes and villains; Scooter on Challenge of the GoBots; Ray Stantz and Slimer in The Real Ghostbusters ; the villainous Dr. Jeremiah Surd on The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest ; Bubba the Caveduck and two of the Beagle Boys (Bigtime & Baggie) on DuckTales ; multiple voices on The Smurfs , including Hefty Smurf, Poet Smurf, and Peewit; and various characters on Captain Planet and the Planeteers .

He also voiced various characters on The Simpsons , such as Santa's Little Helper, Snowball II, and various other animals from 1991 to his departure from the show in 2002. Welker provided both the speaking voice and animal sounds for Nibbler on Matt Groening's Futurama . He provided the voices for Mr. Plotz, Runt, Ralph the Guard, Buttons, and other characters on Animaniacs , Gogo Dodo, Furball, Beeper, and others on Tiny Toon Adventures , Hector the Bulldog on The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries , and Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse, and McWolf, the main antagonist to Droopy and his nephew Dripple on Tom & Jerry Kids Show and Droopy, Master Detective .

He also voiced Gus Goose, Salty the Seal, Figaro, Pegasus from Hercules , Abu the Monkey from Aladdin, "Aracuan Bird" & Cri-Kee from Mulan in the House of Mouse from 2001 to 2003.

Welker has also created the vocal effects for many animals and creatures in films, including Abu the monkey, Rajah the tiger, and the Cave of Wonders in Aladdin (1992), its two sequels, the television series, and the remake (2019), Arnold the Pig in the television film Return to Green Acres (1990), the whales in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home , Shao Kahn and Reptile in the Mortal Kombat movie (1995), the Martians in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! (1996), and the penguins in Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011). He performed Spock's screams in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and voiced The Thing in The Golden Child (1986), Jinx the robot in SpaceCamp (1986), Totoro in the 2005 English version of Studio Ghibli's film My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Alien Sil in Species (1995), Malebolgia in Spawn (1997), and Gargamel's cat Azrael in Sony Pictures Animation's live action/animated film versions of The Smurfs.

In 2006, he began voicing George in the popular children's series Curious George . He also voiced George in the animated film of the same name that same year. In 2007, Welker became the new voice of Garfield, following Bill Murray's departure from the role, and succeeding the original actor Lorenzo Music, who died in 2001 (Welker and Music had previously worked together on The Real Ghostbusters and the original Garfield and Friends ). Welker voiced Garfield in Garfield Gets Real (2007), Garfield's Fun Fest (2008), Garfield's Pet Force (2009), and on the series The Garfield Show , which ran from 2008 to 2016. In 2011, he provided the voice of Batman in a Scooby-Doo crossover segment of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode, "Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases!". In the same episode, he also voiced Batboy, the classic Mad Magazine Batman spoof, originally created by Wally Wood.

Welker has also provided voices for many video game characters, most notably Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and The Shadow Blot in Epic Mickey and its sequel Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two , [7] as well as Zurvan, also called the Ancient One, on StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm . He also provided the voice of the mad mage Xzar for the Baldur's Gate video game series, and reprised his role from Avengers Assemble as Odin for Lego Marvel's Avengers .

In 2016, Welker received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award at the 43rd Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. [8]

Live-action acting career

Welker at GalaxyCon 2020 Frank Welker (49645134238).jpg
Welker at GalaxyCon 2020

Welker's first on-camera film role was as a college kid from Rutgers University who befriends Elvis Presley in The Trouble with Girls (1969). His next film role was in the Disney film The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), which starred Kurt Russell (he also appeared in the film's sequel, Now You See Him, Now You Don't , in 1972). He later co-starred with Don Knotts in Universal's How to Frame a Figg (1971), appeared in Dirty Little Billy (1972), and on The Paul Lynde Show (1972). [9]

On-camera television appearances included roles on Laugh-In , Love, American Style , The Partridge Family , and The Don Knotts Show . He played a prosecutor in the 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 also appeared on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In , The Mike Douglas Show , The Tonight Show , The Merv Griffin Show , The Smothers Brothers Show , The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour, Laugh Trax, and as one of the cast members in the special of That Was the Year That Was (1985) with David Frost.

Welker also played an on-camera role as a voice actor in a 1984 episode of Simon & Simon . In The Duck Factory , he played a rival actor trying to steal the role of Dippy Duck from fellow voice actor Wally Wooster (Don Messick). In later years, he appeared in Steven Soderbergh's film The Informant! (2009) as Matt Damon's father.

In 1978, Welker appeared on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast to George Burns. While saluting Burns, he showed his abilities as an impressionist by honoring George Burns with the voices of Walter Cronkite, Henry Kissinger, Muhammad Ali, David Frost, and Jimmy Carter. In 1987, he performed stand-up comedy on an episode of the short lived TV show Keep On Cruisin'.

Transformers

In the 1980s, Welker voiced many recurring characters in the original Transformers animated series. He voiced several Decepticons, including the leader Megatron, Soundwave, Skywarp, Mixmaster, Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, and Ratbat, as well as Autobots Mirage, Trailbreaker, and Sludge. He took on the role of Wheelie in The Transformers: The Movie (1986), and in the post-movie episodes took over the role of Galvatron (from his Star Trek III castmate Leonard Nimoy) and also voiced Chromedome and Pinpointer.

In 2010, Welker reprised the roles of Megatron and Soundwave in the series Transformers: Prime (retitled Transformers: Prime – Beast Hunters for its third season) and the Transformers: Generation 1 video game Transformers: Devastation . [10] In Prime, Welker significantly altered Megatron's voice from his Generation 1 portrayal to sound more sinister. In the 2015 follow-up series Transformers: Robots in Disguise , Welker once again reprised his role as Soundwave, who has broken his vow of silence since the events of Prime.

Welker returned to two of his Transformers roles when he portrayed Megatron and Soundwave as part of a spoof in a third-season episode of Robot Chicken , which aired shortly after the release of the first installment of the live-action film series. In the second installment film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), he joined the voice cast and reprised the roles of Soundwave and Ravage, and also provided the voices for Grindor, Devastator, and Reedman. He again reprised his role as Soundwave, and took on the roles of Shockwave and Barricade, in the third film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). In Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), he reprised his role as Galvatron, albeit with a voice similar to his portrayal of Megatron in Transformers: Prime.

Welker does not voice Megatron in the first three live-action films (Hugo Weaving was chosen for the role instead). However, he did voice Megatron in the two video games based on the first two films, as well as the theme park attractions at Universal Studios Singapore, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Florida, Transformers: The Ride . In the fifth installment of the film series, Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), he finally reprised the voice of Megatron, once again utilizing his Transformers: Prime version of the character's voice.

As of 2019, Welker continues to occasionally voice Megatron for various Transformers media, alternating between his Generation 1 and his Prime portrayals.

Personal life

Welker claims to have dated actress Pamela Sue Martin and his Tom and Jerry Kids and Droopy, Master Detective co-star Teresa Ganzel. [11] He is a good friend of his longtime Transformers co-star and fellow voice actor Peter Cullen, in contrast to the rivalry of their respective characters. [12]

A licensed pilot since 2010, Welker flies a Beechcraft Bonanza B36T from a local general aviation airport in Los Angeles County, California. [13]

Filmography

Notes

  1. ↑ For all roles, including voice acting and cameos.

Related Research Articles

<i>Scooby-Doo</i> American animated media franchise

Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, for Hanna-Barbera. The series features four teenagers: Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and their talking Great Dane named Scooby-Doo, who solve mysteries involving supposedly supernatural creatures through a series of antics and missteps, while traveling using a brightly colored van called the "Mystery Machine". The franchise has several live-action films and shows.

<i>The Transformers: The Movie</i> 1986 animated film

The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated science fiction action film based on the Transformers television series. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986, and in the United Kingdom on December 12, 1986. It was co-produced and directed by Nelson Shin, who also produced the television series. The screenplay was written by Ron Friedman, who created Bionic Six a year later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megatron</span> Transformers character

Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Transformers media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a villainous faction of alien robots that seeks to conquer their home planet of Cybertron and the rest of the known universe, and serves as the archenemy of Optimus Prime, the leader of the rival Autobot faction. As with all Cybertronians, Megatron can disguise himself by transforming into vehicles or weapons. His alternate modes have included a Walther P38 handgun, a particle-beam weapon, a telescopic laser cannon, a Cybertronian jet, and various tanks, depending on which continuity he is depicted in. In some continuities, his original name is D-16.

Corey Burton is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on The Transformers, Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Count Dooku and Cad Bane in the Star Wars franchise, Zeus in the God of War series and Hugo Strange in Batman: Arkham City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Messick</span> American voice actor (1926–1997)

Donald Earle Messick was an American voice actor, known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Cullen</span> Canadian voice actor (born 1941)

Peter Claver Cullen is a Canadian voice actor. He voiced Optimus Prime in the original 1980s Transformers animated series, later returning to the role in Transformers media in 2007, starting with the first live-action film. He has also voiced many other characters across a wide variety of popular media, including Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh franchise, Monterey Jack in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, the first voice of KARR in Knight Rider and the vocalizations of the title character in Predator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scooby-Doo (character)</span> Animated cartoon dog

Scoobert "Scooby" Doo is the eponymous character and protagonist of the animated television franchise created in 1969 by the American animation company Hanna-Barbera. He is a male Great Dane and lifelong companion of amateur detective Shaggy Rogers, with whom he shares many personality traits. He features a mix of both canine and human behaviors, and is treated by his friends more or less as an equal. Scooby often speaks in a rhotacized way, substituting the first letters of many words with the letter 'r'. His catchphrase is "Scooby-Dooby-Doo!"

Soundwave (<i>Transformers</i>) Transformers character

Soundwave is a fictional robot character appearing in various Transformers continuity lines within the Transformers franchise. His most well-known disguise is that of a micro cassette recorder. Throughout most of his incarnations, he is an underlying loyal lieutenant of the Decepticon leader Megatron. He is commonly depicted as Megatron's communications officer and in some interpretations, only speaks when mocking the Autobots.

<i>Dynomutt, Dog Wonder</i> American animated television series

Dynomutt, Dog Wonder is an American animated television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on ABC from September 11, 1976, to October 1, 1977. The show centers on a Batman-esque superhero, the Blue Falcon, and his assistant, Dynomutt, a bumbling, yet effective robotic dog who can produce a seemingly infinite number of mechanical devices from his body. As with many other animated superheroes of the era, no origins for the characters are ever provided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Adler</span> American voice actor and director

Charles Michael Adler is an American voice actor and voice director. He is known for his roles as Buster Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures, the Bigheads on Rocko's Modern Life, Ickis on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Doctor Doom, Wrecker, Sabertooth and others in The Super Hero Squad Show, MODOK in various Marvel media, Cobra Commander in GI Joe: Resolute and Renegades, Starscream in the Transformers film series, the titular deuteragonist of Disney's Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, the titular characters of Cartoon Network's Cow and Chicken alongside its main antagonist, The Red Guy, Professor Monkey-for-a-Head in Earthworm Jim, I.R. Baboon in I Am Weasel, T-Bone in SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron and Tex Hex in Bravestarr.

<i>Whats New, Scooby-Doo?</i> American animated television series

What's New, Scooby-Doo? is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Kids' WB. It is the ninth incarnation of the Scooby-Doo franchise that began with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and the first Scooby-Doo series in a decade, since A Pup Named Scooby-Doo ended in 1991 and the first since both the foreclosure of Hanna-Barbera, the first Scooby Doo series to be produced by Warner Bros. Animation and William Hanna's death in 2001

<i>Transformers: Cybertron</i> Japanese/Canadian television series

Transformers: Cybertron, known as Transformers: Galaxy Force in Japan and Asia, is an anime series which debuted on January 8, 2005. It is set in the Transformers universe. Produced by TV Aichi, Weve, Tokyu Agency and animated by Gonzo, the series is directed by Hiroyuki Kakudō and Manabu Ono, with Hiro Masaki handling series composition, Takashi Kumazen designing the characters, Mitsuru Ōwa serving as the mechanical and prop designer and Megumi Ōhashi composing the music. A corresponding toy line was released with the series.

<i>Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island</i> 1998 American animated film

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is a 1998 American direct-to-video animated mystery comedy horror film based on the Scooby-Doo franchise. In the film, Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, Velma and Daphne reunite after a year-long hiatus from Mystery, Inc. to investigate a bayou island said to be haunted by the ghost of the pirate Morgan Moonscar. The film was directed by Jim Stenstrum, from a screenplay by Glenn Leopold.

Jack Angel was an American voice actor and radio personality. He provided voice-overs for animation and video games. Angel had voiced characters in shows by Hasbro and Hanna-Barbera such as Super Friends, The Transformers and G.I. Joe and was involved in numerous productions by Disney and Pixar. Before becoming involved with voiceover work, Angel was initially a disc jockey for radio stations, namely KMPC and KFI. The day of his death, October 18, a piece of lost 1980s paraphernalia that contained his voice as the lead role, being the U.S. dub of TUGS, was discovered.

Audrey Wasilewski is an American television, film and voice actress. She is known for her prolific voice work including Arlene in the Garfield franchise, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Psychonauts 2, Breadwinners, Fallout 3, and Infinity Train.

Transformers: Prime is an American animated television series based on the Transformers toy franchise by Hasbro that aired on the Hub Network from November 29, 2010, to July 26, 2013. The series focuses on the Autobots of "Team Prime", consisting of Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead, and their human allies as they attempt to protect the Earth from the villainous Decepticons and their leader Megatron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Welker filmography</span>

Frank Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.

Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy is a toyline and transmedia series that is part of the Transformers franchise by Hasbro announced in February 2018.

Events in 1946 in animation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About Frank".
  2. ↑ Greiving, Tim. "You don't know his face. But voice actor Frank Welker likely ruled your childhood". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  3. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (August 9, 2011). "Frank Welker: the most successful Hollywood actor you've never heard of". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Merrill Welker Obituary (2009) - Denver, CO - Denver Post". Legacy.com .
  5. ↑ Kinane, Ruth (August 22, 2018). "From Scooby-Doo's Fred to Garfield: How legendary voice actor Frank Welker brought the characters to life". MSN. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Frank Welker". scoobyaddicts.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  7. ↑ Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two - Warren Spector Extended Cut Archived January 28, 2015, at the Wayback Machine , Game Trailers TV, March 26, 2012
  8. ↑ Hugus, Jennifer K. (April 27, 2016). "Frank Welker, Best Known as Voice of Scooby-Doo and Curious George, to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at The 43rd Annual Daytime Creative Emmy Awards!".
  9. ↑ "Frank Welker: Master of Many Voices, Bob Miller, ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE, ISSUE 5.01". April 2000. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  10. ↑ "BotCon 2010 Hasbro panel". mobile.coveritlive.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Let Me Be Frank". FrankWelker.com.
  12. ↑ "Frank Welker". Behind The Voice Actors.
  13. ↑ FlightAware information for N500WP owned by Frank Welker
Preceded by
None
 Voice of Fred Jones
1969-present		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Voice of Scooby-Doo
1979, 2002-present		Succeeded by
None
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.