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Joey Camen | |
|---|---|
 Camen in 2015 | |
| Born | January 16, 1957 |
| Other names | Joseph Camen |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1977–present |
| Website | voicecomic |
Joey Camen (born January 16, 1957) is an American voice actor, comedian and writer who has performed voice over work in various movies, TV shows and video games.
In 1974, after graduating from Henry Ford High School in Detroit, Camen went to Hollywood, California.[ citation needed ] He auditioned at the Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip, and within a few weeks, he was a regular performer and master of ceremonies, making him one of the youngest professional standup comedians at the time. His standup act featured various dialects along with characters he created based on the people he grew up with in multi-ethnic Detroit. [1] He was then discovered and mentored by voiceover artist Daws Butler, who voiced the characters of Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw and others.
Camen got his first break at 20 performing his standup comedy routines on national TV shows Don Kirshner's Rock Concert and later on Dinah, the daytime talk show starring Dinah Shore. He was also the opening act for such performers as Oingo Boingo, The Pointer Sisters, Richard Pryor, Marvin Gaye and others. In addition to being a regular performer at the Comedy Store for more than 25 years, Camen has headlined at comedy venues in Las Vegas and comedy clubs and colleges across the United States. [2]
As a voice-over actor, Camen has worked on multiple projects over the years, including video games Devil May Cry 5 , Skylanders: Giants , Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Mafia II ; the online series Sam & Max , where he voiced two seasons as Bosco and the entire Jimmy 2 Teeth family.
He has voiced multiple characters on animated family films such as The Queen's Corgi , The Son of Bigfoot , Thunder and the House of Magic , and Space Jam . [3] Camen has also voiced spots for various TV and radio commercials and was the voice of Natural Smurf in the Hanna-Barbera TV series, The Smurfs . In addition, Camen is the designated voice of McGruff the Crime Dog for a series of videos shown in public schools throughout the United States and PSA commercials.[ citation needed ]
As an actor, Camen's first job was as a sketch player on the short-lived NBC variety series, The Richard Pryor Show , where he performed sketches alongside Richard Pryor and other cast members. Then as a pledge in Floyd Mutrux's The Hollywood Knights , and next co-starring in the PBS television series, The Righteous Apples, for 2 seasons as Samuel 'DC' Rosencrantz. This led to working with Ralph Bakshi on the films American Pop and Cool World , as well as guest roles in sitcoms and other feature films.
In 1994, Camen wrote and performed a serio-comic one-person, two-act play, In the Hood with Mrs. Aronovitz, portraying nine characters. In the play, an ungrateful son tricks his elderly mother out of the deed to her apartment building to tear it down and put up a parking lot. Mrs. Aronovitz and her tenants rally together to get the building back. The play had a successful run in theatres in Los Angeles and New York City.
Camen's filmmaking credits include the Houston International Film Festival Bronze Award-Winning comedy short Bernie - A Love Story about a man and his mattress, in which he worn multiple hats as writer-director-producer and actor. Camen has also directed various YouTube videos for his comedy channel CamenTV.
Camen has written two non-fiction books. The 2013 pet memoir, My Life with Snoopy: How One Shelter Dog's Love Changed a Man's Life and Other Tails of Adventure, which tells the story of his 13-year relationship with his Burbank Animal Shelter dog, Snoopy. [4] In 2017, Camen's autobiography, Laughing Through the Pain: Stories from the Trenches of Hollywood Standup Comedy and Beyond, was released. [5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Bone: The Great Cow Race | Euclid | [6] |
| 2006 | Sam & Max Save the World | Bosco, Jimmy Two-Teeth | [6] |
| 2006 | Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space | Bosco, Jimmy Two-Teeth, Mary Two-Teeth, Timmy Two-Teeth | [6] |
| 2007 | Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | Ben Grimm/The Thing | |
| 2009 | Brütal Legend | Kabbage Boy Bassist, Bouncers | [6] |
| 2010 | Mafia II | Leon, Gangsters, Civilians | [6] |
| 2011 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon - The Game | Lockdown | Nintendo DS port |
| 2019 | Fallout 76: Wild Appalachia | Ansel Abrahms, Cavit Klein | [7] |
| 2019 | Devil May Cry 5 | J.D. Morrison, Goliath | [6] |
Joey Camen was criticized by video game fans who had discovered his YouTube channel Camen TV in where he played various offensive stereotypes. The videos were posted between 2015 and 2017. The videos were later taken down by Camen in 2019. [9] [10]