Larry Kenney

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Larry Kenney
Larry Kenney March 2014.jpg
Kenney in March 2014
Born (1947-08-05) August 5, 1947 (age 77)
Pekin, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation(s)Voice actor, radio personality
Years active1963–present
Known for Imus in the Morning
ThunderCats
SilverHawks
Count Chocula
Sonny the Cuckoo Bird
Bowling for Dollars
SpouseCarol Ann Jacobs Kenney [1]
Children3, including Kerri Kenney

Larry Kenney (born August 5, 1947) is an American voice actor and radio personality. [2]

Contents

Early life

Larry Kenney was born August 5, 1947 in Pekin which is south of Peoria, Illinois, [2] the son of George and Joyce Kenney. [3] He has a brother, Steven, and a sister, Jody. [3] He graduated from Pekin Community High School in Pekin. [4] He attended Western Illinois University in Macomb, northwest of Springfield, Illinois but did not graduate. [5]

Career

In 1963, Kenney began his radio career at the age of 15 as a disc jockey at WIRL in Peoria. [2] [6] After WIRL, he worked at WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana; [2] WKYC (AM, now WTAM), Cleveland, Ohio (1970–1973); WHN, New York City; [6] WYNY, New York City; WJJD (now WYLL), Chicago; and WKHK (now WLTW), New York City [2] until 1972. [6]

Kenney was part of the regular cast on the Imus in the Morning [6] radio show from 1973 to 2007, where he recorded impersonations of dozens of characters including General George Patton, [7] Andy Rooney, [8] and Ross Perot. [7]

In 1973, Kenney joined 1050 WHN (now WEPN), a country music station in New York City. [5] [9] He originally announced for the afternoon drive-time show, before taking over the prestigious morning drive-time in 1974. [10] His program was a hit, not only for the music, but also for his comical characters who "joined" him while he performed as a dj. Billboard named him Best Country Disc Jockey "at a station in a metropolitan area of one million or more" in 1976 [11] and Best Country Music Personality in 1978. [12] He stayed at WHN until the fall of 1979, when he moved to WYNY to host the morning slot for a year [13] before moving to WKHK's (now WLTW) morning show. [14] He was the host of the New York edition of the television show Bowling for Dollars on WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV) from 1976 to 1979. [15] [16]

Kenney is also known for his voice work as Lion-O on the 1980s Rankin/Bass cartoon ThunderCats , and Karate Kat, a martial arts blackbelt cat featured as part of The Comic Strip . He was the voice of Bluegrass in SilverHawks and Dolph in TigerSharks . [1] He did voice work for several breakfast cereal characters such as Count Chocula and Sonny the Cuckoo Bird. [2] [6] Kenney reprised the role of Lion-O in Family Guy , and voiced the character's father Claudus in ThunderCats (2011) and his mentor Jaga in ThunderCats Roar . [17]

Kenney provided voice-overs for The State , the 1990s sketch comedy cult classic which featured his daughter, Kerri Kenney. [18] He was also the announcer for VH1's Best Week Ever during its run from 2004 to 2009; [19] he provides introductions for Westwood One's radio coverage of Monday Night Football [ citation needed ] and various other commercial work including for Skittles and Campbell's soup. [20] He was the announcer for The Beat 102.7 in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV and K.T.I. Radio in the L.A. Noire . He did the voice for JB Cripps in Red Dead Online , the online component of Red Dead Redemption 2 . [21]

In 2008, he was hired to do an impersonation of Mark Twain for a gala held by the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. [22]

Personal life

He and his wife Carol Ann Jacobs Kenney [1] have three children, daughters Kerri and Ashley, and son Tanner. [2] Kerri, the eldest, is an actress, best known for her work on the series Reno 911! and The State . Ashley works in the nonprofit sector and is the bassist and singer for the band Witch Hair from New Haven, Connecticut. [23] Tanner was the voice of Agenda Caller in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV . [24] Larry and Carol Kenney live in New Canaan, Connecticut. [25] [4]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1982A Star for JeremyVoice, television film
1985 The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus Wind Demon CommanderVoice, television film
1986Light Moments in Sports 1986NarratorVoice, television film
1987Thundercats Ho! the MovieLion-O, JackalmanVoice, direct-to-video
1992Aisle SixAnnouncerVoice, short film
1993The WaitersVoice, short film
1993The Twelve Days of ChristmasSir CarolboomerVoice, television film
2005 Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story Lion-OVoice, direct-to-video
2011Butterfly BluesClaudusVoice, television short
2015The macabre madness of Mortulia MoroseHostVoice, short film
2015Vault of Macabre IIHostVoice, short film
2015Vault of the Macabre Presents Scary Little ChristmasHostVoice, short film
2016Vault of the Macabre Presents All Hallow's EveHostVoice, short film
2016Vault of the Macabre Presents: the Fright Before ChristmasHostVoice, short film
2017Vault of the Macabre: the House Upon the HillHostVoice, short film
2017Vault of the Macabre: Christmas CheerHostVoice, short film
2018Vault of the Macabre Presents the Witching HourHostVoice, short film
2018Vault of the Macabre Presents the Christmas WitchHostVoice, short film
2020Unit ElevenNarrator
2020The Bloody ManRadio DJVoice

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985–1989 ThunderCats Lion-O, Jackalman, Snarf Eggbert, Torr, Safari Joe, Wizz-Ra, PilotVoice, main role
1986 SilverHawks Lt. Colonel Bluegrass, Pokerface, Buzzsaw, Moonstryker, Time Stopper, General Rawlings, Professor Power, Space Bandit, Lord Cash, Warden LockupVoice, 65 episodes
1987 TigerSharks DolphVoice
1987 The Comic Strip Dolph, Karate Kat, Boom-Boom BurmeseVoice, 2 episodes
2011–2012 ThunderCats ClaudusVoice, 4 episodes [26]
2019–present Teen Titans Go! Chief, Original Lion-ORecurring voice role [26]
2020 ThunderCats Roar JagaVoice, 4 episodes [26]
2024 Pokémon Horizons: The Series LudlowVoice, 8 episodes, English dub [26]

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2008 Grand Theft Auto IV The Beat 102.7 Announcer
2010 Mafia II Frank Vinci [26]
2011 L.A. Noire K.T.I. Radio Announcer
2012 Alan Wake's American Nightmare Eddie Rodman [26]
2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 JB Cripps Red Dead Online only [26]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Larry Kenney at IMDb. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Larry Kenney". NBC News. Microsoft. October 23, 1997. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Joyce Ann Kenney". Legacy. 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Tarter, Steve (February 20, 2019). "Cosplay, comics, games, toys all featured at PeoriaCon on March 2". Journal Star. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Adams, Val (October 13, 1974). "Radio Roundup". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 133. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Fritz, Steve (May 29, 2008). "Lion-O - Behind The Fur with Larry Kenney". Newsarama.com. New York City: Imaginova Corp. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Imus". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 31, 1996. p. 50. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Fillo, Maryellen (November 5, 2008). "Spilling the beans/A coffee break with Larry Kenney". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. C02. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Blackwell, Bruce (September 2, 1979). "A funny thing happened on the way to the toothbrush". The Journal News. White Plains, New York. p. 122. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Adams, Val (June 30, 1979). "Columbia roars for Miles Davis". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 106. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Disc jockey wins honor". The Times Recorder. Zanesville, Ohio. December 7, 1976. p. 7. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Billboard makes radio awards". The Journal Herald. Dayton, Ohio. August 18, 1978. p. 60. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Eaton, Anne (April 27, 1980). "Powers, Kenny are victims of ratings". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. p. 168. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Kerins, Annabelle (October 25, 1980). "WRVR changes its name". Newsday. New York, New York. p. 56. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Botta, Mike (February 8, 1980). "WYNY scores some points with Jersey". The Herald News. Passaic, New Jersey. p. 43. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Larry Kenney". NBC. October 23, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Meet Larry Kenney at Retro Con 2018! **SATURDAY ONLY!**". RetroCons. April 3, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  18. ↑ Harris, Jeffrey (September 30, 2011). "PowerCon/ThunderCon 2011: Interview with Original Lion-O Voice Actor Larry Kenney". Anime Superhero. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  19. ↑ "INTERVIEW WITH LARRY KENNEY: PART ONE: THUNDERCATS HAS HIS TONGUE". Cosmic Book News. August 21, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  20. ↑ Tarter, Steve (n.d.). "Voice of Cocoa Puffs bird will be heard on WIRL this weekend". Journal Star. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  21. ↑ "JB CRIPPS". Behind the Voice Actors. n.d. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  22. ↑ Fillo, Maryellen (November 11, 2008). "Hallowed Ground". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. C02. Retrieved July 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Loom creates "Echoes" on new single".
  24. ↑ Tanner Kenney at IMDb. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  25. ↑ Fischetti, Alex (November 5, 2015). "Larry Kenney is cuckoo for cocoa puffs & HamletHub finds out why". Ridgefield's HamletHub. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Larry Kenney (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Retrieved January 11, 2019.

Interviews

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