Townsend Coleman

Last updated
Townsend Coleman
Townsend Coleman by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Coleman in 2018
Born
Townsend Putnam Coleman III

(1954-05-28) May 28, 1954 (age 69)
Occupation(s)Voice actor, DJ
Years active1974–present

Townsend Putnam Coleman III (born May 28, 1954) [1] is an American voice actor who has performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s. Among his most notable roles are Michaelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , [2] Wayne Gretzky on ProStars , Jason Whittaker in Adventures in Odyssey and the title characters in Where's Wally? and The Tick .

Contents

Early life

Townsend Putnam Coleman III was born in New York City, New York, but his family relocated to Denver, Colorado in 1955. [3]

Career

Early work

Coleman was a disc jockey for WGCL in Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1970s. This included the weekend of July 7–8, 1979, when that radio station presented his own take on American Top 40 after the station's refusal to air the "Top 40 Disco Songs" special for that weekend.

In the same period, Coleman appeared in several plays through Jerry Leonard's Heights Youth Theater ensemble. The plays were staged at Wiley Junior High School in University Heights, Ohio – just down the road from John Carroll University. Other famous performers who appeared in Leonard's plays include the actress Carol Kane.

Shortly before becoming a voice actor, he hosted a pair of dance shows for local television stations: We're Dancin' at WNEW in New York City (now WNYW) and The Dance Show at WSB-TV in Atlanta. [4] [5]

Voice acting

Coleman's career as a voice actor took off in the 1980s when, having recently moved to Los Angeles, he auditioned for the role of Corporal Capeman on Inspector Gadget . He also portrayed Riot on Jem , Gobo in the animated version of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock , Scott Howard on the animated Teen Wolf and many others. In TV commercials, he was the 7-Up "Spot", Keebler Elves, and Raid Bugs. Coleman has also been the voice of NBC commercials for programs such as Must See TV and The Tonight Show since the early 1990s. Coleman has also provided the voice for Jason Whittaker on the Focus on the Family radio drama Adventures in Odyssey since 1994. He also voiced the Autobot Mini-Cassette Rewind on the Transformers cartoon series (1986) and provided the voice of Colt in Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs .

From 1987 to 1996, Coleman voiced Michelangelo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . Coleman also provided the voice for The Tick in the 1994 cartoon series, for which he received an Annie Award nomination. Coleman performed a wide range of voices in King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow , including Vizier Abdul Alhazred, Shamir Shamazel, Lord Azure, Ferryman, Beast and the Minotaur.

Coleman returned to the Transformers franchise by voicing Sentinel Prime in the Transformers Animated series. The character was designed to look like The Tick, as confirmed by the writers of the show at Botcon 2008, Coleman also currently provided the voice of Neddy the Mallet in the Cartoon Network series, Mighty Magiswords . Neddy's mannerisms on the show are based on The Tick which led to him being acquired the role. According to the creator Kyle Carrozza, Neddy was Townsend's first original cartoon role in years.

Recently, he also returned to the Tick franchise in the 2017 series on Amazon Prime, voicing the ex-superhero dog Midnight.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1986 Black Moon Rising WaiterLive action
The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure Eliab, Fox Soldier #2Television film
The Amazing Adventures of Inspector GadgetCpl. Capeman
1987Alice Through the Looking GlassTom Fool [6] Television film
1988 Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears Zor One
1992 FernGully: The Last Rainforest Knotty [6]
1998 Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero Additional voices Direct-to-video
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night Father Joseph
2000The Crippled LambSamuel, Daniel, JosephTelevision film
2007 Superman: Doomsday Drill Operator [6] Direct-to-video
2008 Justice League: The New Frontier Will Magnus [6]
2013 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Morrie [6]
Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite Commissioner Gordon
2016 Sing Additional Voices
2018 The Grinch Additional Voices
2019 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood The F.B.I. Intro Announcer (voice)uncredited

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985 Inspector Gadget Corporal Capeman Sweetly
1986 The Transformers Mini-Cassette Rewind, Martin
1986-1987 Teen Wolf Scott Howard / Teen Wolf
1987-1996 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Michaelangelo, Rat King, Krang, Shredder, Usagi Yojimbo, Rahzar, Screwloose, Splinter, Burne Thompson, Jerry Spiegel, Electrozapper, Dalton Dumpsky, Fritz
1987 Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series Gobo Fraggle, Architect Doozer13 episodes [6]
1988 Jem and the Holograms Rory "Riot" Llewelyn
1988 Superman Teenage Clark Kent, Ted Kline
1989 Ring Raiders Yasu Yakamura
1990 TaleSpin Turkey Client, Newsreel AnnouncerEpisode: "From Here to Machinery"
1991 Darkwing Duck PatrickEpisode: "Whiffle While You Work"
1991 Where's Wally? Waldo
1991-1992 Space Cats Scratch
1992 Batman: The Animated Series Chick [6] Episode: "It's Never Too Late"
1994-1996 The Tick The Tick [6]
1995-1996 Timon & Pumbaa Vulture Police, Purplest Stupidest Pirate
1995-1997 Spider-Man Silvermane (Young) [6] 2 episodes
1996 Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series Canard2 episodes
1996 Superman: The Animated Series Programmer, Captain, Co-Pilot, Death Fist Ninja [6] 4 episodes
1997-1999 The New Batman Adventures Rocco, Mugsy2 episodes [6]
1997-1998 Pinky and the Brain Hal Slug, FBI Agent, Les Tarr, Bobby Fenster, Bryce Wallace, Bobby Bob Yokel [6] 8 episodes
1998 Animaniacs Pressberg Katzeneisnerman [6] Episode: "Hooray for North Hollywood"
1998 I Am Weasel Hector, Prisoner [6] Episode: "I Stand Corrected"
1998-2002 The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Nerdy Kid, Mayor, Accountant [6] 3 episodes
1999-2000 Batman Beyond False-Face, Lieutenant [6] 2 episodes
1999 Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain Claude Gristle [6] Episode: "Hooray for Meat"
2002 Spy TV Announcer2 episodes
2005 Duck Dodgers Superego Dodgers, Protectorate #2 [6] Episode: "A Lame Duck Mind"
2007 The Batman Campus Guard [6] Episode: "Seconds"
2007-2009 Transformers: Animated Sentinel Prime, Tracks, News Bot, PA Voice [6] 13 episodes
2014-2017 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 80s Michelangelo, Clerk [6] 5 episodes
2015 Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. Hercules [6] Episode: "The Tale of Hercules"
2016-2018 Mighty Magiswords Neddy the Mallet, Bee Crown, Matt, Man #3, Giant Slug, Cricket, Red Herring, Galoot [6]
2017-2018 The Tick Midnight, Onward

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992 King's Quest VI Vizier Abdul Alhazred, Shamir Shamazel, Lord Azure
2007 Mass Effect Lord Darius, Rafael Vargas, Zabaleta
2012 Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter, Commissioner Gordon, General Zod
Spec Ops: The Line Soldiers [6]
2021 Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Michelangelo [6] Voiceover added in 2022 update
2022 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Michelangelo, Rat King, Rahzar [6]
2022 Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway Michelangelo [6]
2023 Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 Michelangelo

Radio

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994–present Adventures in Odyssey Jason Whittaker131 episodes

Announcer

Related Research Articles

<i>House of Mouse</i> American animated television series

Disney's House of Mouse is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired on ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001, to October 24, 2003, with 52 episodes and 22 newly produced cartoon shorts made for the series. The show focuses on Mickey Mouse and his friends running a cartoon theater dinner club in the fictional setting of ToonTown, catering to many characters from Disney cartoons and animated movies while showcasing a variety of their cartoon shorts. The series is named after a common nickname or epithet for the Walt Disney Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tress MacNeille</span> American voice actress

Teressa Claire MacNeille (née Payne) is an American voice actress, whose credits include voicing Dot Warner on the animated television series Animaniacs and its reboot, Babs Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures, Chip and Gadget Hackwrench on Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, and Daisy Duck in various Disney media since 1999. She has also worked on animated series such as The Simpsons, Futurama, Disenchantment, Rugrats, and Hey Arnold!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Paulsen</span> American voice actor (born 1956)

Robert Frederick Paulsen III is an American voice actor and voice director, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Annie Awards for his role as both Yakko and Pinky in the Animaniacs franchise. His other voice roles include Hadji in The New Adventures of Jonny Quest (1986–1987) and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1996–1997); Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987–1996); P.J. Pete in Goof Troop (1992), A Goofy Movie (1995), and An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000); Jaq in Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002) and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007); and Mac in The Looney Tunes Show (2011–2013) and Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diedrich Bader</span> American actor and comedian (b. 1966)

Karl Diedrich Bader is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his comedy-centered and voice acting-related roles. He has appeared as a series regular in television sitcoms The Drew Carey Show, American Housewife, and Outsourced, along with notable recurring roles in Better Things and Veep. His film credits include The Beverly Hillbillies, Office Space and Napoleon Dynamite. He has also had a prolific voiceover career, playing characters such as Hoss Delgado in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Zeta in The Zeta Project, Tank in the film Surf's Up, and provided the voice of Bruce Wayne / Batman in multiple animated films and television series, beginning in 2008 with Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

<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, Ed and Bev Bighead on Rocko's Modern Life, Ickis on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Doctor Doom, Wrecker, and Sabertooth in The Super Hero Squad Show, MODOK in various Marvel media, Cobra Commander in GI Joe: Resolute and Renegades, Starscream in the Transformers films, Mr. Whiskers in Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, Cow, Chicken, and the Red Guy in Cow and Chicken, Professor Monkey-for-a-Head in Earthworm Jim, I.R. Baboon in I Am Weasel and T-Bone in SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Bennett</span> American voice actor (born 1962)

Jeff Bennett is an American voice actor who voiced the titular character in the animated series Johnny Bravo, as well as Dexter's Dad in Dexter's Laboratory, Peter Puppy in Earthworm Jim, Brooklyn in Gargoyles, Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel in Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Petrie in The Land Before Time franchise and Kowalski in the Penguins of Madagascar series. In 2012, Bennett was awarded an Annie Award for his role in The Penguins of Madagascar and in 2016, he was awarded an Emmy Award for his role in Transformers: Rescue Bots. He has been listed among the top names in the voice-over field.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (1987 TV series) American animated television series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series produced by Fred Wolf Films, and based on the comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Set in New York City, the series follows the adventures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their allies as they battle the Shredder, Krang, and numerous other villains and criminals. The property was changed considerably from the darker-toned comics, to make it more suitable for children and the family.

Larry C. "Bumper" Robinson II is an American film, television and voice actor. He is known for his roles as Bumblebee and Blitzwing on Transformers: Animated, Falcon on Avengers Assemble, Footi, Glurt and Wizwuz from Mixels, Rook Blonko from Ben 10: Omniverse and Cyborg in Justice League: Doom.

Candi Milo is an American actress. She has voiced various characters on many animated series including Tiny Toon Adventures, SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, ChalkZone, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, ¡Mucha Lucha!, Codename: Kids Next Door, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Loonatics Unleashed, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Maya & Miguel, W.I.T.C.H., The Life and Times of Juniper Lee,The Replacements, and The Adventures of Puss in Boots. Since 2017, she has voiced the Looney Tunes characters Granny and Witch Hazel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Rist</span> American actor

Robbie Rist is an American actor. He is known for playing Cousin Oliver in The Brady Bunch, Martin in Grady and "Little John" in Big John, Little John. Rist is also known for voicing assorted characters in television shows, games and movies, including Stuffy, the overly-proud stuffed dragon in Doc McStuffins, Whiz in Kidd Video, Star in Balto, Maroda in Final Fantasy X, Choji Akimichi in Naruto, and Michelangelo in the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), and Casey Jones (2011). Additionally, he and director Anthony C. Ferrante provided music for the Sharknado film and the theme song for the Sharknado franchise. He played Ted & Georgia Baxter's adopted son David on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He was also the voice of the stick man from the Handi Snacks commercials.

<i>Mickey Mouse Clubhouse</i> American animated childrens television series

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is an American animated interactive television series for preschoolers. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was created by Disney veteran Bobs Gannaway. The series originally aired 125 episodes from May 5, 2006, to November 6, 2016, on the Disney Channel's preschool block, Playhouse Disney, making it the longest-running original series to air on the block. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Michael Richardson</span> American actor (born 1964)

Kevin Michael Richardson is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in Mortal Kombat (1995) and reprises in Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020), Captain Gantu in the Lilo & Stitch franchise, Kamek in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Bulkhead from Transformers: Prime, and Deus Ex Machina in The Matrix Revolutions (2003). He has also voiced characters on Seth MacFarlane's shows Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and American Dad!, as well as several characters on The Simpsons, and Futurama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Anthony Williams</span> American actor

Gary Anthony Williams is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He has voiced the characters of Uncle Ruckus on The Boondocks, General Horace Warfield in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and Dr. Richard Tygan in XCOM 2, portraying Anton "Bebop" Zeck in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. He has also appeared on shows such as Boston Legal, I'm Sorry, Malcolm in the Middle and The Soul Man. He was a cast member on the sketch comedy series Blue Collar TV and currently the improv comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He is also a co-founder of the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jess Harnell</span> American voice actor

Jess Harnell is an American voice actor. His roles include Wakko Warner in Animaniacs, Captain Hero in Drawn Together, Jerry in the first two seasons of Totally Spies, Ironhide in the first three Transformers films directed by Michael Bay, the titular character in the Crash Bandicoot franchise, and Wooton Bassett in Adventures in Odyssey. Harnell has also been the announcer for America's Funniest Home Videos since 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hal Rayle</span> American voice actor

Hal Rayle is an American voice actor. He has done many roles for both animated series and live action movies.

Susan Blu, better known as Sue Blu, is an American voice-actress, voice-director, and casting-director in American and Canadian cinema and television. She most notably voiced Arcee in The Transformers: The Movie and Seasons 3 and 4 of The Transformers. She is also known for playing the roles of Stormer/Mary Phillips and Lindsey Pierce in the 1980s animated series Jem. She also served as a Casting- & Voice-Director for Handy Manny, for which she also guest-starred as Marion.

<i>The Tick</i> (1994 TV series) American animated television series

The Tick is an American animated television series adaptation of the New England Comics satirical superhero the Tick. The series aired for three seasons from 1994 to 1996 on the Fox network's Fox Kids block, which introduced the character to a mainstream audience. The Tick has been syndicated by various networks, further increasing the show's cult following, and has been released on both VHS and DVD. A live-action series aired in 2001, with Amazon launching a second live-action series in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Marks (screenwriter)</span> American screenwriter

Dennis Marks was an American screenwriter, producer and voice actor, mainly for children's animations. Marks wrote for several big production companies during the 1960s through to the 1990s, including Hanna-Barbera, DC and Marvel. He wrote screenplays and stories for many popular animation shows including Batfink, The Beatles, Dungeons & Dragons and Spider-Man, providing the voice for the Green Goblin in the latter. He also worked as a producer for Children's TV show Wonderama, chat show A.M. New York and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

The second season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aired on Nickelodeon from October 12, 2013, to September 26, 2014.

Events in 1954 in animation.

References

  1. "Townsend Coleman at rottentomatoes.com". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  2. "Townsend Coleman Interview" Kidzworld.com. Retrieved on June 19, 2009.
  3. "Talking Toons With Rob Paulsen: Episode 126 with Guest: Townsend Coleman". Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen, mixcloud.com. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  4. Wolcott, James (March 28, 1983). "A Priest Called Ralph". New York. New York City: New York Media, LLC. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  5. The Dance Show (February 12, 1984). "The Dance Show -2/12/1984 Episode 08 With Madonna Cicconne". archive.org. Internet Archive. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 "Townsend Coleman (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 20, 2023. 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 opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.