MY TOP 21 ACTORS IN THE "SPIDER-MAN"(1994-1998) TV SERIES
This collection of talented voice actors are all featured in the hit 90's cartoon series "Spider-Man". One of my favorite cartoons from my childhood.
I did not include characters of the show such as 'Mary Jane Watson', 'Harry Osbourne', 'The Lizard', 'Morbius', and 'Blade'. Simply because the actors who voiced the characters had a lack of information with IMDB. There was also actors which included Dorian Harewood(Full Metal Jacket), Don Stark(The 70's Show), Nichelle Nichols(Star Trek, 1966), Earl Boen(The Terminator), and Malcolm McDonald(A Clockwork Orange). Who all had various voices on the series but not enough to include on this list.
Welcome to my top 21 favorite actors from the "Spider-Man" TV series, in no particular order, fun facts included. Enjoy!
I did not include characters of the show such as 'Mary Jane Watson', 'Harry Osbourne', 'The Lizard', 'Morbius', and 'Blade'. Simply because the actors who voiced the characters had a lack of information with IMDB. There was also actors which included Dorian Harewood(Full Metal Jacket), Don Stark(The 70's Show), Nichelle Nichols(Star Trek, 1966), Earl Boen(The Terminator), and Malcolm McDonald(A Clockwork Orange). Who all had various voices on the series but not enough to include on this list.
Welcome to my top 21 favorite actors from the "Spider-Man" TV series, in no particular order, fun facts included. Enjoy!
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- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Hank Azaria is an American comedian and actor from Queens, New York. He is known for voicing several characters in The Simpsons including Apu, Chief Wiggum, Moe, Bumblebee Man, Lou and Superintendent Chalmers. The latter became well-known due to the "Steamed Hams" scene. He also acted in Godzilla, The Smurfs and Mystery Men.VENOM - Hank Azaria will always be one of my favorite voice actors. It wasn't until years later I found out that he had such an impact with "The Simpsons" TV series. He made such an awesome Eddie Brock voice, far more superior than Topher Grace in the "Spider-Man 3" movie. The movie still lets me down when I think of the alien symbiote. Venom is, the highlight of this entire TV series. Definitely my favorite character of the show right next to Carnage and Spider-Man.
FUN FACT: He has estimated that he has done 'literally 100, 150 different characters' voices on The Simpsons TV series. Some characters included are Moe the Bartender, Lou the Cop, Chief Wiggum, Apu, Dr. Nick Rivera, and the Comic Book Guy.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Christopher Daniel Barnes was born on November 7, 1972 in Portland, Maine, USA. He is an actor, known for The Little Mermaid (1989), Spider-Man (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). Barnes moved to New York when he was eight years old, where he began his acting career. He moved to Los Angeles for the television series Starman (1986) and followed that show with the sitcom Day by Day (1987). His credits span diverse genres of film and television over the course of more than three decades. Barnes earned his BA in 2004, and his MA in 2009. He enjoys reading, writing short stories, playing the guitar, and practicing Yoga.SPIDER-MAN - Christopher Daniel Barnes has never been given the chance I think he rightfully deserves in the movie world. Probably his best movie role is when he plays the oldest brother, Greg Brady. In the two "Brady Bunch" movies. He has a very likeable personality, which fit well in the character of Peter Parker. He's still my favorite Spider-Man voice actor, even with all of the TV series and video games that followed. Without Barnes, I don't think this show would've lasted five seasons.
FUN FACT: At 22, he is the youngest actor to have played the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Linda Gary was an American voice actress from Los Angeles, California. She was in the prime of her career in the 1980s. She voiced four major female characters in "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" (1983-1985): the benevolent Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, the heroic Teela (the Captain of the Royal Guard), Queen Marlena (He-Man's mother), and the ambitious villainess Evil-Lyn. In the spin-off series "She-Ra: Princess of Power" (1985-1986), Gary voiced the evil sorceress Shadow Weaver, the animal-themed super-villainess Scorpia, the rebel leader Glimmer, the benevolent witch Madame Razz, and the inventor Entrapta (sidekick and only friend to the villainess Catra).
In 1944, Gary was born in Los Angeles California. In 1967, Gary married the actor Charles Howerton. She became the stepmother to his daughter from a previous wedding, and later had two daughters of her own. In the early 1970s, she and her husband were living in Italy. She was hired to perform voice work, dubbing Italian films into English.
Gary returned to the United States in 1974, and was interested in starting a professional career as a voice actor. She received acting lessons from veteran voice actor Daws Butler (1916 - 1988). Among her earliest performances was voicing various female characters in the animated series "Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle" (1980), the first adaptation of Tarzan for television animation. She even voiced Tarzan's original love interest, Jane Porter, but only for a single episode.
Gary voiced numerous characters for Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, Marvel Productions, and Disney Television Animation over the following decades. She also worked in dubbing Japanese anime films, such as "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984). For "Ghostbusters" (1986), Gary voiced the only two major female villains in the series: the mist-controlling ghost Mysteria and the vamp-like sorceress Apparitia.
Gary's last major role in television was playing May Parker in several early episodes of the animated series "Spider-Man" (1994-1998). Her character was Spider-Man/Peter Parker's aunt and surrogate mother. On October 5, 1995, Gary died at her home in North Hollywood, California. Her death was caused by brain cancer, a disease with which she had been struggling for a while. She died a month before her 51st birthday. Despite her relatively short career, Gary is fondly remembered for her roles in animation.AUNT MAY - Linda Gary had been a professional voice actor long before the role of Aunt May. I didn't know actress Linda Gary had died, and that this was her final character role she voiced. I feel like Aunt May was in more than 19 episodes but she actually wasn't. Her presence had that much of an impact, that the show even used previous recordings of her voice for the two following seasons after she passed. Aunt May, one of the biggest hearts of the Spider-Man world.
RIP (1944-1995, age 50)
FUN FACT: Best known for her cartoon characters Teela, Evil-Lyn, The Sorceress, Shadow Weaver, and Madame Razz from the 80's series "She-Ra: Princess of Power" and "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe". Also as Grandma from "The Land Before Time" cartoon movie sequels.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Edward Asner was born of Russian Jewish parentage in Kansas City, to Morris David Asner (founder and owner of the Kansas City-based Asner Iron & Metal Company) and his wife Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Seliger). After attending college, Ed worked various jobs, including in a steel mill, as a door-to-door salesman and on an assembly line for General Motors. Between 1947 and 1949, he attended the University of Chicago. The onset of the Korean War saw him drafted into the U.S. Army Signals Corps and posted to France where he was primarily assigned clerical tasks. Upon demobilization, Asner joined the Playwrights Theatre Company in Chicago but soon progressed to New York. In 1955, he appeared off-Broadway in the leading role of the beggar king Jonathan Peachum in Brecht's Threepenny Opera. Five years later, he made his debut on the Great White Way in the courtroom drama Face of a Hero, co-starring alongside Jack Lemmon. He also began regular TV work in anthology drama.
From the early '60s, Asner, now based in California, earned his living as a busy supporting actor. His many noted guest appearances included turns in Route 66 (1960), The Untouchables (1959), The Fugitive (1963), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964) (sinister dictator-in-exile Brynov), The Invaders (1967) (twice -- as aliens) and How the Ghosts Stole Christmas (1998) (one of a couple of ghostly residents in a haunted mansion). Heavy-set and distinctively gravelly-voiced, Asner established his reputation as tough, robust and uncompromising (though, on occasion, good-hearted) authority figures. Excellent at conveying menace, he was memorably cast as the brutish patriarch Axel Jordache in Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) and as the slave ship's morally conflicted master, Captain Thomas Davies, in Roots (1977), which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award in 1977. The immensely prolific Asner (417 IMDB screen credits!) would receive seven Emmys in total (from 21 nominations), all Primetime, and become the only actor to win in both the comedy and drama category for the same role. That was also the part which made Asner a household name: the gruff, snarky newspaper editor Lou Grant (1977). Grant began as a mainstay on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), a 30-minute sitcom.
When the character was promoted to West Coast editor of The Los Angeles Tribune, Asner went on to star in his own much acclaimed drama series. Despite consistently high ratings, the show was axed after five seasons amid rumours of disharmony between the star and producers, possibly due to the former's outspoken political views. Indeed, Asner has been a controversial figure as an activist and campaigner, engaged in a variety of humanitarian and political issues. A self-proclaimed liberal Democrat, he published a book in 2017, amusingly titled "The Grouchy Historian: An Old-Time Lefty Defends Our Constitution Against Right-Wing Hypocrites and Nutjobs."
Between 1981 and 1985, Asner served twice as President of the Screen Actors Guild, during which time he was critical of former SAG President Ronald Reagan -- then the president of a greater concern -- for his Central American policy. In 1996, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and in 2002 received the Screen Actors Guild's Life Achievement Award. In addition to appearing on screen and stage, he performed extensive work for radio, video games and animated TV series. He voiced the lead character Carl Fredricksen in Pixar's Oscar-winning production of Up (2009), starred as Santa in Elf (2003), and played Nicholas Drago in The Games Maker (2014). Ed passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 91 on August 29, 2021.J. JONAH JAMESON - Edward Asner really has no flaw about him, he's one of the television greats. We're lucky to get such a talented and versatile actor to be in these cartoon shows. He could be a bad guy, a good guy, or even a guest for two episodes and his voice commands. Not to mention he was one of the lead cast members for all five seasons. I love him as J.J. even more so than I do as Roland Dagget in "Batman: The Animated Series". I wish we had more class voice actors.
FUN FACT: Has won more Emmy's, 7, as an actor than any other male performer.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Mark Hamill is best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy - Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - a role he reprised in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He also starred and co-starred in the films Corvette Summer (1978), The Big Red One (1980), and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014). Hamill's extensive voice acting work includes a long-standing role as the Joker, commencing with Batman: The Animated Series (1992).
Hamill was born in Oakland, California, to Virginia Suzanne (Johnson) and William Thomas Hamill, a captain in the United States Navy. He majored in drama at Los Angeles City College and made his acting debut on The Bill Cosby Show (1969). He then played a recurring role (Kent Murray) on the soap opera General Hospital (1963) and co-starred on the comedy series The Texas Wheelers (1974).
Released on May 25, 1977, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) was an enormous unexpected success and made a huge impact on the film industry. Hamill also appeared in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) and later starred in the successful sequels Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). For both of the sequels, Hamill was honored with the Saturn Award for Best Actor given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. He reprised the role of Luke Skywalker for the radio dramatizations of both "Star Wars" (1981) and "The Empire Strikes Back" (1983), and then in a starring role in Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017). For the radio dramatization of "Return of the Jedi" (1996), the role was played by a different actor.
He voiced the new Chucky in Child's Play (2019), taking over from Brad Dourif.HOBGOBLIN - Mark Hamill can probably do any kind of villain with his voice, and be so hauntingly good. I immediately spotted his 'Joker' laugh in the role of Hobgoblin when this episode first aired. I felt so lucky as a kid to have these great actors doing the voices for my favorite heroes and villains from one cartoon to the next. As you get older, you come to respect the career of these actors as a whole.
FUN FACT: In an ironic counterpoint to his problem of being typecast as a upright hero like "Luke Skywalker" in live-action movie roles such as "Star Wars", he has found that his successful career as an animation voice actor has typecast him as a player of flamboyant villains like "The Joker" in the animated "Batman" (1992) series.- Actor
- Soundtrack
He was a master class in cerebral eloquence and audience command...and although his dominant playing card in the realm of acting was quite serious and stately, nobody cut a more delightfully dry edge in sitcoms than this gentleman, whose calm yet blistering put-downs often eluded his lesser victims.
Acting titan Roscoe Lee Browne was born to a Baptist minister and his wife on May 2, 1922, in Woodbury, New Jersey. He attended Lincoln University, an historically black university in Pennsylvania until 1942, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he served in Italy with the Negro 92nd Infantry Division and organized the Division's track and field team. He graduated from Lincoln University in 1946, and studied French through Middlebury College's summer language program. He received his master's degree from Columbia University, then subsequently returned to Lincoln and taught French and comparative literature, seemingly destined to settle in completely until he heard a different calling.
Roscoe relished his first taste of adulation and admiration as a track star, competing internationally and winning the world championship in the 800-yard dash in 1951. He parlayed that attention into a job as a sales representative for a wine and liquor importer. In 1956, he abruptly decided to become an actor. And he did. With no training but a shrewd, innate sense of self, he boldly auditioned for, and won, the role of the Soothsayer in "Julius Caesar" the very next day at the newly-formed New York Shakespeare Festival. He never looked back and went on to perform with the company in productions of "The Taming of the Shrew", "Titus Andronicus", "Othello", "King Lear" (as the Fool), and "Troilus and Cressida".
Blessed with rich, mellifluous tones and an imposing, cultured air, Roscoe became a rare African-American fixture on the traditionally white classical stage. In 1961 he appeared notably with James Earl Jones in the original off-Broadway cast of Jean Genet's landmark play "The Blacks". Awards soon came his way -- the first in the form of an Obie only a few years later for his portrayal of a rebellious slave in "The Old Glory". Additionally, he received the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award for both "The Dream on Monkey Mountain" (1970) and "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" (1989). Roscoe found less successful ventures on 1960s Broadway, taking his first curtain call in "A Cool World" in 1960, which folded the next day. He graced a number of other short runs including "General Seegar" (1962), "Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright" (1962), "The Ballad of the Sade Cafe" (1964), "Danton's Death" (1965), and "A Hand Is on the Gate: An Evening of Negro Poetry and Folk Music" (1966), which he also wrote and directed. He did not return to Broadway until 1983 with the role of the singing Rev. J.D. Montgomery in Tommy Tune's smash musical "My One and Only" in which his number "Kicking the Clouds Away" proved to be one of many highlights. Roscoe returned only once more to Broadway, earning acclaim and a Tony nomination for his supporting performance in August Wilson's "Two Trains Running" (1992).
Although he made an isolated debut with The Connection (1961), he wouldn't appear regularly in films until the end of the decade with prominent parts in the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton film, The Comedians (1967), Jules Dassin's Uptight (1968), Hitchcock's Topaz (1969) and, his most notable, The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970). Thereafter, he complimented a host of features, both comedic and dramatic, including Super Fly (1972) (and its sequel), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Logan's Run (1976), Legal Eagles (1986), The Mambo Kings (1992) and Dear God (1996)
Elsewhere, Roscoe's disdainful demeanor courted applause on all the top 70s sitcoms including "All in the Family", "Maude," "Sanford and Son", "Good Times" and "Barney Miller" (Emmy-nominated), and he played the splendidly sardonic role of Saunders, the Tate household butler, after replacing Robert Guillaume's popular "Benson" character on Soap (1977). In 1986 he won an Emmy Award for his guest appearance on The Cosby Show (1984). His trademark baritone lent authority and distinction to a number of documentaries, live-action fare, and animated films, as well as the spoken-word arena, with such symphony orchestras as the Boston Pops and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to his credit. A preeminent recitalist, he was known for committing hundreds of poems to memory. For many years he and actor Anthony Zerbe toured the U.S. with their presentation of "Behind the Broken Words", an evening of poetry and dramatic readings.
At the time of his death of cancer on April 11, 2007, the never-married octogenarian was still omnipresent, more heard than seen perhaps. Among his last works was his narrations of a Garfield film feature and the most recent movie spoof Epic Movie (2007).KINGPIN - Roscoe Lee Browne truly did play a well convincing role on the show. Not once did I ever imagine an actor like Roscoe Lee Browne doing the voice for the giant blobby tyrant of Kingpin. He was in more episodes than any other villain, and was always so powerful line after line. Mad props to Roscoe Lee Browne throughout his long acting career.
RIP (1925-2007, age 81)
FUN FACT: He was once told by a director that his speech sounded "white", to which he responded, "We had a white maid".- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Distinguished character actor David Hattersley Warner was born on July 29, 1941 in Manchester, England, to Ada Doreen (Hattersley) and Herbert Simon Warner. He was born out of wedlock and raised by each of his parents, eventually settling with his itinerant father and stepmother. He only saw his mother again on her deathbed. As an only child from a dysfunctional family, young David excelled neither at academia nor at athletics. He attended eight schools and "failed his exams at all of them." After a series of odd jobs, he was accepted against all odds at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
When he first took up acting, it was not with the notion of a prospective career, but rather to escape (in his own words) 'a messy childhood.' Warner received some early mentoring from one of his teachers, and made his theatrical debut in 1962 at the Royal Court Theatre as Snout in A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Tony Richardson. A year later, he became the youngest-ever actor to play Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Comedy may not have been his forte as much as the likes of Falstaff, Lysander and (on several occasions) Henry VI. Eventually becoming disaffected with the theatre (and plagued for some years by stage fright), Warner found himself better served by the celluloid medium. His first big break came on the strength of his small part in A Midsummer Night's Dream, courtesy of Tony Richardson who cast him in his bawdy period romp Tom Jones (1963) as the mendacious, pimple-faced antagonist Blifil, who vied with Albert Finney for the affections of Susannah York. A proper starring turn on the big screen followed in due course with the title role in Morgan! (1966), Warner playing a deranged artist with Marxist leanings who goes to absurd lengths to reclaim his ex-wife (played by Vanessa Redgrave), including blowing up his mother-in-law. In yet another off-beat satire, Work Is a Four Letter Word (1968), Warner played a corporate drop-out who grows psychedelic mushrooms in an automated world of the future. Combined with his two-year stint as Hamlet with the RSC, Warner became a star at age 24.
By the 1970s, he had become one of Britain's most sought-after character actors and went on to enjoy an illustrious and prolific career on both sides of the Atlantic, throughout which he rarely spurned a role offered him. Tall and somewhat ungainly in appearance, Warner excelled at troubled, introspective loners, outcasts and mavericks or downright sinister individuals. The latter have included SS General Reinhardt Heydrich in Holocaust (1978), Jack the Ripper in Time After Time (1979), Picard's sadistic Cardassian torturer Gul Madred in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), the villainous ex-Pinkerton man Spicer Lovejoy in Titanic (1997) and the evil geniuses of Time Bandits (1981) (a role turned down by Jonathan Pryce) and Tron (1982). He also essayed the creature to Robert Powell 's Frankenstein (1984).
Less eccentric roles saw him as the doomed photojournalist who literally loses his head in The Omen (1976) (Warner later described the experience of working alongside Gregory Peck as a career highlight), the sympathetic, but equally ill-fated Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) and the sad, likeable fantasist Aldous Gajic, searching for the Grail in Babylon 5 (1993). Warner also appeared in a trio of films for which he was handpicked by the director Sam Peckinpah. Best of these is arguably the comedy western The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), with Warner well cast as the roving-eyed, itinerant Reverend Joshua Duncan Sloane. Warner won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for his performance as the Roman Senator Pomponius Falco in the miniseries Masada (1981). Following a three-decade long absence, Warner returned to the stage in 2001 for the role of Andrew Undershaft in Shaw's Major Barbara. In 2004, he played the title role in King Lear at the Chichester Theatre Festival in England. More recently, he appeared on TV as Professor Abraham Van Helsing in Penny Dreadful (2014), as Rabbi Max Steiner in Ripper Street (2012) and as Kenneth Branagh's ailing father in Wallander (2008).
A riveting screen presence, the ever-versatile and charismatic David Warner passed away aged 80 from cancer at Denville Hall, an entertainment industry care home, in Northwood, London, on 24 July 2022.DR. HERBERT LANDON - David Warner, I don't know how many kids today know this actor, but he's amazing. He could co-star in the movies "The Omen", "TRON", or "Titanic", and still capture my attention. He doesn't do a lot of cartoon characters but when he does, I'm always interested. Too bad these early talents are now nearly retired from the acting business. Because of the character Dr. Herbert Landon, we got the episodes that featured the 'X-Men', also one of my favorite Marvel cartoons.
FUN FACT: Often plays sinister villains. Originally slated to play Freddy Krueger in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984). Make-up tests were done, but Warner had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Robert Englund was cast instead.- Actor
- Soundtrack
It's hardly surprising that the son of renowned Russian-born concert violinist Efrem Zimbalist Sr. (1889-1985) and Romanian-born opera singer Alma Gluck (1884-1938) would desire a performing career of some kind. Born in New York City on November 30, 1918, surrounded by people of wealth and privilege throughout his childhood, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. received a boarding school education. Acting in school plays, he later trained briefly at the Yale School of Drama but didn't apply himself enough and quit. As an NBC network radio page, he auditioned when he could and found minor TV and stock theatre parts while joining up with the Neighborhood Playhouse.
Following WWII war service with the Army infantry in which he was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded, a director and friend of the family, Garson Kanin, gave the aspiring actor his first professional role in his Broadway production of "The Rugged Path" (1945) which starred Spencer Tracy. With his dark, friendly, clean-scrubbed good looks and a deep, rich voice that could cut butter, Zimbalist found little trouble finding work. He continued with the American Repertory Theatre performing in such classics as "Henry VIII" and "Androcles and the Lion" while appearing opposite the legendary Eva Le Gallienne in "Hedda Gabler".
Zimbalist then tried his hand as a stage producer, successfully bringing opera to Broadway audiences for the first time with memorable presentations of "The Medium" and "The Telephone". As producer of Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Consul", he won the New York Drama Critic's Award and the Pulitzer Prize for best musical in 1950. An auspicious film debut opposite Edward G. Robinson in House of Strangers (1949) brought little career momentum due to the untimely death of his wife Emily (a onetime actress who appeared with him in "Hedda Gabler" and bore him two children, Nancy and Efrem III) to cancer in 1950. Making an abrupt decision to abandon acting, he served as assistant director/researcher at the Curtis School of Music for his father and buried himself with studies and music composition.
In 1954, Efrem returned to acting and copped a daytime television soap lead (Concerning Miss Marlowe (1954)). It was famed director Joshua Logan who proved instrumental in helping Zimbalist secure a Warner Bros. contract. Despite forthright second leads in decent films such as Band of Angels (1957) with Clark Gable and Yvonne De Carlo; Too Much, Too Soon (1958) starring Dorothy Malone and Errol Flynn; Home Before Dark (1958) with Jean Simmons and Rhonda Fleming; The Crowded Sky (1960) with Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Troy Donahue and Anne Francis; A Fever in the Blood (1961) opposite Angie Dickinson and (his best) Wait Until Dark (1967) with Audrey Hepburn, it was television that made the better use of his refined, unshowy acting style. His roles as smooth private investigator Stu Bailey on 77 Sunset Strip (1958) and dogged inspector Lewis Erskine on The F.B.I. (1965) would be his ultimate claims to fame.
A perfect gentleman on and off camera, Zimbalist's severest critics tend to deem his performances bland and undernourished. Managing to override such criticisms, he maintained a sturdy career for nearly six decades. In 1991, he made fun of his all-serious reputation and pulled off a Leslie Nielsen-like role in the comedy parody Hot Shots! (1991). In addition to theater projects over the years, he has made fine use of his mellifluous baritone performing narrations and cartoon voiceovers, including that of Alfred the butler on a "Batman" animated series.
In 2003, he completed his memoirs, entitled "My Dinner of Herbs". The father of three, grandfather of four and great-grandfather of three, he settled in Santa Barbara and later in Solvang, California with longtime second wife Stephanie until her death in 2007 of cancer. Their daughter, also named Stephanie (Stephanie Zimbalist), is the well-known actress who appeared with Pierce Brosnan in the Remington Steele (1982) television series, in which Zimbalist had a recurring role. He and his daughter also appeared on stage together in his later years, their first being "The Night of the Iguana". His eldest daughter Nancy died in 2012.
Zimbalist died peacefully at his Solvang home of natural causes at the age of 95 on May 2, 2014; he had been outside watering his lawn at his Solvang, Calif., ranch when a handyman found him lying dead in the grass. "He was healthy, playing golf three days a week, and always in his garden," Zimbalist's son said.DR. OCTOPUS - I never put the two voices together of 'Alfred Pennyworth' from "Batman: The Animated Series" and 'Otto Octavius' from this series thinking it was the same actor. It's a great transformation from hero to bad guy between both cartoons. For the actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. being in his 70's during that time, it certainly earns him a place in this list of talented voice actors.
FUN FACT: He has played the same character (Alfred Pennyworth) on five different series: "Batman" (1992), "Superman" (1996), "The New Batman Adventures" (1997), "Static Shock" (2000) and "Justice League" (2001).- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Oscar-winning character actor Martin Landau was born on June 20, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York. At age 17, he was hired by the New York Daily News to work in the promotions department before he became a staff cartoonist and illustrator. In his five years on the paper, he served as the illustrator for Billy Rose's "Pitching Horseshoes" column. He also worked for cartoonist Gus Edson on "The Gumps" comic strip. Landau's major ambition was to act and, in 1951, he made his stage debut in "Detective Story" at the Peaks Island Playhouse in Peaks Island, Maine. He made his off-Broadway debut that year in "First Love".
Landau was one of 2,000 applicants who auditioned for Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio in 1955; only he and Steve McQueen were accepted. Landau was a friend of James Dean and McQueen, in a conversation with Landau, mentioned that he knew Dean and had met Landau. When Landau asked where they had met, McQueen informed him he had seen Landau riding on the back of Dean's motorcycle into the New York City garage where he worked as a mechanic.
Landau acted during the mid-1950s in the television anthologies Playhouse 90 (1956), Studio One (1948), The Philco Television Playhouse (1948), Kraft Theatre (1947), Goodyear Playhouse (1951), and Omnibus (1952). He began making a name for himself after replacing star Franchot Tone in the 1956 off-Broadway revival of Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya," a famous production that helped put off-Broadway on the New York theatrical map.
In 1957, he made a well-received Broadway debut in the play "Middle of the Night." As part of the touring company with star Edward G. Robinson, he made it to the West Coast. He made his movie debut in Pork Chop Hill (1959), but scored on film as the heavy in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller North by Northwest (1959), in which he was shot on top of Mount Rushmore while sadistically stepping on the fingers of Cary Grant, who was holding on for dear life to the cliff face. He also appeared in the blockbuster Cleopatra (1963), the most expensive film ever made up to that time, which nearly scuttled 20th Century-Fox and engendered one of the great public scandals, the Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton love affair that overshadowed the film itself. Despite the difficulties with the film, Landau's memorable portrayal in the key role of Rufio was highly favored by the audience and instantly catapulted his popularity.
In 1963, Landau played memorable roles in two episodes of the science-fiction anthology series The Outer Limits (1963), The Bellero Shield (1964), and The Man Who Was Never Born (1963). He was Gene Roddenberry's first choice to play Mr. Spock on Star Trek (1966), but the role went to Leonard Nimoy, who later replaced Landau on Mission: Impossible (1966), the show that really made Landau famous. Landau originally was not meant to be a regular on the series, which co-starred his wife Barbara Bain, whom he had married in 1957. His character, Rollin Hand, was supposed to make occasional, recurring appearances, on Mission: Impossible (1966), but when the producers had problems with star Steven Hill, Landau was used to take up the slack. Landau's characterization was so well-received and so popular with the audience, he was made a regular. Landau received Emmy nominations as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for each of the three seasons he appeared. In 1968, he won the Golden Globe award as Best Male TV Star.
Eventually, he quit the series in 1969 after a salary dispute when the new star, Peter Graves, was given a contract that paid him more than Landau, whose own contract stated he would have parity with any other actor on the show who made more than he did. The producers refused to budge and he and Bain, who had become the first actress in the history of television to be awarded three consecutive Emmy Awards (1967-69) while on the show, left the series, ostensibly to pursue careers in the movies. The move actually held back their careers, and Mission: Impossible (1966) went on for another four years with other actors.
Landau appeared in support of Sidney Poitier in They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970), the less-successful sequel to the Oscar-winning In the Heat of the Night (1967), but it did not generate more work of a similar caliber. He starred in the television movie Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (1972) on CBS, playing a prisoner of war returning to the United States from Vietnam. The following year, he shot a pilot for NBC for a proposed show, "Savage." Though it was directed by emerging wunderkind Steven Spielberg, NBC did not pick up the show. Needing work, Landau and Bain moved to England to play the leading roles in the syndicated science-fiction series Space: 1999 (1975).
Landau's and Bain's careers stalled after Space: 1999 (1975) went out of production, and they were reduced to taking parts in the television movie The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981). It was the nadir of both their careers, and Bain's acting days and their marriage were soon over. Landau, one of the most talented character actors in Hollywood, and one not without recognition, had bottomed out career-wise. In 1983, he was stuck in low-budget sci-fi and horror movies such as The Being (1981), a role far beneath his talent.
His career renaissance got off to a slow start with a recurring role in the NBC sitcom Buffalo Bill (1983), starring Dabney Coleman. On Broadway, he took over the title role in the revival of "Dracula" and went on the road with the national touring company. Finally, his career renaissance began to gather momentum when Francis Ford Coppola cast him in a critical supporting role in his Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), for which Landau was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor. He won his second Golden Globe for the role. The next year, he received his second consecutive Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his superb turn as the adulterous husband in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). He followed this up by playing famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal in the TNT movie Max and Helen (1990). However, the summit of his post-Mission: Impossible (1966) career was about to be scaled. He portrayed Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's biopic Ed Wood (1994) and won glowing reviews. For his performance, he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Martin Landau, the superb character actor, finally had been recognized with his profession's ultimate award. His performance, which also won him his third Golden Globe, garnered numerous awards in addition to the Oscar and Golden Globe, including top honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. Landau continued to play a wide variety of roles in motion pictures and on television, turning in a superb performance in a supporting role in The Majestic (2001). He received his fourth Emmy nomination in 2004 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for Without a Trace (2002).
Martin Landau was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.
Martin Landau died in Los Angeles, California on July 15, 2017.SCORPION - Martin Landau has been an incredible actor ever since his television roles in the 50's. For the most part his career was long before my time, but the voice for Scorpion he contributed was genius. Sadly he only did the voice for two seasons before being replaced by the TV actor Richard Moll. Best known as 'Two Face' from "Batman: The Animated Series", who also did an amazing job with Scorpion.
FUN FACT: He received two of his three Oscar-nominations for portraying real-life people. One of which he won an Academy award for (Ed Wood).- Actor
- Music Department
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Gregg Berger Bio
Gregg Berger Voice / Actor Transformers, The Garfield Show, Spaced Invaders, More! Gregg Berger is an American Voice / Actor, who is Internationally known for his iconic roles as GRIMLOCK in G1Transformers and Transformers Fall of Cybertron, and the eagerly anticipated Power of the Primes, as Odie, Squeak, Harry and others from the Garfield franchise, Spirit from G.I. Joe, Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter from Spider-Man:The Animated Series, Agent Kay from the Men in Black Series, Sir Jecht from Final Fantasy, Eeyore from Kingdom Hearts 2, The Pain from Metal Gear Solid 3, The Gromble from Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and many more including, Star Wars: The Clone Wars as Droid General Kalani, Resident Evil: Raccoon City as Harley, Guild Wars 2 as Conrad and Duggadoo, Dishonored as Street Speaker and Halo Wars as Cutter. On camera, he had leading roles in the classic comedy Police Academy: Mission To Moscow and the Sci Fi Comedy cult classic Spaced Invaders as well as three pilots for CBS. As an animation voice-over talent, it's been a dog's life for Gregg Berger and that's just the way he likes it. He has been the voice of Odie the dog on Garfield since Odie has had an animated voice. He's also Squeak the Mouse, Harry the AlleyCat, Herman the Mailman and others on The Garfield Show on Cartoon Network. He also doesn't usually think of himself as a pig, but he sure enjoys playing one on TV. He is the voice of Orson Pig on U.S. Acres... as well as the voice of Cornfed Pig on Duckman. Gregg Berger is also the voice of Niles Crane's talking cockatiel 'Baby' on Frasier, and Barry The Parrot on Hot In Cleveland, The Gromble on Nickelodeon's Ahhh!!! Real Monsters! Eeyore in Kingdom Hearts2 and many of Disney Character Voices' Winnie The Pooh projects, Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio on Fox's Spiderman, Agent Kay in Men In Black, and Bill Licking on The Angry Beavers. He has careened through the galaxy as A.B. Sitter on Fantastic Max and has even had a blind date with Judy Jetson as Curly Quasar on The Jetsons, in addition to berating his favorite employee as Mr. Pinkley on Cathy. Of course, he also continues to guest star in various and sundry episodes of a great many other current animated series.
Gregg Berger's Interactive Game credits include, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Rise of the Dark Spark as GRIMLOCK (and Lockdown in RotDS)), Resident Evil: Raccoon City as Harley, Guild Wars 2 as Conrad and Duggadoo, Final Fantasy X and X-2 as Sir Jecht, Metal Gear Solid 3 as ThePain, Dishonored as Street Speaker, Halo Wars as Cutter, Spiderman Web of Shadows as Kingpin, X Men Origins:Wolverine as Fred Dukes aka The Blob, Brutal Legend as Ratgut, Star Wars: Episode One Racer and Star Wars: Phantom Menace, as PloKoon, DarthMaul, Wan Sandage, CyYunga, Kingdom Hearts2 as Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh/Eeyore Interactives, Curse of Monkey Island as Cutthroat Bill, Small Soldiers as Archer, Spyro as Hunter, ViewtifulJoe as Capt.Blue, Call of Duty, Legend of Kain as Turel, Gabriel Knight as Abbe Arnaud, WackyRacers.and many more. Search Gregg Berger at www.imdb.com for his complete credits. On stage he has appeared in Repertory Theater, Stock and Touring Productions across the country and has been directed by John Cassavetes, Davey Marlin-Jones, William Woodman, Robert Woodruff, Martin Charnin and more. Gregg Berger is the author of Think Globally... Act VOCALLY! And Voice Virtue and is the reader of the Audiobook. It is available on iTunes and Audible.com. For many years he has been associated with Famous Fone Friends, making calls in requested animated character voices to children in Pediatric Hospitals. Facebook: greggbergerKRAVEN THE HUNTER/MYSTERIO - Gregg Berger has had some very memorable cartoon character voices from the 80's to right now. I never imagined these two deadly foes being voiced by the same actor. Not to mention voiced by 'Grimlock' from "The Transformers" cartoon (my personal favorite). Out of the two villains, I'll have to choose Mysterio for being the cooler bad guy. Too bad they never made a "Spider-Man 4" movie with actor Bruce Campbell(The Evil Dead) playing Mysterio.
FUN FACT: Has provided the voices of many heroes and villains in many cartoons. Including Grimlock, Long Haul, and Jetfire from "The Transformers" (1986). Spirit and Firefly from "G.I.Joe" (1986).- Actor
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Born James Jonah Cummings on November 3, 1952, he grew up in Youngstown, Ohio.
Sooner or later, he moved to New Orleans. There, he designed Mardi Gras floats, was a singer, door-to-door salesman, and a Louisiana riverboat deckhand.
Then Cummings moved to Anaheim, California, where he started his career playing Lionel from the program Dumbo's Circus (1985).SHOCKER - If you've heard of Jim Cummings then you know how in depth this Spidey cast really is. I grew up watching Jim Cummings, without even knowing that I was hearing his voice from a few different cartoons all at the same time. I'm sure a lot of his villain roles helped contribute to my taste for liking the bad guy more than the hero. Jim Cummings even does a lot of voice-over acting. A true chameleon in the voice acting world.
FUN FACT: Has provided the voices of many heroes and villains in many cartoons. Including Shredder from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (1987). Taz from "Taz-Mania" (1991). Darkwing Duck from "Darkwing Duck" (1992). And the evil Dr. Robotnik from "Sonic the Hedgehog" (1994). With many more.- Actor
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Robert Paulsen is an American voice actor and singer from Detroit, Michigan. He is known for voicing Raphael in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, Yakko Warner in Animaniacs, Pinky in Pinky and the Brain, Carl Wheezer in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Hadji in Jonny Quest, Donatello in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, Party Juju and Tlaloc in Tak and the Power of Juju, P.J. in Goof Troop and A Goofy Movie and Peck in Barnyard. He is also the host of a voice over talk show called "Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen".HYDRO-MAN - Rob Paulsen has did it all when it comes to voice actors. He does the voice to my favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and my favorite Animaniac character. Like a lot of these other actors in this list, just click to look at his career. He's done around a hundred different voices in cartoons, movies, and video games. I think all of us Marvel and cartoon fans would kill to have a similar kind of career. I know I certainly would.
FUN FACT: Has provided the voices of many heroes and villains in many cartoons. Including Slingshot from "The Transformers" (1986). Raphael from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (1987). Max from "Mighty Max" (1993). Yakko from "Animaniacs" (1993). Pinky from "Pinky and the Brain" (1995). With many more.- Actress
- Soundtrack
- Music Artist
Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress and singer who voiced Commander Shepard from Mass Effect, Samus Aran from Metroid Prime, Killer Frost from Injustice: Gods Among Us, Gladys from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Trinity from The Matrix: Path of Neo, Princess Morbucks, Sedusa and Ms. Keane from The Powerpuff Girls, Flora from Tak and the Power of Juju, Cinderella from various Disney projects and Dory from Finding Nemo video games.BLACK CAT - I personally like Jennifer Hale more than a lot of the other female actors who gave their voice to the show. Jennifer Hale in general has always been a temptress in her voice acting. I'm surprised they don't have a picture of her on IMDB. 'Black Cat' might not be as original as 'Catwoman', but I wouldn't compare any other two to each other.
FUN FACT: She has done much voice work in popular games franchises such as "Mass Effect" and "Metal Gear Solid". Despite frequently providing voiceovers for characters in video games, states that she doesn't play video games, much less has any interest in them.- Actor
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Neil Ross was born in London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Transformers: The Movie (1986), Back to the Future Part II (1989) and An American Tail (1986). He has been married to Jeanne Jackson since February 1977. They have one child.NORMAN OSBOURNE/GREEN GOBLIN - Okay so Norman Osbourne didn't have a big impact on the show, as Norman's son Harry Osbourne did. But the original Green Goblin was voiced by the talented voice actor Neil Ross. He starred in almost every action cartoon in the 80's and 90's, which were the cartoons that had a huge influence on the kind of entertainment I still love today. The plots of these cartoons kill any cartoon that's out today, as do the actors who helped contribute to them.
FUN FACT: Has provided the voices of many heroes and villains in many cartoons. Including Bonecrusher and Springer from "The Transformers" (1986). Shipwreck and Buzzer from "G.I.Joe" (1986). Super-Skrull and Dr.Doom from "Fantastic Four" (1994). Fin Fang Foom and Yinsen from "Iron Man" (1994).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Eddie Albert was a circus trapeze flier before becoming a stage and radio actor. He made his film debut in 1938 and has worked steadily since, often cast as the friendly, good-natured buddy of the hero but occasionally being cast as a villain; one of his most memorable roles was as the cowardly, glory-seeking army officer in Robert Aldrich's World War 2 film, Attack (1956).VULTURE - Eddie Albert is another actor who was around long before my time. But what better actor could you have got than someone as gifted as Eddie Albert. His personal life and his movie career is an amazing tale. I wish we could've only seen more of the Vulture on the show. He might not be one of my favorite villains out of this list, but I sure don't mind now after knowing more about the actors behind the voices. It's the best part about a cartoon series.
RIP (1906-2005, age 99)
FUN FACT: The last starring role for this WWII veteran on a TV series before his death.- Actor
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David Hayter was born on February 6, 1969 in Santa Monica, California, USA as David Bryan Hayter. He is known for writing the screenplays to X-Men (2000), X-Men 2 (2003), and Watchmen (2009). He is best known as the voice of Solid Snake in the English versions of the Metal Gear Solid franchise.CAPTAIN AMERICA - David Hayter hasn't had a big career in the movie business. However he was able to write the screenplays to both of the "X-Men" and "X2" Marvel movies. As well as many other unused Marvel drafts for movies. Captain America isn't one of those mutants I thought we'd see in the Spider-Man TV series. But that's what made this cartoon so great, if it had a couple more mutants than it would've even been able to have 'The Avengers' star in a few episodes.
FUN FACT: Famous as the voice of Solid Snake in Konami's Metal Gear Solid games. He is the only Metal Gear Solid actor to actually play and beat the games he voice-acted in.- Actor
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- Producer
Jack Angel was born on 24 October 1930 in Modesto, California, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Balto (1995) and The Iron Giant (1999). He was married to Arlene Thornton and Barbara Champion. He died on 18 October 2021 in Malibu, California, USA.NICK FURY - Jack Angel is one of those voice actors who doesn't get enough credit. He's done dozens after dozens of movies and cartoons, yet still doesn't have a biography on IMDB. I don't know many actors for playing the role of Nick Fury, I still can't get used to the idea of actor Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in the movies. Now with Jack Angel, I see him and I see Nick Fury from the "Spider-Man" series.
FUN FACT: A famous voice-actor since the mid 70's in many TV series, Cartoon series, TV movies, and video games. Best known for his role as 'Teddy' in the movie "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" and Ultra Magnus from the 1984 TV series "The Transformers".- Actor
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- Soundtrack
Signifying intelligence, eloquence, versatility and quiet intensity, one of the more important, critically acclaimed black actors to gain a Hollywood foothold in the 1970s was Paul Winfield. He was born in 1939 in Dallas, Texas, where he lived in his early years before moving with his family to Los Angeles' Watts district. He showed early promise as a student at Manual Arts High School, earning distinction with several performance awards. As a senior, he earned his first professional acting job and extended his theatrical education with a two-year scholarship to the University of Portland in Oregon. Subsequent scholarships led to his studies at Stanford and Los Angeles City College, among other colleges. He left U.C.L.A. just six credits short of his Bachelor's degree.
Paul's first big break came in 1964 when actor/director Burgess Meredith gave him a role in Le Roi Jones' controversial one-act play "The Dutchman and the Toilet". Director Meredith cast him again four years in "The Latent Heterosexual" with Zero Mostel. Although he won a contract at Columbia Pictures in 1966 and built up his on-camera career with a succession of television credits, he continued to focus on the legitimate stage. A member of the Stanford Repertory Theatre, he concentrated on both classic and contemporary plays. In 1969, Paul joined the Inner City Cultural Center Theatre in Los Angeles for two years, which offered a drama program for high school students.
In the late 1960s, Paul redirected himself back to performing on television and in films with guest work in more than 40 series on the small screen, including a boyfriend role on the first season of the landmark black sitcom Julia (1968) starring Diahann Carroll. In films, he was given a featured role in the Sidney Poitier film The Lost Man (1969), and earned comparable roles in R.P.M. (1970) and Brother John (1971) before major stardom occurred.
1972 proved to be a banner year for Paul after winning the male lead opposite Cicely Tyson in the touching classic film Sounder (1972). His towering performance as a sharecropper who is imprisoned and tortured for stealing a ham for his impoverished family earned him an Oscar nomination for "Best Actor" -- the third black actor (Sidney Poitier and James Earl Jones preceded him) to receive such an honor at the time.
From there a host of films and quality television roles began arriving on his doorstep. In mini-movies, Paul portrayed various historical/entertainment giants including Thurgood Marshall, Don King and baseball's Roy Campanella, and was Emmy-nominated for his portrayal of Martin Luther King, Jr. in King (1978) with Sounder co-star Cicely Tyson as wife Coretta. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he earned solid distinction in such prestige projects as Backstairs at the White House (1979), Roots: The Next Generations (1979) (another Emmy nomination), The Sophisticated Gents (1981), The Blue and the Gray (1982), Sister, Sister (1982), James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985), Under Siege (1986) and The Women of Brewster Place (1989).
Although the big screen did not offer the same consistent quality following his breakthrough with Sounder, he nevertheless turned in strong roles in Conrack (1974), Huckleberry Finn (1974), A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich (1977) (again with Ms. Tyson), Damnation Alley (1977), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and White Dog (1982).
Surprisingly, Paul never achieved the promise of a Sidney Poitier-like stardom and his roles diminished in size. Relegated to character roles, he still appeared in such quality television as Breathing Lessons (1994), although he was not the major focus. After two nominations, he finally won the Emmy for a guest performance as a judge on Picket Fences (1992). Paul's showier work at this period of time included the film Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (1999) and a surprise cross-dressing cameo as Aunt Matilda in Relax... It's Just Sex (1998).
On stage, Paul graced such productions as "Richard III" (at New York's Lincoln Center Theatre), "Othello", "The Merry Wives of Windsor", "The Seagull", "A Few Good Men", "Happy Endings" and "Checkmates", which became his sole Broadway credit. Paul also served as Artist in Residence at the University of Hawaii and subsequently at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
In his final years, Winfield narrated the A&E crime series City Confidential (1998), appeared as a teacher in a television adaptation of his earlier success Sounder (2003), and enjoyed a recurring role as Sam for many years on the series Touched by an Angel (1994).
Suffering from obesity and diabetes in later life, Paul Winfield passed away from a heart attack at age 64 in 2004, and was survived by a sister, Patricia. His longtime companion of 30 years, set designer and architect Charles Gillan Jr. predeceased him by two years.BLACK MARVEL - When I think of Paul Winfield I think of his role from the hit 80's movie, "The Terminator". His role as Black Marvel wasn't the biggest ally to join forces with Spidey on the TV series. But Paul Winfield is such a talented actor that he deserves to be on this list. A pair of two other black actors who had guest episodes on the Spider-Man TV series are actors James Avery and Alfonso Ribeiro. Both from the 90's TV comedy series "Fresh Prince of Bel Air". Paul Winfield will be missed.
RIP (1939-2004, age 64)
FUN FACT: Earned himself an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in the movie "Sounder" (1972). Becoming the third black actor (Sidney Poitier and James Earl Jones preceded him) to receive such an honor at the time.- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Majel Barrett (born Majel Leigh Hudec) was an American actress, known for her long association with Star Trek. She had multiple Star Trek-related roles, though she is mostly remembered for her roles as Nurse Christine Chapel in Star Trek, The Original Series (1966-1969) and as Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek, The Next Generation (1987-1994) and Deep Space Nine (1993-1999). Due to her status as the second wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991), Barrett was nicknamed "the First Lady of Star Trek".
In 1932, Barrett was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Her father was police officer William Hudec (d. 1955), who was eventually killed while on duty. Barrett had aspirations of becoming an actress since childhood, and took acting classes as a child. She received her secondary education at the Shaker Heights High School, a public high school located in a suburb of Cleveland, and graduated in 1950 at the age of 18. She then enrolled at the University of Miami, a public research university located in Coral Gables, Florida.
Following her graduation from university, started a career as a theatrical actress. In 1955, she was on tour with an off-Broadway road company. She had her first film role in the satirical film "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" (1957), which parodied the advertising industry, among other targets of satire. Barrett appeared in an uncredited bit part in a satirical advertisement within the film. Barrett's first credited film role was that Joyce Goodwin, a novice teacher depicted in the high school drama film "As Young as We Are" (1958). The film focuses on a male student who falls in love with his young, female teacher, and resorts to kidnapping her.
In the early 1960s, Barrett had small roles in the romantic comedy "Love in a Goldfish Bowl" (1961) and the World War II-themed war film "The Quick and the Dead" (1963), and appeared in guest star roles in then-popular television series, such as "Leave It to Beaver", "The Lucy Show", and "Bonanza". She was often employed by the television production company Desilu Productions, which at the time was owned by veteran actress Lucille Ball (1911-1989).
One of the television shows she appeared in was an episode of "The Lieutenant" (1964). This short-lived series created and written by Gene Roddenberry provided his first meetings and workings with many of the actors who would later become regulars and guest stars of Star Trek, including its two pilots. Barrett and Roddenberry befriended each other, and eventually started a romantic relationship. Roddenberry was still married to Eileen-Anita Rexroat, but often pursued relationships with other women.
In 1964, Roddenberry was working on the original pilot for Star Trek. He cast Barrett in the role of "Number One", the unnamed first officer of the star-ship USS Enterprise. Number One was depicted as exceptionally intelligent and strictly rational, but seemingly unemotional. The episode hinted at a mutual attraction between Number One and her captain, Christopher Pike (played by Jeffrey Hunter). The alien Talosians try to force them to mate with each other, as part of a breeding project.
This pilot was rejected by NBC executives, who complained about several aspects of the episode. One of them was the characterization of Number One, who was disliked for being overly assertive. In the subsequent retooling of the series, Number One was written out. Her character traits were added to that of a male character, Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy). Spock went on to become one of the franchise's most popular characters, due in large part to his coldly rational behavior.
Still determined to cast Barrett in the series, Roddenberry later created a more traditionally feminine role for her. The role was that of Nurse Christine Chapel, depicted as the main assistant of Dr. Leonard McCoy (played by DeForest Kelley). Chapel was one of the main recurring characters in the series for three years. She was one of the earliest prominent female characters in Star Trek.
In 1969, "Star Trek" was canceled. Barrett and Rodenberry briefly parted ways. Later that year, Rodenberry was in Japan on business. He realized that he missed Barrett and invited her to join him in Japan. On August 6, 1969, the two had a traditional Shinto wedding ceremony. This wedding was unofficial, as Roddenberry's divorce had not been finalized yet. Following the end of the divorce process, the two were officially married on December 29, 1969. Barrett served as a stepmother to Dawn Roddenberry (b.1953), Gene's teenage daughter. Dawn moved into the new couple's residence, and Barrett helped in her upbringing.
Already known for her science fiction roles, Barrett was cast as female android Miss Carrie in the science fiction-Western "Westworld". Her character was the madame of the Westworld bordello. Barrett also had roles in the post-apocalyptic television film "Genesis II" (1973) and the science fiction television film "The Questor Tapes" (1974), both created and scripted by her husband.
Star Trek was revived with the sequel series "Star Trek: The Animated Series" (1973-1974), which used much of the main cast from the original series. Barrett voiced two of the series' main female characters, Christine Chapel and M'Ress. The new character M'Ress was depicted as a female alien in feline form, who served as an officer on the Enterprise. Barrett also voiced many of this series' female guest characters.
Barrett had a small role in the neo-noir film "The Domino Principle" (1977). The film depicted a secretive organization first helping a prisoner escape, and then trying to force him to serve as their newest assassin. When the escaped man refuses, a lethal struggle begins. This film was poorly received due to its convoluted plot.
Barrett's next notable role was the housekeeper Lilith in the horror film "Spectre" (1977). Her character is depicted as a practicing witch, who manages to cure the alcoholic tendencies of one of the main characters. The plot of film depicts the demon Asmodeus assuming a human form and identity, while two occult detectives attempt to stop the demon's scheme. The film was intended as the pilot of a television series, but was rejected.
Barrett played Christine Chapel again in the film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979), depicting older versions of the characters from the original series. While Chapel was not one of the film's main characters, she was now depicted as a doctor instead of a nurse.
Barrett's last appearance in the 1970s was a minor role in the Christmas television film "The Man in the Santa Claus Suit" (1979). The film depicted Santa Claus (played by Fred Astaire) subtly helping a number of adult characters in resolving their personal problems. The film is mainly remembered as Astaire's last television role.
Barrett played Christine Chapel for the last time in the film "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986). She had a supporting role in the film, which depicted the former nurse as having achieved the rank of Commander. A year later, a third Star Trek television series was launched: "Star Trek: The Next Generation", which featured entirely new characters. Barrett guested in a few episodes as alien ambassador Lwaxana Troi, the eccentric mother of counselor Deanna Troi (played by Marina Sirtis). Barrett would play this role several times in this and the next Star Trek series, "Deep Space Nine", from 1987 to 1996. A subplot involving the character was that Lwaxana's other daughter had died young in an accident, causing Lwaxana to be overly protective of Deanna. Another subplot centered on her love relationship with Deep Space 9's shape-shifting security chief Odo.
In 1991, Gene Roddenberry died from natural causes. Barrett never remarried. In the 90s, she lent her voice talents to several Star Trek video games and the animated Spider Man TV series, and had roles in two theatrical movies. As Roddenberry had left behind archives with unfinished projects, Barrett further developed one of these projects into the science fiction television series "Earth: Final Conflict" (1997-2002). She served as the series' executive producer and acted as one of the main characters, Dr. Julianne Belman, in 11 episodes in the first three seasons. The premise of the series was that a group of seemingly benevolent aliens share their advanced technology with the people of Earth. Many humans suspect that the aliens have ulterior motives, and consequently form a militant resistance organization which opposes the aliens. The series lasted 5 seasons and 110 episodes.
Barrett fleshed out another of Roddenberry's unfinished projects into the space opera television series "Andromeda" (2000-2005). The series started in a distant future, where three galaxies are unified under the control of the Systems Commonwealth. When the Commonwealth attempts to resolve a war with another space-faring civilization by ceding territory to them, an uprising against the Commonwealth begins. In an early part of the conflict the spaceship "Andromeda Ascendant" is frozen in time. It emerges from stasis 303 years later, to find that the Commonwealth has collapsed and civilization has considerably declined. Main character Dylan Hunt (played by Kevin Sorbo) has the mission of restoring the Commonwealth. Like the previous Roddenberry series, "Andromeda" also lasted 5 seasons and 110 episodes. It was canceled largely due to a change of ownership of the production company Fireworks Entertainment. It was Barrett's last effort as an executive producer.
In her last years, Barrett was suffering from leukemia. She died in December 2008, at her home in Bel Air, Los Angeles. She was 76-years-old. Her funeral was held in early January 2009, with about 250 people in attendance. Several of her former co-stars from Star Trek attended the funeral. Prior to her death, Barrett had recorded a number of voice roles in several Star Trek fan films and series, resulting in some posthumous releases of her last roles. She is still remembered as a major figure of Star Trek.ANNA WATSON - Majel Barrett takes up the voice of Mary Jane Watson's denying aunt, Anna Watson, who is suspicious of Peter Parker's private life. Majel Barrett is one of the best voice actors spread out over four decades in her career. Keep in mind, this is a list of my favorite actors behind the voice and why. Majel Barrett has one of the most dedicated careers in the voice acting world. She rightfully deserves a place on this list.
RIP (1932-2008, age 76)
FUN FACT: Her trade mark role was the computer voice in all five live-action "Star Trek" series as well as five of the Star Trek films.- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
MADAME WEB - Joan Lee has only ever starred in two different cartoon series throughout her career, this and the mid 90's "Fantastic Four" cartoon series. Her voice as Madame Web was captivating, playing an important role in Spider-Man's ultimate battle between good and evil. I never knew who Joan Lee was at the time these episodes were first airing, but now that I do know, truly amazing voice acting work.
FUN FACT: Spouse to Marvel creator Stan Lee for 65 years. Children: Joanie Celia Lee (born 1950), Jan Lee (born 1953, died three days after birth).- Actress
- Producer
- Sound Department
Mary Kay Bergman did not have a face known to many - her voice was recognized more than anything else in the world. Although she was a big voiceover star in the 1990s, her true claim to fame was Trey Parker and Matt Stone's critically acclaimed adult animated television series, South Park (1997), in which she voiced almost all of the female characters. Sharon Marsh, Shelly Marsh, Sheila Brofloski, Wendy Testaberger, and Carol McCormick were only a few of the thousands of voices she performed. She helped Parker and Stone pave the waves of fame for "South Park" in the late 1990s, until her surprising gunshot suicide on Veteran's Day of 1999.GWEN STACY - Mary Kay Bergman did the voice for Gwen Stacy in only one episode entitled "Farewell Spider-Man". Gwen Stacy was not included as a part of the show, though her character is one of the saddest deaths in 'The Amazing Spider-Man' comic books. Mary Kay Bergman was a truly talented actress, her suicide is one of the saddest tragedies to a voice actor much like the murder of Judith Barsi from "The Land Before Time".
RIP (1961-1999, age 38)
FUN FACT: In the television series, "South Park", she voiced almost all of the female characters. Sharon Marsh, Shelly Marsh, Sheila Brofloski, Wendy Testaberger, and Carol McCormick were only a handful of voices she performed. She helped creators Parker and Stone pave the waves of fame for "South Park" in the late 1990s, until her surprising suicide on Veteran's Day of 1999.