Billy West
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- For the 19th-century blackface minstrel show performer, see Primrose and West.
Billy West (born William R. West on April 16, 1952 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American voice actor, known for such roles as The Ren and Stimpy Show and Futurama.
West provided the voice of Stimpy in Nickelodeon's The Ren and Stimpy Show from 1991 until 1996, and he provided the voice of Ren from 1993-1996 (after Ren's original voice and series creator John Kricfalusi was fired by Nickelodeon). West's roles in Futurama include Philip J. Fry, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg and Zapp Brannigan. The part of Zapp Brannigan was originally going to be voiced by Phil Hartman, however, Hartman was murdered before production even began and West took over the role; he did not imitate Hartman's characterization, opting instead to perform his own.
West voiced Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in the 1996 feature Space Jam and had a full-time stint as a castmember on The Howard Stern Show. His work also includes voices on The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and the original (Nickelodeon) version of Doug.
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[edit] Cancer
West revealed on the October 4, 2006 edition of The Adam Carolla Show that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He said it was the scariest moment of his life, especially since he considered himself a healthy person. West had surgery to eliminate the cancer, and the crew of the show commented on how good he looked, considering that the surgery had taken place only two weeks prior.[1]
[edit] Major roles
- The Ren and Stimpy Show: Stimpy (1991 onwards), and 1993 onwards Ren and Mr. Horse.
- Futurama: Philip J. Fry, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, Doctor Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, President McNeil, Richard Nixon's head
- The Howard Stern Show: Marge Schott, Larry Fine, Jackie Martling, Red, Ray Stern (Howard Stern's mom) and the Greaseman (1990-1995).
- Doug Funnie, Roger Klotz on Nickelodeon's version of Doug.
- Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in the movie Space Jam.
- Announcer of Screen Gems Network.
- BuzzBee, the honey nut bee in TV commercials for Honey Nut Cheerios.
- Confucius, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison in Histeria.
- Voice of alien on the Pentium 4 commercial.
- Voice of the red M&M in TV commercials.
- Voiced characters in season one of King of the Hill.
- Many voices on The Oblongs.
- Slimer on Extreme Ghostbusters.
- In the 1980s did character voices on Charles Laquidara's Big Mattress radio show on Boston's WBCN.
- After Seasons 1 and 2, Mr. Whiskers and Gaspar Le Gecko in Brandy and Mr. Whiskers.
- Rayman in Rayman: The Animated Series and also Rayman's sidekick/guide Murfy in Rayman 3.
- Bi Polar Bear in Queer Duck (1999, TV).
- Ninja in I-Ninja (2003, video game).
- Popeye starting in 2004.
- Porky Pig starting in 2003.
- Tweety starting in 2003.
- Woody Woodpecker in The New Woody Woodpecker Show (1999, TV).
- Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998, video).
- Voice of Skeets, Booster Gold's floating robot sidekick in an episode of Justice League Unlimited.
- Voice of Moobeard the Cow Pirate in the cartoon of the same name.
- Voice of Red, the red M&M in the video game, M&Ms: The Lost Formulas (2000).
- Voice of GeeKeR in Project G.e.e.K.e.R. (1997, TV)
- Voice of Scamp in Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Ad.venture (2001).
[edit] Quotes
- "I pretty much felt I did all that I could with the character. I was ready to move on to different projects and opportunities." -On why he didn't continue voicing Doug Funnie when the show moved to ABC and became Disney's Doug.
- "I didn't even tell my mom about this junk until I was out of the woods. The whole thing just snuck up on me but never,ever did I play the victim or bemoan my fate. Life is for the living. I was a little scared before surgery 'cause of the release you sign that says there's always a very small percent chance that you'll die during the operation." - On his scare with prostate cancer. Posted on October 4th, 2006 by Billy West in his fan forum.
[edit] Trivia
- West and Joe Alaskey are the best known voice actors who can impersonate Mel Blanc in his prime, including characterizations of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons. West also took over the role of Lil' Gruesome and Muttley for the Wacky Races video game.
- West's favorite characters that he voices are Philip J. Fry and Stimpy.[2]
- According to the commentary for the Invader Zim pilot episode and Richard Horvitz's interview on the first Zim DVD, West was originally cast to provide the voice of Zim on the series, but the part was given to Horvitz instead. It was also disclosed on the DVD commentary that series creator Jhonen Vasquez disliked using Billy's voice as it reminded him of other cartoons, notably Futurama.
- West is also a singer-songwriter with a band called Billy West and The Grief Counsellors.
- West briefly worked on the short-lived internet show, Billy Bastard: Amateur Human Professional Asshole.
- West has been the voice talent for close to 120 different characters.
- Recently, Futurama has been renewed for 13 new episodes. West is confirmed to reprise his original roles. He also is an occasional contributor to The Adam Carolla Show, a syndicated morning radio show that replaced Howard Stern's show along West Coast American cities.
[edit] References
- ^ The Adam Carolla Show Blog. Accessed November 1, 2006.
- ^ Billy West F.A.Q.. Accessed October 26, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Billy West's Official website
- Billy West at the Voice Chasers Database
- Billy West at the Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by: Jeff Bergman |
Voice of Bugs Bunny November 15, 1996 — November 2003 |
Succeeded by: Joe Alaskey |
| The Howard Stern Show | |
|---|---|
| Cast | Howard Stern • Robin Quivers • Artie Lange • Fred Norris • Gary Dell'Abate • Benjy Bronk • Richard Christy • Sal the Stockbroker • J. D. Harmeyer • Scott Salem • Will Murray • George Takei |
| Former Cast | Billy West • Jackie Martling • Stuttering John • K. C. Armstrong • Tom Chiusano • A. J. Benza |
| The Wack Pack | Beetlejuice • Eric the Midget • Miss Howard Stern • High Pitch Eric • Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf • Riley Martin • Siobhan Meow • Jeff the Drunk • More... |
| Howard Channels | Bubba the Love Sponge Show • Scott Ferrall • The Wrap-Up Show • Howard 100 News • Superfan Roundtable • More... |
| See Also | Show Celebrity Guests • Show Games and Bits • Sirius Satellite Radio • Sirius Canada • Ronnie Mund |
