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Frank Welker | |
|---|---|
 Welker atGalaxyCon Raleigh in 2023 | |
| Born | Franklin Wendell Welker (1946-03-12)March 12, 1946 (age 79) Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Santa Monica College |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Website | frankwelker |
Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946)[1] is an American actor who specializes invoice acting.[2] He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020,[2] making him one of the most prolific voice actors in history. With his films earning a total worldwide box-office gross of $17.4 billion, he is also the fourth-highest-grossing actor[a] as of 2024.[3]
Welker is best known for voicingFred Jones from theScooby-Doo franchise since its inception in 1969 and laterthe titular character himself since 2002. In 2020, Welker reprised the latter role in the animated filmScoob!, the only original voice actor from the series in the film's cast.
In 2016, he received a Lifetime AchievementEmmy Award. He was nominated for theChildren's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice Performance in an Animated Program in 2022.
Franklin Wendell Welker was born on March 12, 1946, inDenver, Colorado.[1][4][5] His parents were Merrill Welker, a mining engineer, and Lillian.[6][7]
He moved toCalifornia and attendedSanta Monica College inSanta Monica, California, where he majored in theatrical arts. In 1966, he received honors for his performance as theCowardly Lion in the college's theater production ofThe Wizard of Oz.[8]
Welker began his career as astand-up comedian andimpressionist in 1967,[1] before transitioning to on-screen acting and later voice acting.[9] His first voice-over role was in a commercial forFriskies cat food. The producer's girlfriend recommended he audition forHanna-Barbera during the casting ofScooby-Doo, Where Are You!. Welker initially auditioned for the titular character (and, according toCasey Kasem, the role ofShaggy Rogers, as well)[10] but instead won the role ofFred Jones in 1969.[11][12] Welker has voiced Fred in almost every series and incarnation of theScooby-Doo animated franchise (with the exceptions ofA Pup Named Scooby-Doo,Scoob!, andVelma, the latter in which he portrayed Fred's father) and has also provided the voice ofScooby-Doo since 2002. With the death ofCasey Kasem in 2014, Welker is the only original voice actor still in theScooby-Doo franchise.[13]
His next major character voice was forWonder Dog (who was inspired by Scooby-Doo) andMarvin White on the 1973 seriesSuper Friends (also produced by Hanna-Barbera). That same year, he played Pudge and Gabby onDePatie-Freleng Enterprises' animated seriesBailey's Comets. Welker continued to provide voices for many characters for Hanna-Barbera for several years, which includeJabberjaw,Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, and the Shmoo inThe New Fred and Barney Show and its spin-off,The Flintstones Comedy Show. Welker described the voice he used for the Shmoo as "a bubble voice" (one he later used forGogo Dodo inTiny Toon Adventures).
In 1978, he played the title character onFangface and later in its spin-off,Fangface and Fangpuss. Between 1979 and 1982, he worked forFilmation, providing the voices ofHeckle and Jeckle, Quacula and Theodore H. Bear onThe New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle;[14]Spike,Tyke,Tuffy,Droopy,Slick Wolf andBarney Bear onThe Tom and Jerry Comedy Show;[15] Willy, Sipe, Poco and Sportikus XI onSport Billy;[16] various characters onTarzan, Lord of the Jungle,Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids andThe New Adventures of the Lone Ranger; and Rif, Burble and Gossamear onBlackstar.[17]
During the 1980s and 1990s, Welker became a very busy voice actor, providing the voice for many popular cartoon characters in multiple TV series, including Uni onDungeons & Dragons; Brain, Doctor Claw, and M.A.D. Cat onInspector Gadget;Mister Mxyzptlk,Darkseid, andKalibak onSuper Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show;Iceman and various characters onSpider-Man and His Amazing Friends;[18]Baby Kermit,Baby Beaker and various other characters onMuppet Babies;Wild Bill,Dreadnok Torch, and variousG.I. Joe heroes and villains; Scooter onChallenge of the GoBots;Ray Stantz andSlimer inThe Real Ghostbusters;[19] the villainous Dr. Jeremiah Surd onThe Real Adventures of Jonny Quest;Bubba the Caveduck and two of theBeagle Boys (Bigtime and Baggie) onDuckTales; multiple voices onThe Smurfs, including Hefty Smurf, Poet Smurf, and Peewit; and various characters onCaptain Planet and the Planeteers.
He also voiced various characters onThe Simpsons, such asSanta's Little Helper,Snowball II, and various other animals from 1991 to his departure from the show in 2002. Welker provided both the speaking voice and animal sounds forNibbler on Matt Groening'sFuturama. He provided the voices for Mr. Plotz, Runt, Ralph the Guard, Buttons, and other characters onAnimaniacs; Gogo Dodo, Furrball, Calamity Coyote, Little Beeper, and others onTiny Toon Adventures;Hector the Bulldog onThe Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, andTom Cat,Jerry Mouse, and McWolf, the main antagonist to Droopy and his nephew Dripple onTom & Jerry Kids andDroopy, Master Detective.
He also voicedGus Goose,Salty the Seal,Figaro,Pegasus fromHercules,Abu fromAladdin, "Aracuan Bird" & Cri-Kee fromMulan in theHouse of Mouse from 2001 to 2003.
Welker has also created the vocal effects for many animals and creatures in films, includingAbu the monkey,Rajah the tiger, andthe Cave of Wonders inAladdin (1992), its two sequels,the television series, and theremake (2019),Arnold the Pig in the television filmReturn to Green Acres (1990), the whales inFree Willy 2: The Adventure Home,Shao Kahn andReptile in theMortal Kombat movie (1995), the Martians inTim Burton'sMars Attacks! (1996), and the penguins inMr. Popper's Penguins (2011). He performedSpock's screams inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and voiced The Thing inThe Golden Child (1986), Jinx the robot inSpaceCamp (1986), Totoro in the 2005 English version ofStudio Ghibli's filmMy Neighbor Totoro (1988), Alien Sil inSpecies (1995),Malebolgia inSpawn (1997), andGargamel's cat Azrael inSony Pictures Animation'slive action/animated film versions ofThe Smurfs.
In 2006, he began voicingGeorge in the popular children's seriesCurious George. He also voiced George inthe animated film of the same name that same year. In 2007, Welker became the new voice ofGarfield, followingBill Murray's departure from the role, and succeeding the original actorLorenzo Music, who died in 2001 (Welker and Music had previously worked together onThe Real Ghostbusters and the originalGarfield and Friends). Welker voiced Garfield inGarfield Gets Real (2007),Garfield's Fun Fest (2008),Garfield's Pet Force (2009), and on the seriesThe Garfield Show, which ran from 2008 to 2016. In 2011, he provided the voice ofBatman in aScooby-Doo crossover segment of theBatman: The Brave and the Bold episode, "Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases!". In the same episode, he also voiced Batboy, the classicMad Magazine Batman spoof, originally created byWally Wood.
Welker did the meowing ofPuss in Boots, including inShrek 2.[20]
Welker has also provided voices for many video game characters, most notablyDisney'sOswald the Lucky Rabbit andThe Shadow Blot inEpic Mickey and its sequelEpic Mickey 2: The Power of Two,[21] as well as Zurvan, also called the Ancient One, onStarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. He also provided the voice of the mad mageXzar for theBaldur's Gate video game series, and reprised his role fromAvengers Assemble asOdin forLego Marvel's Avengers.
In 2016, Welker received a Lifetime AchievementEmmy Award at the43rd Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.[22]
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Welker's first on-camera film role was as a college kid fromRutgers University who befriendsElvis Presley inThe Trouble with Girls (1969). His next film role was in theDisney filmThe Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), which starredKurt Russell (he also appeared in the film's sequel,Now You See Him, Now You Don't, in 1972). He later co-starred withDon Knotts inUniversal'sHow to Frame a Figg (1971), appeared inDirty Little Billy (1972), and onThe Paul Lynde Show (1972).[11]
On-camera television appearances included roles onLaugh-In,Love, American Style,The Partridge Family, andThe Don Knotts Show. He played a prosecutor in the highly acclaimedABC specialThe Trial of General Yamashita and as Captain Pace besideRichard Dreyfuss'Yossarian inParamount Television's pilotCatch-22. He also appeared onRowan & Martin's Laugh-In,The Mike Douglas Show,The Tonight Show,The Merv Griffin Show,The Smothers Brothers Show,The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour,Laugh Trax, and as one of the cast members in the special ofThat Was the Year That Was (1985) withDavid Frost.
Welker also played an on-camera role as a voice actor in a 1984 episode ofSimon & Simon. InThe Duck Factory, he played a rival actor trying to steal the role of Dippy Duck from fellow voice actor Wally Wooster (Don Messick). In later years, he appeared inSteven Soderbergh's filmThe Informant! (2009) asMatt Damon's father.
In 1978, Welker appeared onThe Dean Martin Celebrity Roast toGeorge Burns. While saluting Burns, he showed his abilities as an impressionist by honoring George Burns with the voices ofWalter Cronkite,Henry Kissinger,Muhammad Ali,David Frost, andJimmy Carter. In 1987, he performed stand-up comedy on an episode of the short lived TV showKeep On Cruisin'.
In the 1980s, Welker voiced many recurring characters in the originalTransformers animated series. He voiced severalDecepticons, including the leaderMegatron,Soundwave,Skywarp,Mixmaster, Rumble, Frenzy,Ravage, andRatbat, as well asAutobotsMirage,Trailbreaker, and Sludge. He took on the role ofWheelie inThe Transformers: The Movie (1986), and in the post-movie episodes took over the role ofGalvatron (from hisStar Trek III castmateLeonard Nimoy) and also voicedChromedome andPinpointer.
In 2010, Welker reprised the roles of Megatron and Soundwave in the seriesTransformers: Prime (retitledTransformers: Prime – Beast Hunters for its third season) and the Transformers: Generation 1 video gameTransformers: Devastation.[23] InPrime, Welker significantly altered Megatron's voice from his Generation 1 portrayal to sound more sinister. In the 2015 follow-up seriesTransformers: Robots in Disguise, Welker once again reprised his role as Soundwave, who has broken his vow of silence since the events ofPrime.
Welker returned to two of hisTransformers roles when he portrayed Megatron and Soundwave as part of a spoof in a third-season episode ofRobot Chicken, which aired shortly after the release of the first installment ofthe live-action film series. In the second installment film,Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), he joined the voice cast and reprised the roles of Soundwave and Ravage, and also provided the voices for Grindor, Devastator, and Reedman. He again reprised his role as Soundwave, and took on the roles ofShockwave and Barricade, in the third film,Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). InTransformers: Age of Extinction (2014), he reprised his role as Galvatron, albeit with a voice similar to his portrayal of Megatron inTransformers: Prime.
Welker does not voice Megatron in the first three live-action films (Hugo Weaving was chosen for the role instead). However, he did voice Megatron in the two video games based on the first two films, as well as the theme park attractions atUniversal Studios Singapore,Universal Studios Hollywood, andUniversal Studios Florida,Transformers: The Ride. In the fifth installment of the film series,Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), he finally reprised the voice of Megatron, once again utilizing hisTransformers: Prime version of the character's voice.
As of 2019, Welker continues to occasionally voice Megatron for variousTransformers media, alternating between his Generation 1 andPrime portrayals.
Welker claims to have dated actressPamela Sue Martin and hisTom & Jerry Kids andDroopy, Master Detective co-starTeresa Ganzel.[24] He is a good friend of his longtimeTransformers co-star and fellow voice actorPeter Cullen, in contrast to the rivalry of their respective characters.[25]
A licensed pilot since 2010, Welker flies aBeechcraft Bonanza B36T from a local general aviation airport inLos Angeles County, California.[26]
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
| Preceded by None | Voice of Fred Jones 1969–present | Succeeded by None |
| Preceded by | Voice of Scooby-Doo 1979, 2002–present | Succeeded by None |
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