Jim Cummings | |
|---|---|
 Cummings in 2025 | |
| Born | James Jonah Cummings (1952-11-03)November 3, 1952 (age 72) Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2023–present |
| Genre | Voice acting |
| Subscribers | 134 thousand |
| Views | 38.2 million |
| Website | jimcummingsworld |
James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952)[1][2] is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked withthe Walt Disney Company andWarner Bros., serving as the official voice ofWinnie the Pooh since 1988,Tigger since 1989, theTasmanian Devil since 1991, andPete since 1992. Other notable roles include Fat Cat and Monterey Jack onChip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (1989–1990),the titular character onDarkwing Duck (1991–1992),Dr. Julian Robotnik onSonic the Hedgehog (1993–1994),Kaa onJungle Cubs (1996–1998) andThe Jungle Book 2 (2003), Cat onCatDog (1998–2005), Ray inThe Princess and the Frog (2009), and The Voice of Tomorrow forTomorrowland music festival (2004-2025).
James Jonah Cummings was born inYoungstown, Ohio on November 3, 1952. Cummings attended Immaculate Conception andSt. Columba grade schools as well asUrsuline High School, from which he graduated in 1970.[3]
Upon his graduation from high school, Cummings relocated toNew Orleans, where he designed and paintedMardi Gras floats, worked as a river boat deck hand, and sang and played drums in the regionally-successful rock band Fusion.[4] He later married and moved toAnaheim, California, where he managed a video store in the early 1980s, before launching his voice acting career in late 1984.[5]
Cummings's first voice role was as Lionel the Lion and Aunt Fira inDumbo's Circus.[5][6] Some of Cummings' earliest vocal work was at Disney, where he replacedSterling Holloway as the voice ofWinnie the Pooh in 1988. His impression proved to be so spot-on that he also filled in for Holloway as Kaa for bothJungle Cubs andThe Jungle Book 2, and as the Cheshire Cat for various Disney video games. He also notably impersonatedJ. Pat O'Malley in the roles of Colonel Hathi for both aforementioned productions and the Colonel in101 Dalmatians: The Series,Louis Prima as King Louie inJungle Cubs andTaleSpin, andWayne Knight as Tantor the Elephant inThe Legend of Tarzan. Starting withGoof Troop, Cummings also became the regular voice ofPete.
Beginning withThe New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Cummings alternated withPaul Winchell asTigger, before fully replacing him as the character starting withThe Tigger Movie. He had also filled in for Winchell as the voice of Zummi Gummi in the final season ofAdventures of the Gummi Bears, and as Dick Dastardly inWacky Races Forever andWacky Races Starring Dastardly and Muttley. Similarly, he alternated withPeter Cullen in the role of Monterey Jack inChip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers. InThe Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, Cummings voiced King Triton in place ofKenneth Mars, who was unable to reprise the role due to his struggles with pancreatic cancer. In 1991, he was hired by Warner Bros. Animation to voice Taz on the animated seriesTaz-Mania and would continue to voice the character in variousLooney Tunes media.
When actorJeremy Irons, the voice ofScar inThe Lion King, developed vocal problems during the recording of the song "Be Prepared", Cummings replaced him on the remainder of the track.[7] He also provided Scar's voice in a brief nightmare sequence inThe Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Cummings would later be hired as the singing double for bothRussell Means as Chief Powhatan andGordon Tootoosis as Kekata inPocahontas, and the singing double forChristopher Lloyd as Grigori Rasputin inAnastasia. He went onto understudy for Lloyd by voicing Rasputin for theAnastasia: Adventures with Pooka and Bartok video game.
Cummings has also voicedSmokey Bear for severalU.S. Forest Service commercials, ads, and promos from 1993 to 2008.[8]
Besides being a voice double and sound-alike, Cummings has also voiced original characters.
InRescue Rangers andTaleSpin, he portrayed a wide variety of other characters. His most famous role inRescue Rangers was the villainous Fat Cat, and forTaleSpin, he notably starred as the show's main antagonist, Don Karnage. After both shows concluded production, Cummings went on to portray the title characters inDarkwing Duck andBonkers, each of which he also got to voice other characters. He would later co-star withTom Kenny inCatDog, with Cummings playing Cat and Kenny voicing Dog. Also, despite having starred in animated feature films under "additional voices", Cummings achieved a motion picture breakthrough by starring in Disney'sAladdin, where he voiced both Razoul the Agrabah Guard Captain and Farouk the Merchant. He later went on to voice original characters for a variety of the company's theatrical and direct-to-video films, such as Ed the Hyena inThe Lion King and Ray the Firefly inThe Princess and the Frog. In 1998, Cummings also starred as Ocula the Gorgonite inSmall Soldiers, which was a live-action film directed byJoe Dante.
Aside from Fat Cat and Don Karnage, Cummings's involvements as Pete and the Tasmanian Devil were elements that typecast him in antagonistic roles. An example comes from when he voiced Steele the Alaskan Malamute in Universal'sBalto. According to an interview with directorSimon Wells, the role was originally offered toBrendan Fraser, but executive producerSteven Spielberg recommended recasting the role with Cummings because he wanted to feel a clearer sense of Steele's "inherent evil". Wells stated that Cummings "did a fantastic job, and totally made the character live, so I don't regret the choice.".[9] Other villain roles Cummings notably took on include Sierra theCearadactylus inThe Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire, andDoctor Robotnik in theSonic the Hedgehog animated series that aired from 1993 to 1994. He also voiced several characters in the 1997 video gameFallout, but his most notable role was the game's main antagonist, The Master.
In addition, he voiced various characters for theScooby-Doo,Tom and Jerry andStar Wars franchises. His most famous role inStar Wars is Hondo Ohnaka the Weequay Pirate. According to Cummings, Ohnaka was initially only going to appear in a two or three episode story arc ofStar Wars: The Clone Wars, but the character was so well-received that he became much more recurring throughout the franchise. Following the departure of Disney chairmanJeffrey Katzenberg, Cummings was hired to portray characters in several productions by Dreamworks, most notably voicing the Captain of Lord Farquaad's Guards inShrek, Hernán Cortés inThe Road to El Dorado along with additional characters, and Luca inSinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. In 2006, Cummings voiced a variety of characters for theCurious George animated TV show, notably voicing that of Pisghetti the Italian Chef, the male members of the Quint family, and Jumpy Squirrel, the latter which he provided merely animal sounds. The series became one of the longest-running American children's programs around, having initially run for nine seasons onPBS Kids before being renewed following the launch ofPeacock, the streaming service ofNBCUniversal.
In 2018, Cummings became the first voice performer of animation to reprise a role or more for a live-action Disney film, reprising the roles of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger forChristopher Robin. For the film, the role of Tigger was originally going to be played byChris O'Dowd, but due to negative reactions from test audiences, Disney immediately replaced O'Dowd with Cummings.[10][11] His performance as Pooh was particularly praised by Richard Lawson ofVanity Fair, who felt it was "Oscar-worthy" and said that "[a]s Winnie the Pooh ... the veteran voice actor gives such sweet, rumpled, affable life to the wistful bear of literary renown that it routinely breaks the heart."[12]
Nearly three years later, Cummings reprised the role of Taz by providing uncredited vocal effects for the character in some scenes ofSpace Jam: A New Legacy.[13] His recordings in question were mixed with material byFred Tatasciore, who was the character's credited voice actor for the film and previously played the part forLooney Tunes Cartoons. Cummings would later go on to reprise the roles of Fat Cat, Darkwing Duck, and Pete for the Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers film, along with the right arm of Shredder from the 1987Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, and bootleg versions of Pooh and Tigger. Meanwhile, the role of Monterey Jack was played by Australian actor and comedianEric Bana. Over a year after the film's release, Cummings reprised the role of King Triton forLego Disney Princess: The Castle Quest, making his first appearance as the character sinceAriel's Beginning. Months later, Cummings reprised the role of Winnie the Pooh for Disney'sOnce Upon a Studio to sing a portion ofWhen You Wish Upon a Star, the short in question also featured him as the voice ofBaloo fromThe Jungle Book for a similar purpose. Cummings was also involved inDisney Speedstorm. For the game, he voiced Steamboat Pete for the "To Infinity and Beyond" season, and he later made his third appearance as King Triton for the "Under the Sea" season.
Beginning on June 12, 2023, Cummings began hosting a podcast calledToon'd In! with Jim Cummings, which is available onSpotify,Apple Podcasts, andSpreaker. In the series, Cummings talks about the wide array of characters he voiced over the years, and various other voice artists guest star in episodes for interviews.[14] In 2025, he reprised several of his past roles (Fat Cat, Darkwing Duck, and Bonkers Bobcat) in theChibiverse episode "Journey at the Center of the Chibiverse". On March of the same year, Cummings was later revealed to be providing the voices ofPharisee Hillel,Dismas, andJames the Greater forThe King of Kings, ananimatedChristian film that is also the first to be distributed byAngel Studios.[15]
Cummings has two daughters with his former wife Stephanie Jardon. The two were married from 2001 to 2011, when they divorced. In 2019, they became involved in an acrimonious custody dispute, which Cummings won.[16][17] Cummings also has two older daughters from a previous marriage.[18]
In an interview with the A.V. Club, Cummings commented that his prime voice acting influences areMel Blanc,Paul Winchell,Paul Frees,June Foray, andFrank Welker. He particularly noted Blanc by classifying him as the "Frank Sinatra of voice acting", and Welker by calling him "The Beatles of voiceover".[19]
In a separate interview with Collider, Cummings stated that his favorite characters to play areWinnie the Pooh,Tigger, Ray the Firefly, Drake Mallard/Darkwing Duck, and Hondo Ohnaka.[20]
He is Catholic and attends St. Jude Parish in Los Angeles.[21]
| Year | Award | Category | Subject | Result | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Annie Awards | Best Voice Acting for Television | Darkwing Duck | Won | [22] |
| 1993 | Goof Troop | Won | [citation needed] | ||
| 1995 | Bump in the Night | Nominated | |||
| 2003 | Best Voice Acting in a Feature Production | The Jungle Book 2 | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Gnomeo & Juliet | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | Zambezia | Nominated | |||
| 2009 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | My Friends Tigger & Pooh | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Nominated |
| Preceded by | Voice of Winnie-the-Pooh 1988–present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Voice of Tigger 1989–present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Voice of Tasmanian Devil 1991–present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Voice of Pete 1992–present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
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