So, I'm away from my computer for the time being, I can't really watch anything or write anything, so I've decided to touch up and old post I never published. I came up with this idea in late 2022, I didn't publish it for a couple reasons, but because I can't really write anything new, I decided to finally push this one out. I should be able to write new stuff next week.
In music, the term One Hit Wonder refers to, multiple things under the same umbrella, but mostly a band or artist who is only known for one song. That song could have been a major hit, it could have been a minor hit, it could have been one of many hits, but it is all completely overshadowed compared to one song. Think of songs like "Take on Me" or Alien Ant Farm's cover of "Smooth Criminal". The term has become a catch-all for most things in the entertainment world, directors, video game developers, and actors. I kinda wanted to do something similar, especially because voice actors can be linked to one role forever.
It tends not to be something you really think about, but then you remember, if someone brought up Clancy Brown, your immediate thought would most likely be Mr. Krabs on SpongeBob, unless your a fan of The Shawshank Redemption. There are many voice actors like Frank Welker, Tara Strong and Tim Curry who can really deliver unique voices and can disappear into their roles, and there are some voice actors like Patrick Warburton and Tom Kenny who are often recognizable, but have enough roles under their belt that you can recognize them beyond Family Guy or SpongeBob SquarePants. Some voice actors, aren't always that lucky.
I think my major rule for this list is that, while these actors can have other roles, they are mostly known for one role. Like, if I were to say "Tom Kenny", you could easily name SpongeBob, Spyro, Ice King and a bunch of other roles. If I were to say any of these voice actors, you would only really recognize them for their best known role. We are going to play a little fast and loose with the definition here, but in general all the rules will be adhered to. So, here are ten Single Role Wonders in Voice Acting.
#10. Jim Hanks as Sheriff Woody
A big part of being a one-hit wonder, or a single role wonder in this case, is having one major thing and not having anything else that massive, in music this often leads to chasing the success of the big hit, but you can't really do that in acting... unless you're major gig is literally providing the voice for your brother. When you're the brother of one of the most beloved and successful actors with a very recognizable voice, it must feel weird to be called in as his sound alike, right? Major props to Jim Hanks for stepping in, and whenever someone needs a Tom Hanks voice, he is always up there, though he is usually stepping in to do the voice for Sheriff Woody. Though he has stepped in for Tom on other occasions, like when The Polar Express got a video game, and he has quite a few live action credits to his name, in voice acting it's Woody, Woody, Woody, and apparently an episode of Milo Murphy's Law. Credit due, he never seems upset about it, like he can do a good impression of his brother and has made a good career out of it, but this is definitely one of those cases where I can sum up most of his career with one role.
#9. Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck
Something you should really consider when you talk about Single Role Wonders in acting, is their performances in other mediums. Some people might consider Mark Hamill a Single Role Wonder since his biggest role is Luke Skywalker, but when you consider his voice acting career, voicing the likes of The Joker, Fire lord Ozai, Skips on Regular Show and quite a few voices on Metalocalypse, you can't really consider him as such since none of those are minor roles. So, one could almost not consider Alan Young for this list either, since some people might now him as Farmer Wilbur on Mister Ed, but for most of you, you'll probably only know him as the voice of Scrooge McDuck. It really does do a massive disservice to the man's nearly eight decade long career, but that is another thing about one hit wonders, the big thing everyone knows you for can change, and though there are plenty of roles under Alan Young's belt, the one everyone will know him for is the money loving miser, old Uncle Scrooge.
#8. David Eccles as Krumm
Here is an odd one, David Eccles is a fairly obscure name in media, though according to his IMDb, he did a lot of sound editing for cartoons, and Metal Gear Solid, and did some composing work. As a voice actor, he has not done a lot, and even then he only appears in a couple episodes of what he is actually in, save for one show. You may not be able to tell what episodes of The Wild Thornberrys or Rugrats he's in, but when I tell you he is the voice of Krumm on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, that's when you recognize his voice. I don't know why he didn't go into more voice acting, maybe he didn't like it as much as sound editing, maybe he didn't want to be type casted, then again he has largely disappeared from film entirely, according to his IMDb, his last job was in 2008 for a short film called "Kidnapping Terry". Whatever he's up to, I hope he's enjoying it.
#7. Thom Huge as Jon Arbuckle
There has got to be something said for voice actors who pretty much voice an entire cast of characters on one show. Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer have multiple well-loved voices on The Simpsons, but you can find them in other places. Thom Huge has never left Garfield, and despite voicing everyone from Binky the Clown to Roy Rooster on U.S. Acres, the one character who he is completely tied to will forever be the dorky loser owner of Garfield, Jon Arbuckle. It's always sad when a really good voice actor doesn't get to stretch out into other roles, but in this case it may be sadder. Thom left voice acting after Lorenzo Music died in 2001, and frankly, Lorenzo and Thom were like Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, you can't top them and they're an iconic pair. Whatever Thom is doing now, I'm sure he has no regrets about being part of one of the biggest pop culture franchises in the world.
#6. Colin O'Meara as Tintin
Lots of recognizable names on this list, so lets go with one more who is less recognizable, at least this name may not be so recognizable if you aren't a reader of my blog, because this is a name I've brought up before. For many of us in the English speaking world, Colin O'Meara was our Tintin, and his decidedly not at all Belgian voice was the voice of Tintin for many I would imagine. It's amusing because the show had quite a Canadian cast, but some of the actors on this show would be recognizable to most, like Wayne Robson who played Mike Hamar on The Red Green Show, or Maureen Forrester who was an Opera Singer. Colin O'Meara would probably not be too recognized beyond his role as Tintin, unless you're a massive fan of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. His Wikipedia page, which is literally half a paragraph long, also claims he was in Sailor Moon, but citation is needed on that one.
#5. Dan Povenmire as Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
You can't really consider voice actors for this list who debuted in shows from the 2000s, mostly because they still have plenty of time to really find more roles and get some more notoriety. It does however, kind of stop mattering when your big role is one of the most beloved villains in cartoon history, and when you revel in that iconic role you are kind of admitting that you're okay with being known for one single role. However, to be absolutely fair to Dan Povenmire, voice acting really isn't his major gig, as he was an animation director on both Family Guy and SpongeBob SquarePants, and he wrote The Campfire Song Song. When you look at Dan Povenmire's credits, it's very clear that voicing Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz is just kind of a bonus to his already outstanding career as an animator, director, writer and producer. Keep on keeping on, good sir.
#4. Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn
...Well this just got sad... I came up with this idea early in November of 2022, and I sat on it for a while after it was written because... well you'll see why, but in that time Arleen Sorkin also passed away. I want to make it clear, calling these actors "Single Role wonders" is not meant to be an insult, if anything it's kind of a celebration of how iconic their most well-known roles really are.
I can't really imagine having one major role would be that upsetting to voice actors. I don't think Tom Kenny is losing sleep over voicing Nickelodeon's most iconic character. I can imagine voicing the same character could get repetitive, but when you are also the inspiration to one of the most beloved Batman characters since the comics, I can't really imagine you'd be that mad. Arleen Sorkin was a big inspiration behind Batman villain Dr. Harleen Quinzel, otherwise known as Harley Quinn, and to suggest that the character isn't a pop culture icon would be untrue. People have argued about her portrayals as if she has always been a part of Batman, and for a lot of people, she was. Voicing the character as recently as 2011, it can only be fair to say that Arleen Sorkin gave the character a lot of the personality and mannerisms we associate with our favourite clown woman. Voicing a character that becomes bigger than anyone could really imagine is not something one should sneer at.
#3. Casey Kasem as Shaggy Rogers
Casey Kasem is easily one of the most recognizable names in radio, but when it comes to animation, some radio personalities have managed to be recognized as voice actors, such as June Foray who has many voice acting credits under her belt. However, there is one major role that Casey Kasem has under his belt, a role that everyone adores to this day, one Norville Rogers, otherwise known as Shaggy. Voicing the character since 1969 and up to 2010, Casey Kasem has been the voice of Shaggy Rogers for so long, even singing for a BBC Children in Need Medley by Peter Kay. It's hard to imagine anyone else taking over the role, though Scott Innes and Matthew Lillard have also become quite synonymous with the character. Casey Kasem also did Cliffjumper on the original Transformers series, but left during the third season, so he's got other roles, but to many he is, and always will be, Shaggy Rogers.
#2. Peter Sallis as Wallace
British television has an odd place in American Pop Culture. Considering that very little dubbing needs to take place to import these shows, it could be argued that England has had a big impact on American television. Lots of Americans will know names like Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie, David Tennant, and oddly enough Peter Sallis. It really shouldn't be so surprising to think that the voice of our favourite cheese loving hair-brained inventor Wallace is one of the most iconic voices in animation, after all he's voiced the character in four shorts, a full short series, a theatrical movie, and a couple of video games. Any other role he's done, again, gets a little overshadowed by the fact that you can sum up his career as "he was the original voice of Wallace from Wallace & Gromit". It also doesn't hurt that Gromit himself has no voice, which gives Peter Sallis a large part of the spotlight in the shorts. Quite the cracking role, eh lads?
#1. Kevin Conroy as Batman
Oh... I'm going to get in some hot water for this one. Remember how I said I originally came up with this concept in early November of 2022, well one of the reasons I shelved it was because Kevin Conroy had passed away, and I didn't want to imply that his entire career revolved around a singular character. However, we need to be real here, he was the voice of The Batman in animation for so long because he was one of the best Batman actors. For many of us, the answer of who is the best live action Batman is tricky to answer since there have been some great ones, but there is only one answer for who the best animated Batman is, and that is Kevin Conroy. His effortless switching between the caped crusader and Bruce Wayne made him blend into the role so perfectly, that there really is no argument, for many animation fans, Kevin Conroy is Batman, and that is the role he will forever be remembered for.
Well that was... sad. Honourable Mentions!
1. Mel Blanc - I wanted to include him because he is mostly known for his role in the Looney Tunes cartoons, but he was also the voice of Barney Rubble on The Flintstones.
2. Carlo Bonomi - A voice actor you probably don't recognize, mostly because the character he voiced didn't really speak, more or less. However, the mumblings and Noots of Pingu will always be in our hearts.
3. Yeardley Smith - You don't really get to be a main cast member on The Simpsons and not have that role dominate your career, especially if that role is Lisa Simpson.
4. Alex Borstein - You may recognize her as the voice of Lois Griffin on Family Guy, but people seem to like her in The Bad Guys too, maybe it's a bit early to call this one.
5. Bill Farmer - Voicing a Disney character as iconic as Goofy might over-shadow other roles, but in this house, we respect Hop Pop.
6. Peter Cullen - He was on this list until the last minute, while Optimus Prime will forever be his most well-known role, he has some other roles that some may know him for, like Eeyore or Monterey Jack.
7. Dan Castellaneta - If Peter Cullen can qualify for this list, Homer Simpson can too, though some respect for Grandpa Phil too.
No comments:
Post a Comment