Townsend Coleman
| Townsend Coleman | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 28, 1954 Cleveland Heights, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Voice actor and DJ |
| Agent | DPN |
Townsend Coleman (born May 28, 1954) is an American voice actor who performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s. Among his most notable roles are Michaelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,[1]Wayne Gretzky on ProStars, and the titular characters in Where's Waldo? and the The Tick.
Early work
Townsend Coleman was a disc jockey for WGCL in Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1970s. This included the weekend of July 7–8, 1979, when that radio station presented his own take on American Top 40 upon the station's refusal to air the "Top 40 Disco Songs" special for that weekend.
In the that same period, Coleman appeared in several plays through Jerry Leonard's Heights Youth Theater ensemble. The plays were staged at Wiley Junior High School in University Heights, Ohio — just down the road from John Carroll University. Other famous performers who appeared in Jerry Leonard's plays include actress Carol Kane.
Voice acting
Coleman's career as a voice actor took off in the 1980s when, having recently moved to Los Angeles, he auditioned for the role of Corporal Capeman on Inspector Gadget. In addition to the aforementioned roles, he also portrayed Riot on Jem, Gobo in the animated version of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock, Scott Howard on the animated Teen Wolf, and many others. In TV commercials, he was the 7-Up "Spot," Keebler Elves, and Raid Bugs. Coleman has also been the voice of NBC commercials for programs such as "Must See TV" and The Tonight Show since the early 1990s. Coleman has also provided the voice for Jason Whittaker on the Focus on the Family radio drama Adventures in Odyssey since 1994. He also voiced the Autobot Mini-Cassette Rewind on the Transformers cartoon series (1986) and provided the voice of 'Colt' in Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.
From 1987 to 1996, Townsend Coleman voiced his most popular character; Michelangelo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Coleman performed a wide range of voices in King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow, including Vizier Abdul Alhazred, Shamir Shamazel, Lord Azure, Ferryman, Beast, and the Minotaur.
More recently, Townsend is the voice of Sentinel Prime in the Transformers Animated series. The character was designed to look like The Tick, as confirmed by the writers of the show at Botcon 2008. Townsend provided the voice for the title character of The Tick in the 1994 cartoon series, for which, he received an Annie Award nomination.
Select filmography
- NBC advertising (1992-2009)
- Alice Through the Looking Glass - Tom Fool
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Morrie, Civilian
- Inspector Gadget - Corporal Capeman
- Jem and the Holograms - Rory "Riot" Lewellyn
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Michaelangelo, Rat King, Krang (1989 Alternate) and Shredder (1993 Alternate) (7 episodes only), Usagi Yojimbo, Rahzar, Screwloose, Splinter (Season 5 Alternate), Burne Thompson (Season 3 Alternate), Jerry Spiegel, Electrozapper, Dalton Dumpsky, Fritz
- The Tick - The Tick
- Transformers Animated - Sentinel Prime, Tracks
- Where's Waldo? - Wally
- Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs - Colt
- FernGully: The Last Rainforest - Knotty
- Teen Wolf - Scott Howard
- Timon and Pumbaa - Vulture Police
- Mighty Ducks - Canard
- Fraggle Rock - Gobo Fraggle, Wrench Doozer and Architect Doozer
- Superman: The Animated Series - Additional voices
- Transformers - Mini-Cassette Rewind
- Animaniacs - Katzeneisnerman (episode: "Hooray For North Hollywood Part 1")
References
- ^ "Townsend Coleman Interview" Kidzworld.com. Retrieved on 2009-19-06.
