Maurice_LaMarche

Maurice LaMarche

Maurice LaMarche

Canadian voice actor (born 1958)


Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor and comedian. He has voiced The Brain in Animaniacs as well as its spin-off Pinky and the Brain, Big Bob in Hey Arnold! (1996–2004), the title character from Inspector Gadget, and a variety of characters in Futurama, including Kif Kroker. He also voiced Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters and its follow-up Extreme Ghostbusters.

Quick Facts Born, Citizenship ...

Early life

LaMarche was born in Toronto, Ontario,[1] on March 30, 1958, to Guy LaMarche and Linda Bourdon.[2] His family moved to Timmins, Ontario, soon after he was born.[3] LaMarche's childhood was filled with his "own little world of cartoons and sixties television".[4] It was in his second year of high school that he learned of the popularity his talent for mimicry could garner him. This realization came from a coincidental performance in a high school "variety night" when a couple of friends urged him to enter. The act he performed at the variety night was "celebrities as waiters" which he used until the end of his stand-up career.[5]

One of his neighbors and schoolmates was future comedian, Mike Myers.[6]

Career

Stand-up comedy

LaMarche in 2006

At the age of nineteen, LaMarche took his high school act to an open mic night in New York City, performing to a reaction in which, as he describes, "they just totally ignored me".[7] This reaction was coupled with the criticism LaMarche received from fellow Canadian comedians who LaMarche describes as discouraging him from pursuing a career outside of Canada.[8] He returned to Canada, continued to do stand-up, and also started a career in voice work.

Three years later, LaMarche moved to Los Angeles to further his stand-up career. This move, LaMarche says, would always be something he regretted doing instead of moving to New York: "... in retrospect, I thought it was a mistake. I think that a couple of years in New York would have made me a stronger comedian."[9]

Over the next five years, LaMarche's career progressed, playing comedy clubs throughout the US, with several appearances on The Merv Griffin Show and An Evening At The Improv. In spite of such interest, LaMarche believed that, while his impersonations and stage presence were professional, he needed to develop funnier comedy material. LaMarche was asked to be part of the 1985 HBO production Rodney Dangerfield Hosts the 9th Annual Young Comedians Special, on which also appeared Bob Saget, Rita Rudner, Louie Anderson, Yakov Smirnoff, and the breakout first appearance of Sam Kinison. Although he was received and reviewed favorably, in looking back on his own performance in that special, LaMarche believed he was "probably about five years away from going from being a good comedian to being a great comedian" and being the "only impressionist that actually comes from somewhere".[10]

During his standup career, LaMarche opened for such acts as Rodney Dangerfield, George Carlin, Howie Mandel, David Sanborn, and Donna Summer, usually in the main showrooms of Las Vegas and Atlantic City.[11]

On March 9, 1987, LaMarche's father was murdered, shot to death by a lifelong friend in a Toronto hotel lobby in front of dozens of witnesses. This sent LaMarche into depression and alcoholism for the next two years, effectively stalling his stand-up career.[12] After getting sober on January 20, 1989, LaMarche returned to stand-up comedy in the early part of 1990. As he was regaining self-confidence, his 18-year-old sister was killed in a car accident in September of that year.[13] At this point, though he remained sober, LaMarche decided to retire from stand-up comedy. He said, "at that point I just threw up my hands and went, 'Oh, that's it. I don't have any funny left in me. I'm done'".[13]

Voice acting

Early Canadian work

LaMarche's entry into the voiceover industry was in 1980 in Easter Fever and Take Me Up to the Ball Game, two animated Canadian TV specials from Nelvana.[14] He also was a regular voice performer on Toronto's pioneering cult TV hit The All-Night Show, which debuted in September 1980; a continuing feature had the lips of LaMarche inserted into a photograph of a famous person, and having LaMarche imitate that person to deliver a show promo or announcement. When LaMarche left the show in 1981, Jim Carrey was recruited to take his place as a voice actor.[15]

Television

D.C. Douglas with Lamarche in Dragon Con, 2021.

It took a few years after his 1981 move to Los Angeles for LaMarche to establish himself in the American voiceover industry, which he initially pursued as a side endeavor during his full-time standup comedy career. LaMarche began on Inspector Gadget with that show's second season in 1985, and went on to Dennis the Menace, Popeye and Son and The Real Ghostbusters where he played Egon Spengler. After The Real Ghostbusters, LaMarche became a regular mainstay of the voiceover industry, appearing in such shows as Tiny Toon Adventures, GI Joe, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Animated Series, Taz-Mania, Where's Waldo, The Little Mermaid, Batman: The Animated Series, and Bonkers before landing perhaps his most recognized role in 1993 as The Brain on Animaniacs and later its spin-off show Pinky and the Brain. Following this, LaMarche worked on The Critic, Freakazoid!, and The Tick before then reprising his role of Egon in Extreme Ghostbusters. The stretch of two years after this saw LaMarche portray characters in such shows as Hey Arnold! as Big Bob Pataki, Queer Duck, and The Chimp Channel. During this time LaMarche would become the voice actor for Mortimer Mouse whom he would voice in the television series Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse. It was at this time, 1999, that LaMarche began work on Futurama, and since Futurama, he has continued to work steadily in television, including guest roles on The Simpsons (where he once again parodied Orson Welles). His most recent regular role came as Hovis the butler on the Nickelodeon series Catscratch. LaMarche was the voice of antagonist Father in Codename: Kids Next Door and was also the voice of Victor in Playhouse Disney's Handy Manny 2007 Halloween episode. He also played the voice role of Grumpy in the 2014 Disney XD series The 7D, a reimagining of [Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs].

LaMarche has done various voice work for many Warner Bros. Animation and DiC Entertainment cartoons. He also delivered the protracted belches for the "Great Wakkorotti" shorts on Animaniacs, in which Wakko Warner performed various pieces of music. One of those belches was later recycled for Buddy in 2003's New Line Cinema film Elf. In 2011, LaMarche reprised his role as Yosemite Sam in Cartoon Network's new series, The Looney Tunes Show, and its spin-off, New Looney Tunes.

LaMarche made several appearances in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic where he voiced Chancellor Neighsay.

Pinky and the Brain

LaMarche plays the character of The Brain in both Animaniacs and the spin-off.[16] In creating the voice for Brain, LaMarche says he looked at a picture of the character and immediately thought of Orson Welles,[17] although the character was not modeled after Welles.[18] Voicing Brain gave LaMarche the opportunity to make use of his signature impersonation of Welles.[19] Many Pinky and the Brain episodes are nods to Welles' career. LaMarche won an Annie Award for his role as the Brain, and was nominated for an Emmy.[20] LaMarche would later use this accent to voice Father in Codename: Kids Next Door.

The Critic

While working on The Critic, LaMarche once voiced 29 characters in one 30-minute episode.[21]

His time on The Critic also afforded LaMarche the opportunity to once again parody Orson Welles, this time after a video reading of a will (the Sherman family was so wealthy, they had hired Welles to narrate it) dissolves into a commercial for Mrs. Pells Fishsticks, as well as another for Rosebud Frozen Peas ("full of count-ry goodness and green pea-ness"), and another for Blotto Bros. wine. He also occasionally served as an uncredited fill-in for main cast member Jon Lovitz as Jay Sherman.

Futurama

LaMarche at the 2010 Comic Con in San Diego, California, on a panel for Futurama

Much of his best known voice work is from Futurama where he voiced Zapp Brannigan's beleaguered assistant Kif Kroker, melodramatic soap acting unit Calculon, the Nero-esque Hedonismbot, Morbo the news anchor, and Lrrr, ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8, among numerous others. He has also done his Orson Welles impression on the show, winning a 2011 Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Emmy for his portrayal of Lrrr and Orson Welles in the episode "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences". He won another Emmy the following year for the episode "The Silence of the Clamps".

Heroes

LaMarche acted, voice only, in the second episode of the hit NBC show Heroes, "Don't Look Back", as the villain Sylar. His voice is heard in a recorded phone conversation on Chandra Suresh's answering machine. The role of Sylar was later played by Zachary Quinto.[22]

Film

LaMarche appeared in many films, including dubbing the voice of Orson Welles over Vincent D'Onofrio's on-camera performance in Ed Wood; Pepé Le Pew in Space Jam; supplying the voice of the Alec Baldwin puppet in Team America: World Police, and reprising his roles from Queer Duck and Futurama in the direct-to-video films Queer Duck: The Movie and Futurama: Bender's Big Score, respectively.

His one on-camera theatrical film performance was in the 1981 Canadian feature Funny Farm, not to be confused with a later Chevy Chase vehicle of the same name. The film follows the story of a young standup comedian's attempt to break into the big-time on the L.A. comedy scene. LaMarche played Dickie Lyons, an impressionist who befriends the main character, Mark Champlin. The film also starred Howie Mandel, Eileen Brennan, and Miles Chapin.

In Mark Hamill's 2004 film Comic Book: The Movie, LaMarche made a rare live appearance to be in the special features of the DVD alongside Pinky and the Brain co-star Rob Paulsen. Among other gags, he re-enacted his impression of Orson Welles' famous frozen peas commercial outtake.

Commercials

LaMarche has also lent his voice to commercials. He voiced Kellogg's Froot Loops spokesbird Toucan Sam, the animated Willy Wonka character in Nestlé's Willy Wonka Candy Company commercials, and the narrator for Lexus commercials. He has also appeared as himself, doing the voice of Popeye the Sailor for the Long John Silver's restaurant chain in the early 1990s, reprising the role from the TV series Popeye & Son.

On 8 September 2018, LaMarche was featured in the commercial for the open world driving game Forza Horizon 4.

Theme parks

LaMarche provided the voice of Yosemite Sam for the Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure! dark ride at Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1992.[23]

Personal life

LaMarche has been married to Robin G. Eisenman since May 19, 1991; together they have a son, Jonathan.[24]

Filmography

Film

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Animation

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Video games

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Live-action

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Awards and nominations


References

  1. Freeman, Joshua (September 2016). "Toronto actor who voiced 'Pinky and The Brain' and 'Futurama' set to appear at Fan Expo". CP24.
  2. "Maurice LaMarche". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  3. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment". Ken Plume and FRED Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012.
  4. Plume, Ken. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (12th question)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  5. Plume, Ken. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (18th question)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  6. Plume, Ken. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (questions 19–21)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  7. Plume, Ken. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (Questions 22–26)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  8. Plume, Ken. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (40th question)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  9. Plume, Ken. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (Questions 42–43)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  10. Plume, Ken. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (45th question)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  11. Plume, Ken. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (43rd question)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  12. Plume, Ken. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (51st question)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  13. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (2nd page, Questions 33 and 39)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  14. Weisblott, Marc (January 21, 2008). "All-Night Show's new dawn". Eye Weekly. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
  15. "Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo 2016". Century City View. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  16. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (5th question)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  17. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (3rd page, 27th question)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  18. "War of the Welles: Seven Actors Who've Played Orson". IFC. November 26, 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  19. Lawson, Tim; Persons, Alisa (2004). The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors. University Press of Mississippi. p. 208. ISBN 1578066956. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  20. "Interview with Quick Stop Entertainment (4th page, 19th question)". Quickstopentertainment.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  21. Salem, Rob (September 20, 2008). "Zachary Quinto interview: Vulcan vs. Villain". TheStar.com. Retrieved September 20, 2008. Before Quinto was cast, the character's early, off-camera presence was the uncredited work of Toronto-born voice veteran Maurice LaMarche
  22. "Maurice LaMarche". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  23. "Maurice LaMarche (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 27, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  24. Best Fiends (September 1, 2017). "Visit Minutia – A Best Fiends Animation". Archived from the original on November 18, 2021 via YouTube.
  25. Best Fiends (July 19, 2018). "Fort of Hard Knocks – A Best Fiends Animation". Archived from the original on November 18, 2021 via YouTube.
  26. "Visual Assault". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 102. Ziff Davis. January 1998. p. 26.
  27. "Voice Chasers: Maurice LaMarche". Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  28. "Axe Cop Episode THREE". YouTube. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  29. Pastrick, Chris (October 9, 2019). "Original voices set to return for 'Animaniacs' reboot on Hulu". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  30. Giardina, Carolyn (February 26, 2023). "'Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio' Wins Five Trophies Including the Top Prize at the 50th Annie Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 26, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.

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