William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...

in the 1996 film ''

Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka, with animation sequences directed by Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone, and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel ...

'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of ''

Doug Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

'' and ''

The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' (also known as ''Ren & Stimpy'') is an American animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. Originally produced by Spümcø for Nickelodeon, the series aired from August 11, 1991, to Dece ...

'', as well as the ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...

'' characters

Philip J. Fry Philip J. Fry, commonly known by his surname, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated series ''Futurama''. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25. He is a slacker delivery b ...

, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, and

Zapp Brannigan This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a ...

. In commercials, he is the current voice of the Red M&M and formerly voiced Buzz for Honey Nut Cheerios. West also voices other such established characters such as

Elmer Fudd Elmer J.'' Hare Brush'' (1956) Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes''/'' Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon panthe ...

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Shaggy Rogers, Skeets, Tom,

Muttley Muttley is a fictional dog created in 1968 by Hanna-Barbera Productions; he was originally voiced by Don Messick. He is the foil to the cartoon villain Dick Dastardly, and appeared with him in the 1968 television series ''Wacky Races'' and its 1 ...

, and Woody Woodpecker. He was a cast member on ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

'', during which time he was noted for his impressions of Larry Fine, Marge Schott,

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

, and

Jackie Martling John Coger "Jackie" Martling, Jr. (born February 14, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, radio personality, author, actor, and musician also known as Jackie the Joke Man. He is best known as a former writer and in-studio comedian fo ...

Early life

William Richard Werstine was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, on April 16, 1952. He is of Irish descent, and was born with

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...

and

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. He grew up in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, in the Roslindale neighborhood. After a semester at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, West found himself in various bands, gigging the Boston scene by night, and selling guitars in a

Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the busi ...

shop during the day. West has stated that during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, he was subject to the draft lottery under the Nixon administration, receiving a low draft number which would have resulted in his being drafted in 1970. West was ultimately classified " 4-F" and excluded from enlistment on medical grounds as he had

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high b ...

and flat feet. West described his later recurring role as

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

on ''

'' as his "revenge" against Nixon. In a 2019 video post, West opined that the "biggest joke" about his experience was the

Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and burial site of Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th president of the United States (1969–1974), and his wife Pat Nixon. Located in Yorba Linda, California, on land ...

subsequently including images and footage of the ''Futurama'' Nixon character as part of its "Nixon in Popular Culture" exhibit.

Career

Radio career

In 1980, West was part of an oldies band called The Shutdowns. West worked at WBCN in

, performing daily comedic routines on '' The Big Mattress'' show, then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1988, working at K-Rock Radio (92.3 FM WXRK). West became a regular on ''

'' at that time until leaving in 1995, where he gained notice for his impersonations of

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...

middleman Larry Fine,

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

owner Marge Schott and Stern's head writer

. West moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, where he found success as a voice actor and performer.

Television

He left the radio station in 1988 to work on the short-lived revival of '' Beany and Cecil'', which was his first voice role in television. West's first major roles were on ''

'' and ''

'', which were two of the first three Nicktoons on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

(the other being ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently— Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, a ...

''). Over his career, West has been the voice talent for close to 120 different characters including some of the most iconic animated figures in television history. He has become one of the few voice actors who can impersonate

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy r ...

in his prime, including characterizations of

and

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...

, the voice Arthur Q. Bryan used for

, as well as other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons. In 1998, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' described West as "the new Mel Blanc" and noted his ability to mimic well-known voices, though he would rather develop original voices. West's favorite characters are

and Stimpy, both of which he originated.Billy West official site
Retrieved October 26, 2006. West has been very outspoken over his displeasure about the influx of movie star actors providing

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...

for films and major shows. West has stated that he did not like the Disney version of ''

'' and that he "couldn't watch" the show. West was the voice of the show's namesake, Geeker, throughout '' Project Geeker''s 13-episode run. West was the voice of Zim in the original pilot for '' Invader Zim''. Richard Steven Horvitz was chosen for the series role because West's voice was too recognizable, according to creator Jhonen Vasquez during DVD commentary. West is the voice of "Red" in numerous M&M commercials as well as the 3-D movie ''I Lost my M in Vegas'', currently playing at M&M's World in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. He also voices a number of minor characters in the series '' Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World''. He voiced the character Moobeard in ''Moobeard the Cow Pirate'', a short animation featured on '' Random! Cartoons'' and reprises his role as

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

's series '' The Looney Tunes Show''. In 1999, he also had a cameo in the Emmy Award-winning cartoon '' Dilbert''.

''The Ren & Stimpy Show''

West provided the voice of Stimpson J. Cat in

's ''

'' from 1991 until 1996, and he later provided the voice of

Ren Höek Marland T. "Ren" Höek and Stimpson J. "Stimpy" Cat, created by John Kricfalusi, are the title characters in the Nickelodeon animated series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', and its 2003 reboot ''Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"''. Kricfalusi creat ...

from 1993 to 1996 when Ren's original voice and series creator John Kricfalusi was fired by Nickelodeon (then a division of the original Viacom) for delivering late and objectionable episodes. He performed other characters on the series, such as Mr. Horse (another role he took over after Kricfalusi's departure) and the announcer for the "Log" ads (a voice West would use years later as the narrator for ''

The Weird Al Show ''The Weird Al Show'' is an American television show hosted by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Produced in association with Dick Clark Productions and taped at NBC Studios, it aired on Saturday mornings on the CBS TV network. The show ran for one season, ...

''). According to West, he was originally supposed to do the voice of both Ren and Stimpy (and performed both characters on the tape that was used to sell the show to Nickelodeon), but then Kricfalusi decided to do the voice of Ren himself once the show was sold and he had West on board as part of the selling point. However, West provided Ren's laughter with Kricfalusi as Ren's speaking voice.

''Futurama''

West's roles in ''

'' include

, Professor Farnsworth,

, and Dr. Zoidberg, among others. As he and other ''Futurama'' cast and crew point out in DVD commentaries, he voiced so many characters throughout the series that conversations are often held entirely between characters he is voicing. West went into the ''Futurama'' auditions and was asked to try out for, as he says, "just about every part". He eventually landed the roles of Farnsworth, Zoidberg, and Brannigan. He later got the main role of Fry, which originally had gone to Charlie Schlatter. While West is known for his original voices, the voice he uses for Fry is often considered to be closer to his natural voice than any other character he has played; in an audio commentary, he states Fry is "just imselfat age 25". This similarity, West acknowledges, was done purposefully in order to make it harder to replace him in the part along with placing more of himself personally into the role. The role of Zapp Brannigan was written for the late Phil Hartman, who died before the show started; West was given the role. West has described his interpretation of Zapp Brannigan's voice as an imitation of Hartman, but described the actual vocalizations of the character as being based on "a couple of big dumb announcers I knew." ''Futurama'' was renewed by Comedy Central as four direct-to-DVD films broken into 16 television episodes. West reprised his roles for these films and was signed on for two new 26-episode production seasons (four 13-episode air seasons) of ''Futurama'' which aired summers of 2010 to 2013.

Advertising

West was the announcer of the program '' Screen Gems Network'' which ran from 1999 to 2001. He was the promotional announcer for

The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel (promoted on air as comedy) is a defunct Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, and Optus Television. The channel ceased broadcasting on 1 September 2020. History A joint venture between Artist Serv ...

before it merged with HA! to become Comedy Central. Over his career, Billy West has voiced multiple characters in television commercials. These include (but are not limited to): * Red, the plain

milk chocolate Milk chocolate is a solid chocolate confectionery containing cocoa, sugar and milk. Chocolate was originally sold and consumed as a beverage in pre-Columbian times, and upon its introduction to Western Europe. Major milk chocolate producers incl ...

M&M (1996–present) (after Jon Lovitz's departure from the role in 1996). *

Buzz Buzz may refer to: People *Buzz (nickname), a list of people * J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner (born 1967; aka ''Dr. Buzz''), American forensic psychologist and journalist Fictional characters *Buzz, a character in the 1987 American comedy movie '' Rev ...

, the bee for Honey Nut Cheerios (1990–2004). * An alien for

Pentium 4 Pentium 4 is a series of single-core CPUs for desktops, laptops and entry-level servers manufactured by Intel. The processors were shipped from November 20, 2000 until August 8, 2008. The production of Netburst processors was active from 2000 ...

. *

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Minute Maid Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but which now extends to soft drinks of different kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid is sold under the Cappy brand in Central Europe and under the bran ...

. *

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

, Mickey Goldmill and

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines th ...

for Brisk Iced Tea. * Marfalump, a mascot for Pepsi from 1999 to 2000; created to tie in with the release of ''

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Dan ...

''. West voiced the '' Speed Racer'' character in a late 1990s advertisement for

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

, because the commercial's producers could not locate Peter Fernandez, the original voice of Speed. However, the producers did locate Corinne Orr, the original voice for the characters Trixie and Spritle.

Online

West voiced Graham and Julius F. in Eric Kaplan's web cartoon '' Zombie College'' and two characters in ''Tofu the Vegan Zombie''. He appeared on Ken Reid's ''TV Guidance Counselor Podcast'' on January 30, 2015. The episode was recorded live at The Smell in Downtown Los Angeles during the third annual Riot LA Comedy Festival. West began his own podcast show in July 2015. It features him doing numerous characters per episode, recurring segments such as "Song Demolition", "Billy Bastard – Amateur Human Being" and special guest Jim Gomez.

Films

In the 1996 film ''

'', West voiced

and

. He reprised both roles in subsequent ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'' feature-length films and returned as Fudd in the theatrically released '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action''. In 1998, West starred in the

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy w ...

film ''

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island ''Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island'' is a 1998 American direct-to-video animated mystery comedy horror film based on Hanna-Barbera's '' Scooby-Doo'' Saturday-morning cartoons. In the film, Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, Velma, and Daphne reunite after a year ...

'' as Shaggy Rogers, becoming the second person to portray the character (the first being Casey Kasem). He was one of the top contenders to replace Kasem after his retirement in 2009 but lost the role to Matthew Lillard. He voiced role of

in the Warner Bros. 2020'

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

CGI film '' Scoob!''. In 2000, he provided additional voices in

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

''. In 2004, West voiced the classic character

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy'', and made his live-action film debut in

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the '' Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards ...

's '' Comic Book: The Movie''. He also appeared in a cameo in '' Garfield: The Movie''. Other films featuring West's vocal talents include '' Joe's Apartment'', '' Cats & Dogs'', '' Olive, the Other Reindeer'', '' TMNT'', '' The Proud Family Movie'' and several ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the ...

'' direct-to-video films.

Music

West is a guitarist and singer-songwriter with a band called Billy West and The Grief Counselors. They have released their first album, ''Me-Pod''. West has toured as a guitarist for

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

and

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop music, pop composition, ex ...

. In 1982, West sang lead, doing an impersonation of Mike Love, on a Beach Boys-inspired tune, "Another Cape Cod Summer This Year," by studio band ROUTE 28, written and produced by Erik Lindgren on his Arf! Arf! Records label. West has collaborated with Deborah Harry,

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades ...

, and

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cu ...

, and he has played live on several occasions with

, including the guitar solo on the Beach Boys tune "Do it Again" on ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

'', in the mid-1990s. The ''Futurama'' episode "

Proposition Infinity "Proposition Infinity" ("Proposition ∞") is the fourth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television sitcom ''Futurama''. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on July 8, 2010. In the episode, Amy Wong and ...

" features the track "Shut up and Love Me" which was written and played by Billy West and Greg Leon, under the name ''Wailing Fungus''.

Radio

Throughout the 1980s, West provided character voices on Charles Laquidara's ''Big Mattress'' radio show on Boston's WBCN. West was one-half of the award-winning WBCN Production team from 1980 to 1986. From 1989 through 1995, West provided ''

'' with character voices such as Jim Backus,

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas '' Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six P ...

, Johnnie Cochran, Connie Chung,

Pat Cooper Pat Cooper (born Pasquale Caputo; July 31, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. Life and career His father Michael Caputo was a bricklayer from Mola di Bari, Italy and his mother, Louise Gargiulo was born in Brooklyn, New York, where Coope ...

, Jane Curtin, Sammy Davis, Jr.,

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

Louis "Red" Deutsch The Tube Bar prank calls are a series of prank calls made in the mid-1970s to the Tube Bar in Jersey City, in which Jim Davidson and John Elmo would ask "Red," the proprietor of the bar, if they could speak to various non-existent customers. The ...

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enteri ...

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequent ...

, Larry Fine,

Pete Fornatale Peter Salvatore Fornatale (August 23, 1945 – April 26, 2012) was a New York City disc jockey and author of numerous books on rock and roll. He is considered a "pioneer of FM rock", who played an important role in the progressive rock era of FM ...

Frank Gifford Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Foo ...

Kathie Lee Gifford Kathryn Lee Gifford ( née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''. Gifford is ...

Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

, Mark Goddard, Bobcat Goldthwait, the Greaseman, Jonathan Harris (as Dr. Zachary Smith), Leona Helmsley,

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the Undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion at cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight in the late 1 ...

, Shemp Howard, Lance Ito,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on '' The Andy Griffith Show'', a 1960s sitcom for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's '' The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 20 ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

(as the Jackie puppet), Ed McMahon,

Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster currently working as the play-by-play announcer for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on n ...

, Bill Mumy (as Will Robinson), Cardinal O'Connor, Maury Povich, Soon-Yi Previn, Marge Schott,

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

, Rae Stern (Howard Stern's mother),

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

and

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

until eventually leaving the show over money. West was an occasional contributor to '' The Adam Carolla Show'', a syndicated morning radio show that replaced Stern's show on CBS in LA. On February 19 and 20, 2007, ''The Howard Stern Show'' ran a special two-part retrospective of West's work with the show. It marked his first work with the show since leaving after his last show on November 1, 1995. On June 9, 2009, West appeared on Jackie Martling's ''Jackie's Joke Hunt'' on Stern's

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than t ...

channel Howard 101.

Video games

Characters voiced by West include

and

in numerous ''Looney Tunes'' video games. Other video game characters West has voiced include: * Stimpy in ''The Ren & Stimpy Show: Veediots!'' (1993), ''

Nicktoons Racing ''Nicktoons Racing'' is a Nickelodeon crossover racing video game. The game was first developed by Pipe Dream and released for the Game Boy Color, while versions for different platforms were released in subsequent years. Most versions were devel ...

'' (2000), and '' Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots'' (2007). * Dr. Zoidberg in '' The Simpsons Game'' (2007). * Additional Voices in '' Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly'' (2002). * Ricky Sr. and O'Toole in '' Open Season'' (2006). * Sparx in '' The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night'' (2007). *

, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg and

in ''

'' (2003). * Nash and Zam in '' Crash Nitro Kart'' (2003). * Voices for the player character in '' Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn'' (2000). * Murfy and other characters in '' Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc'' (2003). *

and L'il Gruesome in '' Wacky Races: Starring Dastardly and Muttley'' (2001). * Red in ''M&M's: The Lost Formulas'' (2000). * Hamton J. Pig in '' Tiny Toon Adventures: Toonenstein''. * Atomic Bomberman in '' Atomic Bomberman''. * Emilio Baza in '' Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned''. * Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in '' Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time'' (1991). * The Yak in '' Nicktoons MLB'' (2011). * Fire Kraken, Freeze Blade, Food Fight, Chill Bill and Rocky Roll in '' Skylanders: Swap Force'', '' Skylanders: Trap Team'' and '' Skylanders: SuperChargers''. * The narrator in '' Minecraft: Story Mode'' (2015). * Ren and Stimpy in '' Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl'' (2021; voice added as part of the June 6th, 2022 update).

Personal life

West was married to Violet Benny, but they later divorced. West has spoken openly about the

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

he experienced from his father. He says he developed his impressionist skills as a way to distract himself from his trauma. West has been critical of

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former ...

and the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

, describing Republican senators as "old men with bad breath and

dandruff Dandruff is a skin condition that mainly affects the scalp. Symptoms include flaking and sometimes mild itchiness. It can result in social or self-esteem problems. A more severe form of the condition, which includes inflammation of the skin ...

." He has also mocked the tweets of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

by reading them out in character as

, drawing similarities between Trump and the ''

'' antagonist. West purchased a home in the Hollywood Hills West neighborhood of

for $480,000 in 1998, and sold it for $1.18 million in March 2016.

Filmography

Film

Animation

Video games

Live-action

Discography

*''Me-Pod'' (2004) Label under

Universal Records (Philippines) Universal Records Philippines, Inc. is a Filipino record label founded in 1977 as part of Warner Music Group. Since 1992, it is an independent label. The label is currently a member of the Philippine Association of the Record Industry. H ...

References

External links

* * * *
Interview with Billy West on Talk Radio Meltdown
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Billy 1952 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male voice actors Male actors from Boston Male actors from Michigan Nickelodeon people Toy collectors People on the autism spectrum People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Early life

Career

Radio career

Television

''The Ren & Stimpy Show''

''Futurama''

Advertising

Online

Films

Music

Radio

Video games

Personal life

Filmography

Film

Animation

Video games

Live-action

Discography

See also

References

External links