Christopher Charles Collins (born Christopher Lawrence Latta; August 30, 1949 – June 12, 1994) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the voice of

Cobra Commander Cobra Commander is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' franchise. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra and the archenemy of the G.I. Joe Team. He was portrayed by Joseph ...

in the '' G.I. Joe'' animated series and Starscream in the first '' Transformers'' animated series. He had a few guest roles in the '' Star Trek'' series '' The Next Generation'' and '' Deep Space Nine'', he voice acted

Moe Szyslak Moe Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor and bartender o ...

and Mr. Burns in the first season of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' (1989–1990), and he had many other roles in

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series and films. He also had a successful stand-up comedy career.

Early life

Christopher Lawrence Latta was born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

to Robert Latta, a New York stage actor, and Jane Morin, an advertising executive. He grew up in the Morningside Heights (sometimes called "West Harlem") section of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. His legal name became Christopher Charles Collins when his stepfather adopted him. In his stand-up routine, he claimed to have grown up in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

and said his ultra-liberal parents had moved the family there "so he could meet some Negroes". After a year at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, he studied acting, dance, voice, and mime.

Career

Radio work and stand-up comedy

In the mid-1970s, he acted on the New York and

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 ...

stage and did voice-over work for Boston radio station WBCN. Collins's stand-up career peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he performed in most of the major comedy venues in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 1990, he won the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition. At the beginning of his act, he entered in a black trench coat and ordered the audience to applaud the person who introduced him. He picked an audience member who failed to applaud and told him he had to "clap alone". He told the audience he was not a comedian, but a "

psychotic Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior t ...

who learned to market his problem". His comic persona was a loud, angry, mentally unstable man who liked to intimidate the audience. He was a frequent featured performer on ''

An Evening at the Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a single venue founded in ...

'' and ''

Caroline's Comedy Hour Carolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy situated at 750 Seventh Avenue, on Broadway between 49th and 50th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. History Caroline Hirsch opened Carolines as a cabaret in ...

''.

Voice acting

Collins made his animation voice acting debut as one of the English dubbers of the 1979

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

series '' Space Battleship Yamato'' (also called '' Star Blazers''). He was most recognizable in that series as the voice of space marine Sgt. Knox during the Comet Empire installment. When he began regular voice work, he adopted the stage name Chris Latta, as another

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

actor was performing as Chris Collins. In 1983, Collins began voicing

for a five-part ''G.I. Joe'' animated mini-series. He continued voicing the role in a second five-part animated mini-series in 1984, a regular animated series beginning in 1985, a 1987 direct-to-video animated movie and a 1989 animated series. Starting in 1984, Collins voiced the Decepticon Starscream for the ''Transformers'' animated series. He voiced other G.I. Joe and Transformers characters in these series as well as in toy commercials. These included the

Autobot The Autobots are the main protagonists in the fictional continuities of the Transformers multimedia franchise, and are depicted in a collection of various toys, cartoons, films, graphic novels, and paperback books first introduced in 1984. The ...

scientist Wheeljack, the Autobots' human friend Sparkplug Witwicky, the G.I. Joe Marine

Gung-Ho ''Gung ho'' () is an English term, with the current meaning of "overly enthusiastic or energetic". It originated during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) from a Chinese term, ( zh, hp=gōnghé, l=to work together), short for Chinese I ...

and the Dreadnok Ripper. In '' Inhumanoids'', he voiced D'Compose and Tendril. In '' Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light'', he voiced Darkstorm and Cravex. He provided voices in '' The Real Ghostbusters'', credited as Chris Collins. He played the live-action role of King Koopa in '' King Koopa's Kool Kartoons'' in 1989 before the role was taken over by Patrick Pinney. In ''

'', Collins originated the voice of Mr. Burns in the first-season episodes "

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (titled onscreen as "The Simpsons Christmas Special") is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 17, 1989. Intro ...

", " The Telltale Head", and "

Homer's Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

", and recorded lines as

for "The Telltale Head" and " Some Enchanted Evening" (but was dubbed over in the latter). Along with several other early ''Simpsons'' voice actors, he left during the first season.

Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, ...

took over the voice of Moe, while

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

assumed the role of Mr. Burns. In a 2018 interview with '' GQ'', Azaria commented on replacing Collins as Moe, saying that he did not find out until years later that he had replaced another actor. Azaria said that when he asked why he had replaced Collins, he was told by

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

, "He (Collins) was great... He was just a dick. His voice was great, he was just kind of jerky to everyone." Azaria continued, "Think about how awful—that guy could have been on ''The Simpsons'' his whole life. Lesson to you kids: Always be nice!"

Live action

Later in the 1980s, he adopted the stage name of Christopher Collins and acted in many live-action television series and motion pictures. In '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', he played

Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...

Captain Kargan in the episode "

A Matter of Honor "A Matter of Honor" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', the 34th episode overall, first broadcast on February 6, 1989. The teleplay is written by ...

" and Pakled Captain Grebnedlog in the episode " Samaritan Snare". In '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', he portrayed two different Markalians: Durg in " The Passenger", and an unnamed assistant to The Albino in " Blood Oath". In '' Married... with Children'', he played Roger, one of Al Bundy's bowling buddies and a member of NO MA'AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood). He portrayed a mugger on an episode of '' Seinfeld'' titled " The Subway". He appears as Mr. Forbes in a first-season episode of '' NYPD Blue'' titled "Abandando Abandoned". His first live-action feature film appearance is a bit part as the sharing husband in the film '' Road House''. He appeared in ''

True Identity ''True Identity'' is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Charles Lane and starring Lenny Henry, Frank Langella and Anne-Marie Johnson. The plot revolves around a black man (Henry), who disguises himself as a white man to escape the mob. Plo ...

'', '' Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'', '' Blue Desert'', and ''

A Stranger Among Us ''A Stranger Among Us'' is a 1992 American crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Melanie Griffith. It tells the story of an undercover police officer's experiences in a Hasidic community. It was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film F ...

''. On April 28, 2012, Collins was posthumously inducted into the Transformers Hall of Fame. His daughter Abigail accepted on his behalf.

Personal life

Collins married twice and had three children. Early in his career, he divided his time between New York, Boston, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

before settling in L.A. in 1983. In 1991, he moved to

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...

. In an interview,

Flint Dille Flint Dille (born November 3, 1955) is an American screenwriter, game designer and novelist. He is best known for his animated work on ''Transformers'', '' G.I. Joe'', '' An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'', and his game-writing, '' The Chronicl ...

recalled: Comedian Marc Maron described Collins in a 2021 podcast as "just like this monster, like he was a...drugs and booze and weird and just...creepy."

Death

Collins was diagnosed with cerebral hemorrhage in April 1992, but stated he would continue to work on ''

'' for as long as he was able to. He died on June 12, 1994, at the age of 44, due to complications of the hemorrhage.

Filmography

*'' Star Blazers'' (1979, TV Series) – Comet Empire General Dire / Sergeant Knox *'' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' (1983, TV Mini-Series) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho /

Breaker Breaker may refer to: Objects * A breaking wave on water, or a "breaker", a shallow over which waves break * Circuit breaker, an electrical overload switch * Breaker (hydraulic), a percussion hammer attached to an excavator People * Breaker Mo ...

/ Steeler (voice) *'' Pac-Man'' (1983, TV Series) – (voice) *'' Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1983, TV Series) – Beetle / Sandman (voice) *'' The Transformers'' (1984–1987, TV Series) – Starscream / Wheeljack / Sparkplug Witwicky / Laserbeak / Buzzsaw / Reflector / Defensor / Furg / Krunk (voice) *'' G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra'' (1984, TV Mini-Series) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / Ripper (voice) *''

Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines ''Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines'' is a 1985 American animated TV mini-series that aired on the animated half-hour TV series '' Super Sunday'' and '' Super Saturday'' containing 9 segments that ran for 6 minutes each weekend, along with '' Jem'', ...

'' (1985) – Adrian Ravenscrodr / Ernie Slye (voice) *'' The Transformers: The Movie'' (1986, TV Series) – Starscream / Laserbeak (voice, uncredited) *'' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' (1985, TV Series) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / Breaker / Steeler / Ripper / Horrorshow / Frostbite (voice) *'' Inhumanoids'' (1986, TV Series) – D'Compose / Tendril / Statesman Granahue (voice) *''The Blinkins: The Bear and the Blizzard'' (1986, TV Movie) – Slime (voice) *''Inhumanoids: The Movie'' (1986) – D'Compose / Granahue / Tendril (voice) *'' G.I. Joe: The Movie'' (1987) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / Ripper (voice) *'' Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light'' (1987, TV Series) – Darkstorm / Cravex / Falkama (voice) *'' The Real Ghostbusters'' (1987–1990, TV Series) – Sammy K. Ferret (voice) *'' This Is America, Charlie Brown'' (1988, TV Mini-Series) – Sailor (voice) *'' Superman'' (1988, TV Series) – (voice) *'' Mr. Belvedere'' (1988, TV Series) – Tom *'' Mama's Family'' (1989, TV Series) – Larry McCary *'' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1989, TV Series) – Captain Grebnedlog and Captain Kargan *'' Road House'' (1989) – Sharing Husband *'' Anything But Love'' (1989, TV Series) – Charles *'' King Koopa's Kool Kartoons'' (1989, TV Series) – King Koopa *'' G.I. Joe: Operation Dragonfire'' (1989, TV Mini-Series) – Cobra Commander (voice, uncredited) *''

'' (1989–1990, TV Series) – Mr. Burns (voice) /

(voice) *'' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' (1990–1992, TV Series) – Cobra Commander (voice) *'' Blue Desert'' (1991) – Phone Man *''

Doogie Howser, M.D. ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' is an American medical sitcom that ran for four seasons on ABC from September 19, 1989, to March 24, 1993, totaling 97 episodes. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, the show stars Neil Patrick Harris in the ...

'' (1991, TV Series) – Mr. Stapleton *''

Rover Dangerfield ''Rover Dangerfield'' is a 1991 American animated musical comedy film starring the voice talent of comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who also wrote and co-produced the film. It is about a street dog named Rover, who is owned by a Las Vegas showgirl. ...

'' (1991) – Big Boss / Coyote / Sparky / Wolf / Horse (voice) *''

'' (1991) – Frank LaMotta *'' Danger Team'' (1991, TV Movie) – Truk (voice) *'' Seinfeld'' (1992, TV Series) – Thug *'' Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'' (1992) – Gang Member *''

'' (1992) – Chris Baldessari *''

The Golden Palace ''The Golden Palace'' is an American sitcom television series produced as a sequel to ''The Golden Girls,'' a continuation without Bea Arthur (though she did guest star in a double episode) that originally aired on CBS from September 1992 to M ...

'' (1992, TV Series) – Angel *'' Civil Wars'' (1992, TV Series) – P.J. Stone *'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1994, TV Series) – Guard and Durg *'' Married... with Children'' (1993–1994, TV Series) – Roger *'' NYPD Blue'' (1994, TV Series) – Paul Forbes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Christopher 1949 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American stand-up comedians Comedians from New York City Male actors from New Jersey Male actors from New York City New York University alumni People from Harlem People from Orange, New Jersey