Michael Leslie Winslow (born September 6, 1958) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audienc ...

and beatboxer billed as The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects for his ability to make realistic sounds using only his voice. He is best known for his roles in all seven '' Police Academy'' films as Larvell Jones. He has also appeared in ''

Spaceballs ''Spaceballs'' is a 1987 American space opera parody film co-written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. It is primarily a parody of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, but also parodies other sci-fi films and popular franchises including ...

'', ''

Cheech and Chong's Next Movie ''Cheech and Chong's Next Movie'' is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Tommy Chong and the second feature-length project by Cheech & Chong, following '' Up in Smoke'', released by Universal Pictures. Plot Cheech & Chong are on a mission ...

'' and '' Nice Dreams'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'', and commercials for

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...

and

GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...

Early life

Winslow was born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

, the son of Verdie and Robert Winslow. He grew up at

Fairchild Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned ...

near Spokane, and later attended the Lisa Maile School of Acting, Modeling and Imaging. According to his own account, Winslow had few friends growing up. To pass time, he would imitate the sounds of engines, animals, flatulence, anything that made noise. Following high school and college he performed in nightclubs and theaters, where his sound imitation skills won him positive appraisal and enough money to move to and perform his act in Hollywood.

Career

His first television appearance was on ''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to ...

'' in which he squeezed in sound-alikes of

Benji Benji is a fictional character created by Joe Camp. He has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the ''Benji'' franchise. Benji is a small, lovable mixed-breed dog with an unc ...

the movie dog, ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's "

Purple Haze "Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967. The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Ea ...

". He is best known for his role as Larvell Jones in the '' Police Academy'' series of movies and TV shows. He was cast in the role after he was seen opening for

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

. In 1985,

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

released a 12" of Michael Winslow entitled "I Am My Own Walkman". The song peaked at number 60 in Australia. In 1986, Winslow presented the Best Sound Effects Editing Oscar to

Charles L. Campbell Charles L. Campbell (August 17, 1930 – June 21, 2013) was an American sound engineer who won three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing. He also served as Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) 1984-1987. Early l ...

and

Robert Rutledge Robert Rutledge (June 3, 1948 – October 15, 2001) was an American sound editor who won Best Sound Editing at the 1985 Academy Awards. He won for ''Back to the Future'', which was shared with Charles L. Campbell. He also did the sound on th ...

for their work on ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

''. In 1987, Winslow appeared as a radar operator in the movie ''

'', in which he performs all the sound effects himself during one scene. Mel Brooks (who wrote, directed, produced, and co-starred in the film), stated that by doing so, Winslow saved the film money. Winslow is also a motivational speaker. Since the fall of 2008, Winslow has hosted the motion-picture television series called "Way Back Wednesday with Winslow" on the cable

superstation ''Superstation'' (alternatively rendered as "super station" or informally as "SuperStation") is a term in North American broadcasting that has several meanings. Commonly, a "superstation" is a form of distant signal, a broadcast television sign ...

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that was owned by the Nexstar Media Group, and was the company's only wholly owned, national cable-originated television channel. The channel in its final form under the WGN branding ra ...

, which features movies mostly released in the 1980s. He continues to perform stand-up comedy around the globe. Michael Winslow debuted his own iPhone and

iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a musi ...

apps in 2010, bringing his sound effects and comedy to a mobile platform. ThatsKungFu generates Winslow's kung fu fighting sounds when the device is swung in a fighting motion. NoizeyMan, billed as the "World's Noiziest App", contains video, ringtones, sound effects, and mini games, all created by Winslow. In 2011, Winslow worked with

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

-based game development studio Phyken Media on a

mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone ( feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...

for iOS and Android platforms entitled ''Wizard Ops Chapter 1'', providing all the sound effects for the game. He also lent his voice on ''Wizard Ops Tactics'', a turn-based tactical game and spiritual successor to the previous game. He was also featured in a commercial for GEICO Insurance during their "we hired a celebrity" ad campaign. In 2021, Winslow auditioned for the sixteenth season of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribu ...

.'' Following the airing of his audition, he had a guest appearance on the Talent Recap Show where he showed viewers how to make some of his most signature noises. Winslow was eliminated during the semi-finals. In 2022, Winslow was heavily featured in a

videogamedunkey Jason Yevgeniy Gastrow (born January 30, 1991), known online as videogamedunkey or simply dunkey, is an American YouTuber known for his YouTube skits and video essays that blend crude humor with video game criticism. As of February 2022, Gastrow ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

video entitled Video Game Sound. This video brought Winslow's work to a broad audience of video game fans. Videogamedunkey has talked about Winslow since the start of his channel, seemingly being a fan.

Filmography

*'' Cheech & Chong's Next Movie'' (1980) as Welfare Comedian *''Underground Aces'' (1981) as Nate *'' Nice Dreams'' (1981) as Superman Nut *''

Space Stars ''Space Stars'' is a 60-minute Saturday morning animated program block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 12, 1981, to January 8, 1982. ''Space Stars'' was narrated by Keene Curtis and featured five carto ...

'' (1981) as Plutem (voice) *'' Tag: The Assassination Game'' (1982) as Gowdy *''

Heidi's Song ''Heidi's Song'' is a 1982 American animated musical film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the 1881 novel ''Heidi'' by Johanna Spyri. The film was directed by Robert Taylor from a screenplay by Taylor, Joseph Barbera and Jameson ...

'' (1982) as Mountain (voice) *'' Police Academy'' (1984) as Cadet Larvell Jones *'' Alphabet City'' (1984) as Lippy *''

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice ...

'' (1984) as Mogwai / Gremlins (voice) *'' Grandview, U.S.A.'' (1984) as Spencer *''

Lovelines ''Lovelines'' is the posthumous thirteenth studio album by American music duo Carpenters, the second Carpenters album released after the death of Karen Carpenter. It was released in 1989 and is a compilation album assembled by Richard Carpent ...

'' (1984) as J.D *'' Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment'' (1985) as Officer Larvell Jones *'' Starchaser: The Legend of Orin'' (1985) (voice) *'' Police Academy 3: Back in Training'' (1986) as Sgt. Larvell Jones *'' Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol'' (1987) as Sgt. Larvell Jones *''

'' (1987) as Radar Technician *' (West Germany, 1987) as Walker *'' Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach'' (1988) as Sgt. Larvell Jones *'' Starke Zeiten'' (West Germany, 1988) as Mike *'' Buy & Cell'' (1988) as Sly *' (West Germany, 1988) as Ronny *'' Police Academy 6: City Under Siege'' (1989) as Sgt Larvell Jones *'' Think Big'' (1989) as Hap *''

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

'' (1990, TV series) (voice) *''

Far Out Man ''Far Out Man'' is a 1990 American comedy film written, directed by and starring Tommy Chong. Plot An aging hippie goes on a road trip in search of his long lost family. He meets up with his son (Paris Chong, Tommy's real-life son). Together th ...

'' (1990) as Airport Cop *''Going Under'' (1990) as Reporter *'' Extralarge'' (1993, TV series) (with

Bud Spencer Carlo Pedersoli (31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016), known professionally as Bud Spencer, was an Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player. He was known for action-comedy and Spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partn ...

) as Dumas *'' Police Academy: Mission to Moscow'' (1994) as Sgt Larvell Jones *''Be Cool about Fire Safety'' (1995, TV) *'' Police Academy: The Series'' TV Series (1997–1998) as Sgt. Larvelle Jones *''Lycanthrope'' (1999) as Lee Davis *''Michael Winslow Live'' (1999) as Michael Winslow *''The Blur of Insanity'' (1999) as Horner's Friend 2 *''He Outta Be Committed'' (2000) as Jeremy *'' The Trumpet of the Swan'' (2001) as Chief (voice) *'' The Biggest Fan'' (2002) as Officer Man *'' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' (2004) as Pedestrian (voice) *'' Lenny the Wonder Dog'' (2005) as John Wyndham *''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The write ...

'' (2006) as Sgt. Larvell Jones *'' The Great Buck Howard'' (2008) as Michael Winslow *''Redirecting Eddie'' (2008) as Vaughn *''

RoboDoc ''RoboDoc'' is a 2008 American science fiction comedy film that is distributed by National Lampoon. The comedy was written by two medical doctors, brothers Doug and Scott Gordon M.D., and directed by Stephen Maddocks and co-produced by Donald ...

'' (2009) as Dr. Murphy *'' The History of the Typewriter recited by Michael Winslow'' (2010) as Himself *'' Tosh.0'' (2010) as Himself *''Blunt Movie'' (2013) as Coach Al Jefferson *'' Gingerclown'' (2013) as Stomachcrumble *''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'' (July 29, 2013, Comedy Sketch: ''The Michael Winslow Car Alarm'' & Musical Sit-In Guest) as Himself *'' Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!'' (2015) as Brian Jonesy Jones *''

Lavalantula ''Lavalantula'' is an American 2015 science fiction comedy horror thriller television film that takes place after a series of volcanic eruptions in Los Angeles unleashes a swarm of gigantic, lava-breathing tarantulas from which the film draws ...

'' (2015) as Marty *''Enter the Fist and the Golden Fleece'' (2016) as The Argonaut *'' Characterz'' (2016) as Police Detective *''2 Lava 2 Lantula'' (2016) as Marty *''

The Jack and Triumph Show ''The Jack and Triumph Show'' is a television sitcom from Universal Television for Adult Swim that premiered on February 20, 2015, and ended on April 3, 2015, with a total of 7 episodes. The live-action series was created by Robert Smigel, Michae ...

'' (2015) as Himself *''Renaissance Man'' (2016) as Mike *''Hospital Arrest'' (2016) as Judge Collaway *''

Killing Hasselhoff ''Killing Hasselhoff'' is a 2017 American action comedy film directed by Darren Grant, and starring Ken Jeong and David Hasselhoff. The film was released on DVD and digital platforms on August 29, 2017. Plot A man, who is down on his luck, attemp ...

'' (2017) as Himself *''Game Changer'' (2020) as himself (season 3) *''

'' (2021) as Himself (season 16) *''Todd'' (2021) as Jake *'' Video Game Sound'' (2022) as Himself

References

External links

*
Agency profile
*
Interview with Heeb Magazine, August 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winslow, Michael 1958 births 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century African-American people Living people American male film actors African-American male comedians American male comedians American male voice actors Male actors from Spokane, Washington African-American male actors American male television actors America's Got Talent contestants