David "Dave" Seville is a fictional character, the adoptive father and producer and manager of the fictional singing group ''

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as the Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for Novelty records in ...

''. The character was created by

Ross Bagdasarian Ross S. Bagdasarian (; January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972), known professionally by his stage name David "Dave" Seville, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor best known for creating the virtual band, cartoon band Al ...

, who had used the name "David Seville" as his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

prior to the creation of the Chipmunks, while writing and recording

novelty records Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

in the 1950s. One of the records, recorded in 1958 under the David Seville stage name, was "

Witch Doctor A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor), or witchcraft doctor, is a kind of magical healer who treats ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is often misunderstood, and they could more accurately be called "anti-witch doctors ...

", featuring a sped-up high-pitched vocal technique. Bagdasarian would later use that technique in "

The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" is a 1958 novelty Christmas carol written and recorded by Ross Bagdasarian (under the stage name of David Seville). Bagdasarian sang the Christmas carol, varying the tape speeds to produce high-pitc ...

", which would introduce both Alvin and the Chipmunks as a singing group and Bagdasarian's

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

"Dave". Bagdasarian would go on to create ''

The Alvin Show ''The Alvin Show'' is an American animated television series that aired on CBS in the early 1960s. This was the first series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks. ''The Alvin Show'' aired for one season, from October 4, 19 ...

'', based on the Alvin and the Chipmunks group, where he voiced the semi-fictional character David Seville, based largely on himself, with Alvin based on Ross's sometimes rebellious son Adam. Ross Bagdasarian Jr. took over ownership

Bagdasarian Productions Bagdasarian Productions (also credited as Bagdasarian Company) is an American production company founded by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. (also known as David Seville) on February 20, 1961. The company holds the rights to Alvin and the Chipmunks and re ...

when his father died in 1972. He reprised the David Seville character, first in a series of novelty albums beginning with 1980's ''

Chipmunk Punk ''Chipmunk Punk'' is an album by the Chipmunks, as well as being the first album released by Ross Bagdasarian Jr., after he took over the voices of the Chipmunks after the death of his father in 1972. Despite the title of the album, none of the ...

''. Bagdasarian Jr. subsequently assumed the role on the TV series ''

'', which ran in original episodes from 1983 to 1990. Bagdasarian Jr. has voiced David Seville in all official animated and recorded incarnations of David Seville since taking over for his father in the 1970s, including TV series, animated specials, and

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

productions. He most recently voiced the character in the 2015 TV show version of the ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' television series. Actor

Jason Lee Jason Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and former professional skateboarder. He is known for playing Earl Hickey in the television comedy series ''My Name Is Earl'', for which he was nominated for ...

also portrays David Seville in the live-action films, ''

'' (2007), '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel'' (2009), '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked'' (2011) and '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip'' (2015) which use a combination of live-action acting and

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

. While Ross Bagdasarian Jr. does not do any voices for the film series, the films are all produced in association with Bagdasarian Productions, which owns the rights to all of the characters.

Portrayed by

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links