James Andrew Boyd (November 11, 1933 – January 2, 2013) was an American actor.

Life and career

Boyd spent four years in the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

and studied at the

American Academy for Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related arts in the area ...

. He did voice work (along with

Wayland Flowers Wayland Parrott Flowers Jr. (November 26, 1939 – October 11, 1988) was an American actor, comedian and puppeteer. Flowers was best known for the comedy act he created with his puppet Madame. His performances as "Wayland Flowers and Madam ...

and

Cleavon Little Cleavon Jake Little (June 1, 1939 – October 22, 1992) was an American stage, film and television actor. He began his career in the late 1960s on the stage. In 1970, he starred in the Broadway production of '' Purlie'', for which he earned both ...

) for puppets on ''The Surprise Show'', a children's program that aired locally in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

area during the 1960s. The puppets used on the show, called Aniforms, had been developed by puppeteer Morey Bunin. In 1971, the

Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—includin ...

(now Sesame Workshop) contacted Boyd because it wanted to use Aniforms in a television show that became known as ''

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. ...

''. During the first season, Boyd's voice was used extensively, especially for the character J. Arthur Crank, who was just an angry voice on the telephone at the time. Boyd was unseen until season two, when he became a visibly regular cast member, appearing on-camera until the show stopped production in 1977. Other characters he played included Andy, Wolfman, Blue Beetle, Paul the Gorilla, Fred Baxter, Steve Awesome, and Lorelei Loverly. Boyd also appeared in the 1974 TV movie '' Out to Lunch'', a

production in which the Muppets and casts of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' and ''

'' take over the

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

when the newsroom staff takes a lunch break. In 1993, Boyd played the role of Howard Turner in the TV series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. In 2006, he appeared in the TV documentary ''The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits'', talking about his experience on ''

'' in an interview. Boyd was the on-camera talent or voiceover talent for a number of industrial videos for a large body of corporate training and communication videos during the 1990s.

Death

Boyd died on January 2, 2013, following a short illness.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* * 1933 births 2013 deaths American male voice actors American sketch comedians United States Air Force airmen Male actors from Philadelphia Comedians from Philadelphia American male comedians {{US-voice-actor-1930s-stub