Larry Kenney (born August 5, 1947) is an American voice actor and radio personality.

Early life

Larry Kenney was born August 5, 1947 in Pekin which is south of Peoria, Illinois, the son of George and Joyce Kenney. He has a brother, Steven, and a sister, Jody. He graduated from Pekin Community High School in Pekin. He attended Western Illinois University in Macomb, northwest of

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

but did not graduate.

Career

In 1963, Kenney began his radio career at the age of 15 as a disc jockey at WIRL in Peoria. After WIRL, he worked at WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana; WKYC (AM, now WTAM),

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Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

(1970–1973); WHN,

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; WYNY, New York City; WJJD (now WYLL),

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

; and WKHK (now WLTW), New York City until 1972. Kenney was part of the regular cast on the '' Imus in the Morning'' radio show from 1973 to 2007, where he recorded impersonations of dozens of characters including General George Patton, Andy Rooney, and Ross Perot. In 1973, Kenney joined 1050 WHN (now WEPN), a country music station in New York City. He originally announced for the afternoon drive-time show, before taking over the prestigious morning drive-time in 1974. His program was a hit, not only for the music, but also for his comical characters who "joined" him while he performed as a dj. '' Billboard'' named him Best Country Disc Jockey "at a station in a metropolitan area of one million or more" in 1976 and Best Country Music Personality in 1978. He stayed at WHN until the fall of 1979, when he moved to WYNY to host the morning slot for a year before moving to WKHK's (now WLTW) morning show. He was the host of the New York edition of the television show '' Bowling for Dollars'' on WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV) from 1976 to 1979. Kenney is also known for his voice work as Lion-O on the 1980s Rankin/Bass cartoon ''

ThunderCats ''ThunderCats'' is a media franchise, featuring a fictional group of cat-like humanoid aliens. The characters were created by Tobin Wolf and featured in an animated television series named ''ThunderCats'', running from 1985 to 1989, whic ...

'', and Karate Kat, a martial arts blackbelt cat featured as part of '' The Comic Strip''. He was the voice of Bluegrass in '' SilverHawks'' and Dolph in '' TigerSharks''.. Retrieved October 22, 2009. He did voice work for several breakfast cereal characters such as

Count Chocula Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and Sonny the Cuckoo Bird. Kenney reprised the role of Lion-O in ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'', and voiced the character's father Claudus in ''

'' (2011) and his mentor Jaga in '' ThunderCats Roar''. Kenney provided voice-overs for '' The State'', the 1990s sketch comedy cult classic which featured his daughter, Kerri Kenney. He was also the announcer for VH1's '' Best Week Ever'' during its run from 2004 to 2009; he provides introductions for Westwood One's radio coverage of '' Monday Night Football'' and various other commercial work including for Skittles and Campbell's soup. He was the announcer for The Beat 102.7 in the video game '' Grand Theft Auto IV'' and K.T.I. Radio in the '' L.A. Noire''. He did the voice for JB Cripps in '' Red Dead Online'', the online component of '' Red Dead Redemption 2''. In 2008, he was hired to do an impersonation of Mark Twain for a gala held by the Mark Twain House and Museum in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Personal life

He and his wife Carol Ann Jacobs Kenney have three children, daughters Kerri and Ashley, and son Tanner. Kerri, the eldest, is an actress, best known for her work on the series '' Reno 911!'' and '' The State''. Ashley works in the nonprofit sector and is the bassist and singer for the band Witch Hair from

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. Tanner was the voice of Agenda Caller in the video game '' Grand Theft Auto IV''. Larry and Carol Kenney live in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

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Interviews

Larry Kenney e-mail interview
(2000) on Thundercatslair.com
Larry Kenney interview
(2002) on Matt Blank website

(2008) on Thundercatslair.com
Larry Kenney
interview () with Rob Shan Lone on insomniacmania.com — transcript
"ThunderCat Has His Tongue"
(2009) with Don E. Smith Jr. on Cosmic Booknews {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenney, Larry 1947 births American game show hosts American impressionists (entertainers) Radio personalities from Illinois American male voice actors Game show announcers Living people Male actors from Peoria, Illinois People from Pekin, Illinois Male actors from Westport, Connecticut