Len Carlson (September 2, 1937 - January 26, 2006) was a Canadian voice actor who voiced various characters on many

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

from the 1960s to the 2000s, an occasional live-action TV actor, and a Kraft Canada TV pitchman during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a native of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

and a former professional athlete, playing baseball for a

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

before his acting career.

Career

He was the voice of Big Boss, Sundown and Mace on '' C.O.P.S.'', Senator Robert Kelly and the Supreme Intelligence on ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

'' (1992), Bert Raccoon and Pigs Two and Three in '' The Raccoons'' (and a voice director for the show from 1990 onwards), Putter from '' Popples'', Mr. Frumble, Mr. Gronkle, and Mayor Fox in '' The Busy World of Richard Scarry'', Professor Coldheart in ''

Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. They were turned into plush teddy bears and featured in ''The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings'' (1983) and ...

'' (1985), and '' Rocket Robin Hood'' in some of the third-season episodes. He was also the voice of Allo and Quackpot on the TV series, ''

Dinosaucers ''Dinosaucers'' is a 1987 animated television series co-produced in the United States and Canada; developed and produced by DIC Animation City in association with Lightyear Entertainment and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The show was created b ...

'' and he was the original voice of the

Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...

in ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' (1967), the voice of Ganon in ''

The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...

'' segments of '' The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'', and the voice of Buzz in the show ''

Cyberchase ''Cyberchase'' is an animated series, animated science fantasy children's television series that airs on PBS Kids. The series centers around three children from Earth: Jackie, Matt and Inez, who are brought into Cyberspace, a digital universe, i ...

'' (2002). Also, he was the voice of Sterling Überbucks, his brother Carling, his great grandfather Sterling Überrucks and his nephew Stewie on '' Roboroach'' (2002) and the title character in the short-lived '' Swamp Thing'' (1991) animated series. He also voiced all the male characters in two animated 1970s series ('' The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo'' and '' The Toothbrush Family''), was the voice of Ace the Seagull and Sharkey Shark in the children's TV series ''The Waterville Gang'' and did voices for movies including '' The Nutcracker Prince'', '' Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot'', '' The Great Defender of Fun'', and reindeer voices in the live-action feature ''

Blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

''. In addition to numerous contributions to animated television, Carlson was the voice of Kraft Canada advertisements for decades, as well as being the voice of the Jolly Green Giant, Canadian Tire, Kelloggs, and more. Carlson also contributed to creative projects, dramatically opening Canadian musician Lawrence Gowan's 1985 music video " A Criminal Mind". In his last years, Carlson was a regular on

Nelvana Nelvana Limited (; also known as Nelvana Enterprises, Nelvana International or Nelvana Digital; commonly known as Nelvana; stylized as "nelvana") is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment production company owned by Corus Entertainment s ...

-produced shows such as '' Rolie Polie Olie'', ''

'', '' Pecola'', '' Donkey Kong Country'', '' Medabots'', ''

Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American Gothic film, gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell (author), Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson (sc ...

'', and ''

Beyblade Beyblade (Japanese: ベイブレード ''Beiburēdo'') is a battling spinning top toyline and multimedia franchise developed by Takara Tomy. Beyblades were inspired by the old "beigoma" spinning tops in olden Asia. The first modern Beyblade was ...

'' as the main antagonist Gideon (season two).

Death

Carlson died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Keswick, Ontario, at the age of 68 on January 26, 2006. The '' Atomic Betty'' episode, "Takes One To Know One", the ''

'' episode "Ecohaven Ooze", and the '' Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks'' episode "Space Rangers!" were dedicated to his memory.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Eulogy by Kevin Gillis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Len 1937 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian voice directors Male actors from Edmonton Male actors from Ontario