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Michael Bell (born July 30, 1938) is an American actor who is most active in voice over roles. He has acted in video games and animated series, including '' Legacy of Kain'', '' The Transformers'', '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', '' The Houndcats'', '' Rugrats'', '' The Smurfs'', '' The Incredible Hulk'', and '' Snorks'' and appeared on-screen in film and television, including the TV programs ''
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
'' and ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
''.


Early life

Michael Bell was born on July 30, 1938, in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York, to a Jewish family.


Career


Live-action roles

His live action film career has included roles in films such as '' Thunder Alley'' (1967), ''
Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
'' (1968), '' The Proud Rider'' (1971) '' Brother John'' (1971), '' Rollercoaster'' (1977), ''
Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...
'' (1979), '' How to Beat the High Cost of Living'' (1980) and '' C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.'' (1989). Bell also appeared in live-action exploitation shorts and PSAs - scare films made in California during the early 1960s, ranging in content from venereal disease (''Damaged Goods'') to psychedelic drug abuse (''Trip To Where''). He appeared in the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' pilot episode, " Encounter at Farpoint", as Bandi administrator Groppler Zorn, and in the '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episodes " The Homecoming" as a Bajoran and in " The Maquis." Bell appeared in multiple episodes of ''
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
'' as Les Crowley during the 1980–81 season, in '' M*A*S*H'' in the episode "Souvenirs" as Willie Stratton and also guest starred in two episodes of '' Three's Company'' as Rama Mageesh and Michael, a sleazy dance instructor in the sixth-season episode "Some of That Jazz" (1981). Bell played Bill Duncan, Sabrina ( Kate Jackson)'s ex-husband on '' Charlie's Angels'', as well as appearing as King Edward Spencer on Jackson's series '' Scarecrow and Mrs. King''. In 1970, he appeared in an episode of ''
The Silent Force ''The Silent Force'' is the third studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released on 15 November 2004, by GUN Records. On 5 August 2008, ''The Silent Force'' along with ''Mother Earth (Within Temptation album), Mother Eart ...
''.


1970s and 1980s voice work

Bell had an important part in animated entertainment in the 1970s and 1980s. His first voice role was that of Stutz, the leader of '' The Houndcats''. In 1973, he was Mark on the
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
series '' Speed Buggy''. He voiced Redbeard the Pirate's Ghost in '' The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' episode "The Ghostly Creep from the Deep" as the second Redbeard themed monster in Scooby-Doo. Bell also reprised Mark on the same cartoon in the episode "Weird Winds of Winona". From 1977 to 1984, Michael Bell played two of his best-known roles, Zan and Gleek on various '' Super Friends'' incarnations. He also voiced
The Riddler The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in O ...
on '' Challenge of the Superfriends''. He also provided the voice of Lex Luthor as a young man, in the episode "History of Doom". However, Stan Jones was the voice of the adult Luthor throughout the series. Bell later played Luthor in the 1988 ''
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
'' series. He was also Doctor Ben Cooper in '' Jana of the Jungle'' and in 1979, he voiced the title character of '' The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'' and later made a guest appearance as Doctor Octopus in another superhero show, '' Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends''. Outside of animation, Bell performed on records and commercials, including the Young Man in
A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
' ''Story of Halloween Horror'' album in 1977, and Parkay Margarine and Mug Root Beer ads. Bell provided the overdubbing of Peter Criss' dialogue in the band KISS's TV movie '' KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park''. In 1980, he provided the voice of the title character in ''The B.B. Beegle Show'', an unsold TV show pilot that featured puppets. Throughout the 1980s, Michael Bell starred in four hit animated series; * as Grouchy Smurf, Lazy Smurf,
Handy Smurf This is a list of '' The Smurfs'' characters appearing in the original comics, the 1980s cartoon and the 2011 movie (as well as its sequels), and the 2021 reboot. The Smurfs were also sold as collectible toys, and many of these characters w ...
and Johan in '' The Smurfs'' * as Prowl, Scrapper, Sideswipe, Bombshell,
First Aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...
, Swoop, Gort, Brainstorm and Doctor Fujiyama in '' The Transformers'' and '' The Transformers: The Movie'' * as
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
, Xamot, Blowtorch and numerous others in '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' and '' G.I. Joe: The Movie'' * as Lance & Sven in '' Voltron: Defender of the Universe''. He also starred in the 1982 animated series '' The Incredible Hulk''. The Hulk was voiced by Bob Holt, while his human side, Bruce Banner, was played by Bell. In a 2004 interview, he joked about how Bob Holt would be annoyed that he was growling his throat out while Bell got the easier stuff. During this time, the actor also played Hiro Taka on '' Spiral Zone'' and Allstar Seaworthy on '' The Snorks'' (1984-1989)


Later voice work

Bell continues to work in animation in the 1990s and into the 21st century in movies and television, with roles such as Quackerjack from
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's '' Darkwing Duck'', Aziz on ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...
'' and Ezekiel Rage on '' The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest''. He was also featured as Opus in the Bloom County television special ''A Wish for Wings That Work''. From 1991 to 2004, in the '' Rugrats'' and '' All Grown Up!'', he voiced three of the main characters' parents; Drew Pickles, Charles Finster Sr., and Boris Kropotkin. Bell did the voices of Drake on '' W.I.T.C.H.'', Max Hauser, Duke's Dad on '' G.I. Joe: Renegades'', Willy Wachowski on '' Handy Manny'' and additional roles in '' Tangled'' (2010). In 2018, Bell reprised his role as Quackerjack on the reboot of ''
DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...
''.


Video game voice work

He is also a prolific voice in video games, which include '' Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'', '' Diablo II: Lord of Destruction'', '' Age of Empires III,'' ''
Baldur's Gate ''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The series has been divided into two sub-series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both t ...
,'' '' Ratchet & Clank'', the character Dark Fact in the game '' Ys I & II'', and the character Raziel in three games in the '' Legacy of Kain'' series, among many others. He also plays the Fear in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.


Documentary narration

He narrated the documentary programs ''
Earth's Fury ''Earth's Fury'' (also known as ''Anatomy of Disaster'' outside the United States) is an American documentary television series that ran on The Learning Channel from February 24, 1997 to November 17, 1998. Produced by GRB Entertainment, each ep ...
'' (also known as ''Anatomy of Disaster'' internationally), ''Expeditions to the Edge'', ''Bullet Catchers'' and ''Mysteries of Asia'', while he narrated some episodes of '' E! True Hollywood Story''.


Stage roles

In 1983, he and his future wife Victoria Carroll opened The West End Playhouse in Van Nuys. The two of them organized, wrote, directed, and acted in dozens of productions. One of the most notable was ''The Ladies of the Camillias'' in which Bell played the villain Ivan and Victoria starred as Madame Sarah Bernhardt. The play won multiple Drama Logue Awards. He served as the theater's director until 1988, when by mutual agreement to devote more time to their child, Bell and Carroll sold the theater to Edmund Gaynes and Pamela Hall.


Voice director

Bell was the voice director for '' Kidd Video'', '' Peter Pan and the Pirates'', as well as the web series '' The LeBrons''.


Union activism

On March 30, 2012, the
Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
(SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) completed a merger of equals forming a new union SAG-AFTRA. As a result of this merger, a group of actors including Bell, fellow voice actors Wendy Schaal,
Clancy Brown Clarence James Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. His film roles include Rawhide in ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Ban ...
, Schaal's former stepmother Valerie Harper, and other actors including former SAG President Edward Asner,
Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...
,
Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Awa ...
and Nancy Sinatra immediately sued against the current SAG President
Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in ''1776'' (1972) and as high school basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the televisi ...
and several SAG Vice Presidents to overturn the merger and separate the (now merged) two unions because of their claims that the election was improper. The lawsuit was dropped by the plaintiffs several months later.


Inventor

In 1991, he and his colleague Melanie Chartoff conceived the Grayway Rotating Drain, a graywater recycling device for reuse of shower and sink water in the home. The following year, they finished and patented the product with the help of Ronald K. Ford.


Personal life

Bell has been married to actress Victoria Carroll since 1984. Together they have a daughter, Ashley Bell, who is also an actress. He is an
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
activist. He is the godfather of actor Steve Guttenberg, who cites Bell as his inspiration to become an actor. Bell served on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Local of
SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
in 2016 until 2019.


Filmography


Film


Live-action


Animated


Television


Live-action


Animation


Video games


Crew work


Voice director

* ''
Kidd Video'' - Casting and voice director * '' Peter Pan and the Pirates'' - Voice director * '' The LeBrons''


References


External links

* *
Michael Bell
at http://www.voicechasers.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Michael 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male actors 1938 births American casting directors American inventors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American voice directors Hanna-Barbera people Jewish American male actors Living people Male actors from Brooklyn