Townsend Putnam Coleman III (born May 28, 1954)[1] is an American voice actor who has performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s. Among his most notable roles are Michaelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,[2] Wayne Gretzky on ProStars, Jason Whittaker in Adventures in Odyssey and the title characters in Where's Wally? and The Tick.
Townsend Coleman | |
|---|---|
 Coleman at Animate! Columbus in 2024 | |
| Born | Townsend Putnam Coleman III May 28, 1954 New York City, New York, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Voice actor, DJ |
| Years active | 1974–present |
Early life
editTownsend Putnam Coleman III was born in New York City, New York, but his family relocated to Denver, Colorado in 1955.[3]
Career
editEarly work
editColeman was a disc jockey for WGCL in Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1970s. This included the weekend of July 7–8, 1979, when that radio station presented his own take on American Top 40 after the station's refusal to air the "Top 40 Disco Songs" special for that weekend.
In the same period, Coleman appeared in several plays through Jerry Leonard's Heights Youth Theater ensemble. The plays were staged at Wiley Junior High School in University Heights, Ohio – just down the road from John Carroll University. Other famous performers who appeared in Leonard's plays include the actress Carol Kane.
Shortly before becoming a voice actor, he hosted a pair of dance shows for local television stations: We're Dancin' at WNEW in New York City (now WNYW) and The Dance Show at WSB-TV in Atlanta.[4][5]
Voice acting
editColeman's career as a voice actor took off in the 1980s when, having recently moved to Los Angeles, he auditioned for the role of Corporal Capeman on Inspector Gadget. He also portrayed Riot on Jem, Gobo in the animated version of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock, Scott Howard on the animated Teen Wolf and many others. In TV commercials, he was the 7-Up "Spot", Keebler Elves, and Raid Bugs. Coleman has also been the voice of NBC commercials for programs such as Must See TV and The Tonight Show since the early 1990s. Coleman has also provided the voice for Jason Whittaker on the Focus on the Family radio drama Adventures in Odyssey since 1994. He also voiced the Autobot Mini-Cassette Rewind on the Transformers cartoon series (1986) and provided the voice of Colt in Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.
From 1987 to 1996, Coleman voiced Michelangelo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Coleman also provided the voice for The Tick in the 1994 cartoon series, for which he received an Annie Award nomination. Coleman performed a wide range of voices in King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow, including Vizier Abdul Alhazred, Shamir Shamazel, Lord Azure, Ferryman, Beast and the Minotaur.
Coleman returned to the Transformers franchise by voicing Sentinel Prime in the Transformers Animated series. The character was designed to look like The Tick, as confirmed by the writers of the show at Botcon 2008, Coleman also currently provided the voice of Neddy the Mallet in the Cartoon Network series, Mighty Magiswords. Neddy's mannerisms on the show are based on The Tick which led to him being acquired the role. According to the creator Kyle Carrozza, Neddy was Townsend's first original cartoon role in years.
Recently, he also returned to the Tick franchise in the 2017 series on Amazon Prime, voicing the ex-superhero dog Midnight.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Black Moon Rising | Waiter | Live action |
| The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure | Eliab, Fox Soldier #2 | Television film | |
| The Amazing Adventures of Inspector Gadget | Cpl. Capeman | ||
| 1987 | Alice Through the Looking Glass | Tom Fool[6] | Television film |
| 1988 | Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears | Zor One | |
| 1992 | FernGully: The Last Rainforest | Knotty[6] | |
| 1998 | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero | Additional voices | Direct-to-video |
| Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night | Father Joseph(speaking voice) | ||
| 2000 | The Crippled Lamb | Samuel, Daniel, Joseph | Television film |
| 2007 | Superman: Doomsday | Drill Operator[6] | Direct-to-video |
| 2008 | Justice League: The New Frontier | Will Magnus[6] | |
| 2013 | Batman: The Dark Knight Returns | Morrie[6] | |
| Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite | Commissioner Gordon | ||
| 2016 | Sing | Additional Voices | |
| 2018 | The Grinch | Additional Voices | |
| 2019 | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | The F.B.I. Intro Announcer (voice) | uncredited |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Inspector Gadget | Corporal Capeman Sweetly | |
| 1986 | The Transformers | Mini-Cassette Rewind, Martin | |
| 1986–1987 | Teen Wolf | Scott Howard / Teen Wolf | |
| 1987–1996 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Michaelangelo, Rat King, Krang, Shredder, Usagi Yojimbo, Rahzar, Screwloose Splinter, Burne Thompson, Jerry Spiegel, Electrozapper, Dalton Dumpsky, Fritz |
|
| 1987 | Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series | Gobo Fraggle, Architect Doozer | 13 episodes[6] |
| 1988 | Jem and the Holograms | Rory "Riot" Llewelyn | |
| 1988 | Superman | Teenage Clark Kent, Ted Kline | |
| 1989 | Ring Raiders | Yasu Yakamura | |
| 1990 | TaleSpin | Turkey Client, Newsreel Announcer | Episode: "From Here to Machinery" |
| 1991 | Darkwing Duck | Patrick | Episode: "Whiffle While You Work" |
| 1991 | Where's Wally? | Waldo | |
| 1991–1992 | Space Cats | Scratch | |
| 1992 | Batman: The Animated Series | Chick[6] | Episode: "It's Never Too Late" |
| 1994–1996 | The Tick | The Tick[6] | |
| 1995–1996 | Timon & Pumbaa | Vulture Police, Purplest Stupidest Pirate | |
| 1995–1997 | Spider-Man | Silvermane (Young)[6] | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series | Canard | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Superman: The Animated Series | Programmer, Captain, Co-Pilot, Death Fist Ninja[6] | 4 episodes |
| 1997–1999 | The New Batman Adventures | Rocco, Mugsy | 2 episodes[6] |
| 1997–1998 | Pinky and the Brain | Hal Slug, FBI Agent, Les Tarr, Bobby Fenster, Bryce Wallace, Bobby Bob Yokel[6] | 8 episodes |
| 1998 | Animaniacs | Pressberg Katzeneisnerman[6] | Episode: "Hooray for North Hollywood" |
| 1998 | I Am Weasel | Hector, Prisoner[6] | Episode: "I Stand Corrected" |
| 1998–2002 | The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries | Nerdy Kid, Mayor, Accountant[6] | 3 episodes |
| 1999–2000 | Batman Beyond | False-Face, Lieutenant[6] | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain | Claude Gristle[6] | Episode: "Hooray for Meat" |
| 2002 | Spy TV | Announcer | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Duck Dodgers | Superego Dodgers, Protectorate #2[6] | Episode: "A Lame Duck Mind" |
| 2007 | The Batman | Campus Guard[6] | Episode: "Seconds" |
| 2007–2009 | Transformers: Animated | Sentinel Prime, Tracks, News Bot, PA Voice[6] | 13 episodes |
| 2014–2017 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 80s Michelangelo, Clerk[6] | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | Hercules[6] | Episode: "The Tale of Hercules" |
| 2016–2018 | Mighty Magiswords | Neddy the Mallet, Bee Crown, Matt, Man #3, Giant Slug, Cricket, Red Herring, Galoot | [6] |
| 2017–2018 | The Tick | Midnight, Onward |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | King's Quest VI | Vizier Abdul Alhazred, Shamir Shamazel, Lord Azure | |
| 2007 | Mass Effect | Lord Darius, Rafael Vargas, Zabaleta | |
| 2012 | Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes | Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter, Commissioner Gordon, General Zod | |
| Spec Ops: The Line | Soldiers[6] | ||
| 2021 | Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl | Michelangelo[6] | Voiceover added in 2022 update |
| 2022 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge | Michelangelo, Rat King, Rahzar[6] | |
| 2022 | Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway | Michelangelo[6] | |
| 2023 | Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 | Michelangelo |
Radio
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–present | Adventures in Odyssey | Jason Whittaker | 131 episodes |
Announcer
edit- NBC advertising (1992–2009)
References
edit- ^ "Townsend Coleman at rottentomatoes.com". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ "Townsend Coleman Interview" Kidzworld.com. Retrieved on June 19, 2009.
- ^ "Talking Toons With Rob Paulsen: Episode 126 with Guest: Townsend Coleman". Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen, mixcloud.com. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ Wolcott, James (March 28, 1983). "A Priest Called Ralph". New York. New York City: New York Media, LLC. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ The Dance Show (February 12, 1984). "The Dance Show -2/12/1984 Episode 08 With Madonna Cicconne". archive.org. Internet Archive. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Townsend Coleman (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 20, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
External links
edit- Townsend Coleman at IMDb
- Townsend_Coleman at the Adventures in Odyssey Wiki