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Tom Kenny

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For other people named Tom Kenny, seeTom Kenny (disambiguation).

Tom Kenny
Kenny in 2022
Born
Thomas James Kenny

(1962-07-13)July 13, 1962(age 62)
Syracuse, New York,U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active1981–present
WorksRoles and awards
Spouse
​
(m.1996)​
[1]
Children2
Kenny's speaking voice
On the conception of themusical adaptationofSpongeBob SquarePants

Thomas James Kenny(born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. Since 1999, he has voicedthe titular characterinSpongeBob SquarePantsand associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, includingHeffer WolfeinRocko's Modern Life,theIce KinginAdventure Timeand its spinoffFionna and Cake,the Narrator and Mayor inThe Powerpuff Girls,Carl Chryniszzswics inJohnny Bravo,Dog inCatDog,Hank and Jeremy inTalking Tom and Friends,The Penguinin various animated media based onDC Comics,andSpyrofrom theSpyrovideo game series. His live action work includes the comedy variety showsThe EdgeandMr. Show.Kenny's accoladesinclude twoDaytime Emmy Awardsand twoAnnie Awardsfor his voice work as SpongeBob SquarePants and the Ice King. He is married to fellow voice artistJill Talley,who playsKarenonSpongeBob SquarePants,with two children.

Biography

Early life and stand-up comedy

Thomas James Kenny was born inSyracuse, New York,on July 13, 1962, and raised there. His parents were Theresa (néeDonigan) and Paul Kenny.[2][3]As a young child, in the late 1960s and the 1970s, he loved drawing and collecting record albums. Kenny metBobcat Goldthwaitin first grade and they became lifelong friends.[4]In their mid-teens, they saw an ad for an open-mic night atSkaneatelesthat featured comedianBarry Crimminswith the moniker "Bear Cat". He and Goldthwait went to the event, and performed under the monikers Tomcat and Bobcat, respectively, as a tribute to Crimmins, after which Goldthwait used Bobcat as his stage name.[5][6][7]Describing Kenny's stand-up routines, Goldthwait said, "Tom would get up there and talk about his therapist and he didn't even have a therapist, he just lovedWoody Allen."[8]

Kenny went toBishop Grimes Junior/Senior High School,a Catholic high school.[9]After college, he performed stand-up comedy around the country for about eight years before he moved on to other venues.[7]

Television and film career

See also:List of roles and awards of Tom Kenny

Kenny has acted in many films and TV shows, debuting inHow I Got into College(1989) and later appeared in films such asShakes the Clown[10](1991) andComic Book: The Movie(2004). On television, he would host the "Music News" segments ofFriday Night Videosin the early 1990s. He appeared in sketch comedy showsThe Edgewhich aired on Fox from 1992 to 1993, andMr. Showwhich aired on HBO from 1995 to 1998, both roles in the show were as a regular cast member. He appears in the live-action segments ofSpongeBob SquarePantsasPatchy the Pirate,appeared onR. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Serieson theseason four episode,"Uncle Howee" as Uncle Howee, a high-energy kids' show host with strange powers.

Voice acting

Kenny at the 2015 Florida SuperCon

Kenny said that he voices "a lot of sweet yellow characters for some reason."[11]He describedSpongeBob'svoice as in between that of a child and an adult, stating "Think aStan Laurel,Jerry Lewiskind of child-man. Kind of like aMunchkinbut not quite, kind of like a kid, but not in aCharlie Brownchild's voice on the TV shows. "[12]

Joe Murrayauditioned Kenny for voice acting roles forRocko's Modern Lifein acasting callin Los Angeles, California.[13]On one occasion, the producers required Kenny to fill the role ofCharlie Adler,who was absent. He voices Cupid for the Nickelodeon showThe Fairly OddParents.[14]

Joe Murray chose Kenny for several roles on another of his projects,Camp Lazloas Scoutmaster Lumpus and Slinkman, because Murray, after seeing Kenny's previous work forRocko's Modern Life,felt that Kenny "adds writing to his roles" and "brings so much".[15]

He voiced Dog inCatDog,as well as the voice of Cliff. He voices many characters inThe Powerpuff Girls,including the Mayor, the Narrator, Mitch Mitchelson, Snake and Little Arturo from the Gangreen Gang, Rainbow the Clown, etc. He voiced Eduardo and various other characters inFoster's Home For Imaginary Friends,Dr. Two-Brains in thePBS Kidsshow,WordGirl,and the villains Knightbrace, the Common Cold and Mr. Wink inCodename: Kids Next Door.

Kenny is thePenguinin the 2004 TV seriesThe Batman.

He voiced the character Squanchy onRick and Morty.[16]

Kenny atNew York Comic Conin 2014

He plays a number of roles in theTransformers AnimatedTV show. A few of the characters he voices in this series areStarscreamand his clones, Isaac Sumdac andWaspinator.Kenny also voicedseveral characterson the animated showXiaolin Showdown,as well as theAutobotsSkidsandWheeliein the live-actionTransformersfilm series.OnDilbert,Kenny voiced Ratbert, Asok, Dilbert's shower, and some minor characters. He played Mr. Hal Gibson in the animated kids showSuper Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force GO!.

In 2009, Kenny became a regular cast voice in the Fox comedy seriesSit Down, Shut Up.He voices Muhammad Sabeeh "Happy" Fa-ach Nuabar, the secretive custodian who is plotting a terrorist attack, as well as Happy's interpreter. The series premiered on April 19, 2009.Kenan Thompson,Kristin Chenoweth,Jason Bateman,Nick Kroll,Cheri Oteri,Henry Winkler,Will Arnett,andWill Forteare the other main cast members.[17]

He plays theIce Kingand Magic Man onAdventure Time.In 2011, Kenny took over the role ofRabbitfromKen SansominWinnie the Pooh.From 2012 to 2014, Kenny voiced Woody Johnson onComedy Central'sBrickleberry.He voiced various characters in the Cartoon Network programmeMixels,Sumo in the Cartoon Network programmeClarence,Daddo inHenry Hugglemonster,Dr. Otto OctaviusonThe Ultimate Spider-Man,and Leo Callisto inMiles from Tomorrowland.

He has also provided voices in television advertisements forBest Buy(as an elf for a Christmas spot),[18]Experian(as a talking modem alongsideDC Douglas),[19]and Talking Hank in theYouTubeweb seriesTalking Tom and Friends.[20]

In video games, Kenny is best known as the voice ofSpyro the Dragon,having replaced previous voice actorCarlos Alazraqui.He first voiced Spyro inSpyro 2: Ripto's Rage!,and continued to voice the character up untilSpyro: A Hero's Tail,where he was replaced byJess Harnell.He also voiced another character in the series, Sgt. James Byrd, inSpyro: Year of the Dragon.[21]He reprised both roles inSpyro Reignited Trilogy,a collection of modern remakes of the original Spyro trilogy.[22]He also voicedCrash Bandicootlive atE3 1997,switching out performances with Carlos Alazraqui.[23]

Kenny was a guest star onHarmonQuestas both himself and his "in-game character" Legnahcra themaître d'of Virtuous Harmony.[24]

He also voicedFethry Duckin the 2017 version ofDuckTales.In 2022, he voicedBenito Mussoliniand other characters inGuillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.

Kenny reprised his role as Ice King in the 2023 spinoff seriesAdventure Time: Fionna and Cake.

SpongeBob SquarePants

Main article:SpongeBob SquarePants
Kenny in 2010 atSan Diego Comic Con

While working on the animated seriesRocko's Modern Life,Kenny met marine biologist and animatorStephen Hillenburg.After the cancellation ofRocko's Modern Lifein 1996, Hillenburg began developing his own concept for an ocean-themed series, building off of his background in marine science. Hillenburg said that he wanted to base the show on his favorite animal, thesea sponge,"because it's a funny animal, a strange one."[25]To voice this character, Hillenburg approached Kenny in 1997.

The series, titledSpongeBob SquarePants,premiered onNickelodeonon May 1, 1999. It soon became a commercial success. Kenny plays various other characters on the show, including the live-action character Patchy the Pirate and the voices ofGary the Snail,the French Narrator (a parody ofJacques Cousteau), and SpongeBob's father (Harold SquarePants). In 2010, Kenny received theAnnie Awardfor "Voice Acting in a Television Production" for his role as SpongeBob inSpongeBob's Truth or Square(season 6, episode 23–24). He also voiced SpongeBob in thesequel filmreleased on February 6, 2015. In 2018 and 2020, he received theDaytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program.[26]

The television show celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019. In celebration, a television special was aired, titled"SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout".A notable scene includes each of the show's main characters' voice actors portraying live-action versions of their characters.[27]Although this was not the firstSpongebob Squarepantsepisode that blended animated sequences with live-action characters, it was indeed the first time that the characters' voice actors have all played a live-action scene all together.[28]The airing was recognized as honoring the show's creator Stephen Hillenburg, who had passed away one year earlier.[29]

Later in 2019, he was featured in the live recording of the Broadway musicalSpongeBob SquarePantsplaying the role of Patchy the Pirate.[30]

Super Bowl LVIII,which took place in 2024, was broadcast onCBS;the network's parent companyParamountalso ownsNickelodeon,the network that airsSpongebob Squarepants.As part of a plan to maximize the use of its broadcasting rights partnership with theNFL,Paramount decided to air an "alternative" Super Bowl telecast on Nickelodeon that was aimed to be more family-friendly.[31]The channel's website claimed that the broadcast was intended for "kids of all ages, from 2 to 102".[32]The broadcast on Nickelodeon was hosted byNate BurlesonandNoah Eaglein live-action, and accompanying them were Spongebob andPatrick.Tom Kenny and Patrick's voice actorBill Fagerbakkevoiced the characters in real-time, improvising their own jokes in-character, and also utilizedmotion capture.Kenny commented that the Nickelodeon airing allowed viewers who weren't football fans to still engage with the game.[33]

Personal life

Kenny first met his wifeJill Talleyin 1992 while working onThe Edge.The two have collaborated on many productions together, includingSpongeBob SquarePants(in which Talley voicesKaren Plankton).[34]They also both appeared in the music video for "Tonight, Tonight"byThe Smashing Pumpkins.They have two children, Mack (b. 1997) and Nora (b. 2003).[2][35]The Kennys live inStudio City, California.[36]

References

  1. ^"Jill Talley on Instagram:" Happy 25th wedding anniversary, Tom Kenny! I know I post the same photo every year but it 's still my fav! "".
  2. ^ab"Tom Kenny: Biography".TV Guide.Archived fromthe originalon December 31, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 21,2012.
  3. ^"Tom Kenny, voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, talks of local ties, life in Bikini Bottom".Times Leader.Archived fromthe originalon March 4, 2016.RetrievedJune 10,2015.
  4. ^"Tom Kenny Finds his Voice as SpongeBob SquarePants".backstage.Archivedfrom the original on September 11, 2017.RetrievedJune 22,2017.
  5. ^"Barry Crimmins's Life-Changing Comedy".The New Yorker.August 6, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on June 16, 2017.RetrievedJune 22,2017.
  6. ^"Louis C.K. directs CNY comedy legend Barry Crimmins' first-ever standup special".syracuse.October 24, 2016.Archivedfrom the original on September 11, 2017.RetrievedJune 21,2017.
  7. ^abWojciechowski, Michele (April 21, 2015)."Voice Artist Tom Kenny on Being SpongeBob SquarePants".Parade.Archivedfrom the original on August 17, 2016.RetrievedJuly 15,2016.
  8. ^Nieratko, Chris (September 3, 2015)."Bobcat Goldthwait's Latest Documentary Examines Child Sexual Abuse".Vice.Archivedfrom the original on September 19, 2016.RetrievedJuly 15,2016.
  9. ^"Tom Kenny—Sit Down Shut Up, The Batman, SpongeBob SquarePants—02/27/09".GrouchoReviews.Groucho Reviews.Archivedfrom the original on September 22, 2017.RetrievedJune 10,2015.
  10. ^Metro (February 2, 2015)."Interview: Tom Kenny talks voicing SpongeBob Squarepants and 'Mr. Show'".Metro New York.Archivedfrom the original on January 9, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 25,2021.
  11. ^Miller, Emily; Macchione, Elizabeth (June 14, 2003)."A discussion with Tom Kenny of 'SpongeBob Squarepants'".St. Augustine Record.Archived fromthe originalon February 2, 2016.
  12. ^"The Oral History of SpongeBob SquarePants".cartoonician.September 21, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on August 5, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 2,2017.
  13. ^"Lisa (Kiczuk) Trainor interviews Joe Murray, creator of Rocko's Modern LifeArchivedApril 20, 2015, atarchive.today",The Rocko's Modern Life FAQ
  14. ^Lawson, Tim and Alisa Persons.The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors.p.192ArchivedJanuary 3, 2014, at theWayback Machine.
  15. ^Q & A with Joe MurrayArchivedJanuary 23, 2008, at theWayback Machine",Cartoon NetworkPressroom
  16. ^"You Won't Believe Who Voices These Rick And Morty Characters | CCUK".Archivedfrom the original on September 21, 2018.RetrievedSeptember 21,2018.
  17. ^"Sit Down, Shut Up".Fox.Archivedfrom the original on April 17, 2009.RetrievedApril 14,2009.
  18. ^Silver, Stephen."Best Buy Elf Debuts in Christmas Support Ad".Dealerscope.Archivedfrom the original on December 3, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 21,2012.
  19. ^Douglas, DC."Experian (w/ Tom Kenny)".DCDouglas.RetrievedJuly 7,2014.
  20. ^Talking Tom and Friends (January 19, 2017),Talking Tom and Friends - Meet the Cast,archived fromthe originalon October 30, 2021,retrievedJuly 1,2018
  21. ^Spyro: Year of the Dragon Manual(PDF).Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. October 24, 2000. p. 18.Archived(PDF)from the original on April 7, 2018.RetrievedApril 7,2018.
  22. ^"Spyro the Dragon is Back in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy!".Activision Blog.Kelly, Kevin.Archivedfrom the original on April 6, 2018.RetrievedApril 7,2018.
  23. ^@carlosalazraqui (December 10, 2023)."We both interchanged during those years at the conference. Not sure about 97"(Tweet).RetrievedFebruary 16,2024– viaTwitter.
  24. ^HarmonQuest.October 20, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on October 30, 2019.RetrievedOctober 30,2019.
  25. ^Shattuck, Kathryn (July 29, 2001)."For Young Viewers; For This Scientist, Children Are Like, er, Sponges".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on February 2, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 22,2017.
  26. ^Hipes, Patick (April 27, 2018)."Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards: 'Bold And The Beautiful', 'Sesame Street' Top Winners".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on April 28, 2018.RetrievedApril 29,2018.
  27. ^Lawler, Kelly."Incredibly sweet 'SpongeBob Squarepants' 20th anniversary special has a human Krusty Krab".USA TODAY.
  28. ^Flores, Terry (July 10, 2019)."'SpongeBob' Voice Cast on Acting Together in Live-Action for the First Time for 20th Anniversary Special ".Variety.
  29. ^Jones, Marcus (May 22, 2019)."David Hasselhoff makes a splash in 'SpongeBob' 20th anniversary special".EW.
  30. ^SpongeBob Voice Star Tom Kenny Joins Nick’s ‘SpongeBob Musical’ Event as Patchy the Pirate (Video)
  31. ^Seitz, Loree (August 1, 2023)."CBS Sports and Nickelodeon to Host Kid-Focused Alternative Super Bowl Telecast".TheWrap.
  32. ^"Everything You Need to Know About Super Bowl LVIII!".Nick.
  33. ^Burt, Kristian (February 19, 2024)."EXCLUSIVE: 'SpongeBob' actor Tom Kenny explains * that * Leonardo DiCaprio joke from Nickelodeon's Super Bowl broadcast".TODAY.
  34. ^Woulfe, Molly (July 15, 2005)."Jill Talley: She's ready to 'Sponge' off the Cubbies".The Times of Northwest Indiana.Archived fromthe originalon June 26, 2021.
  35. ^Edwards, Ellen (November 30, 2004)."As the voice of SpongeBob, Tom Kenny knows it's hip to be square".Chicago Tribune.Archivedfrom the original on August 18, 2018.RetrievedMarch 6,2014.
  36. ^Herbert, Geoff (January 8, 2015)."Tom Kenny, the voice of 'SpongeBob,' recalls growing up (sort of) in East Syracuse".syracuse.Archivedfrom the original on July 11, 2019.RetrievedJuly 11,2019.
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Preceded by Voice ofSpyro the Dragon
1999–2002, 2018-present 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Voice ofStarscream
2007–2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Voice ofWheelie
2009–present 		Succeeded by
current
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