David Seville

This article is about a fictional character. For the creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks who used the same stage name, see Ross Bagdasarian.

David "Dave" Seville is a fictional character, the adoptive father and producer and manager of the fictional singing group Alvin and the Chipmunks. The character was created by Ross Bagdasarian, who had used the name "David Seville" as his stage name prior to the creation of the Chipmunks, while writing and recording novelty records in the 1950s.^[1] One of the records, recorded in 1958 under the David Seville stage name, was "Witch Doctor", featuring a sped-up high-pitched vocal technique. Bagdasarian would later use that technique in "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)", which would introduce both Alvin and the Chipmunks as a singing group and Bagdasarian's music producer "Dave". Bagdasarian would go on to create The Alvin Show, based on the Alvin and the Chipmunks group, where he voiced the semi-fictional character David Seville,^[2] based largely on himself, with Alvin based on Ross's sometimes rebellious son Adam.^[1]

David Seville
Alvin and the Chipmunks character
David Seville in The Alvin Show
First appearance	1958
Created by	Ross Bagdasarian
Portrayed by	Jason Lee (2007–2015)
Voiced by	Ross Bagdasarian (1958–72) Ross Bagdasarian Jr. (1979–present)
In-universe information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Occupation	Record producer, band manager, songwriter
Family	Toby Seville (second cousin once removed) Grandpa Seville (father)
Children	Alvin, Simon, and Theodore Seville (adoptive sons)
Nationality	American

Ross Bagdasarian Jr. took over ownership Bagdasarian Productions when his father died in 1972. He reprised the David Seville character, first in a series of novelty albums beginning with 1980's Chipmunk Punk.^[3] Bagdasarian Jr. subsequently assumed the role on the TV series Alvin and the Chipmunks, which ran in original episodes from 1983 to 1990. Bagdasarian Jr. has voiced David Seville in all official animated and recorded incarnations of David Seville since taking over for his father in the 1970s, including TV series, animated specials, and direct-to-video productions. He most recently voiced the character in the 2015 TV show version of the Alvin and the Chipmunks television series.

Actor Jason Lee also portrays David Seville in the live-action films, Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011) and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015) which use a combination of live-action acting and computer animation.^[4] While Ross Bagdasarian Jr. does not do any voices for the film series, the films are all produced in association with Bagdasarian Productions, which owns the rights to all of the characters.

Portrayed by

Portrayed by	TV series	Film series	Air date	Year	Notes
Ross Bagdasarian	The Alvin Show		1961–1962	1958–1972	Creator
Ross Bagdasarian Jr.	Alvin and the Chipmunks		1983–1990	1979–present	Producer and voice
	ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks		2015–2023
Jason Lee		Film series	2007–2015		Live action/CGI films

Filmography

Films

Main article: Alvin and the Chipmunks in film

Year	Title	Role	Portrayed By	Production	Producer
1987	The Chipmunk Adventure	Main	Ross Bagdasarian Jr.	Bagdasarian Productions	Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
1999	Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein			Bagdasarian Company Universal Cartoon Studios	Kathi Castillo
2000	Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman
2003	Little Alvin and the Mini-Munks			Bagdasarian Company Paramount Home Video	Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
2006	Alvin and the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason			Bagdasarian Productions
2007	Alvin and the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Valentine
2007	Alvin and the Chipmunks		Jason Lee	Bagdasarian Company Fox 2000 Pictures Regency Enterprises	Janice Karman Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
2009	Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
2011	Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
2015	Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip

Television

Further information: Bagdasarian Productions

Year	Title	Role	Voice by	Notes
1961–1962	The Alvin Show	Main	Ross Bagdasarian	October 1961
1983–1990	Alvin and the Chipmunks		Ross Bagdasarian Jr.	Original Series
2015–2023	ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks			Started August 2015

See also

• Alvin and the Chipmunks § Main characters
• Ross Bagdasarian § Discography