Len Carlson

Len Carlson (September 2, 1937 – January 26, 2006) was a Canadian voice actor who has voiced various characters on many animated television 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 and a former professional athlete.

Len Carlson
Born	(1937-09-02)September 2, 1937 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada[1]
Died	January 26, 2006(2006-01-26) (aged 68) Keswick, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Voice actor
Years active	1964–2006

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 (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 (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 and he was the original voice of the Green Goblin in Spider-Man the original series (1967) and the voice of Buzz in the show Cyberchase (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.

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.^[2] Carlson also contributed to creative projects, dramatically opening Canadian musician Lawrence Gowan's 1985 music video A Criminal Mind.^[3]

In his last years, Carlson was a regular on Nelvana-produced shows such as Rolie Polie Olie, Cyberchase, Pecola, Donkey Kong Country, Medabots, Beetlejuice, and Beyblade as the main antagonist Gideon (season two). Most recently, he appeared in the Canadian co-production Atomic Betty, voiced the characters Hugo and Q in the video game Street Fighter III 3rd Strike and narrated the animated bible TV series Friends and Heroes. He also voiced Herc Stormsailor in the 1980s show Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.

Death

Carlson died of a heart attack in Keswick, Ontario, at the age of 68 on January 26, 2006.^[1] The season two finale of Atomic Betty, "Takes One To Know One", the Cyberchase episode "Ecohaven Ooze", and the Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks episode "Space Rangers!" were all dedicated to his memory.

Filmography

List of television programs in which Carlson had a voice role

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967–1969	Spider-Man	Green Goblin / Additional voices
1975	The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo	Captain Mark Nemo / Dr. MacPherson
1977	The Toothbrush Family	Tom / Toby / Gramps / Additional voices
1980	The Christmas Raccoons	Bert Raccoon
1981	The Raccoons on Ice	Bert Raccoon
	The Trolls and the Christmas Express	Additional voices
1983	The Raccoons and the Lost Star	Bert Raccoon / Pig General
1984	The Raccoons: Let's Dance!	Bert Raccoon
1985	Care Bears	Professor Coldheart, Strato Nefarious	DiC version
1985–1986	Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors	Herc Stormsailor / Terror Tank
1985–1991	The Raccoons	Bert Raccoon / Pigs Two and Three (Boyd and Floyd) / Mr. Knox / Additional voices
1987	Dinosaucers	Allo / Quackpot
	Sylvanian Families	Packbat / Wade Waters / Cliff Babblebrook / Rocky Babblebrook
1987–1989	ALF: The Animated Series	Colonel Cantfayl / Sargent Staff
1988–1989	C.O.P.S.	Brandon 'Big Boss' Babel / Sgt. Colt 'Mace' Howard / Walker 'Sundown' Calhoun
1988-1989	Police Academy	Captain Harris / Additional voices
1989	The Legend of Zelda	Ganon / Moblins
1989–1991	Beetlejuice	The Monster Across the Street / Additional voices
1990–1991	Swamp Thing	Swamp Thing
1990	The Nutcracker Prince	King / Mouse / Court Attendant / Band Member #2 / Spectator / Soldier
1992–1996	X-Men: The Animated Series	Senator Robert Kelly / Additional voices
1994–1997	The Busy World of Richard Scarry	Mr. Frumble / Mr. Gronkle / Mayor Fox / Additional voices
1996–2003	Monster by Mistake	Gorgool / Morgool
1997–1999	The Mr. Men Show	Additional voices	US version
1997-2000	Donkey Kong Country	Krusha
1998–2004	Rolie Polie Olie	Pappy Polie / Additional voices
2000–2001	Corduroy	Buckaroo
2001–2003	Pecola	Officer Kumada	English version
2002	Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun	Pappy Polie / TV Announcer
2002–2003	Beyblade V-Force	Gideon
2002–2006	Cyberchase	Buzz (season 1-5)
2003	Blizzard	Additional reindeer voices
2004	Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot	Philo
2004–2006	Atomic Betty	Minimus P.U. / Greenbeard / B-1 / Spindly Tam Kanushu (seasons 1-2)
2006	Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks	Cosmo Starfinder	Final role

References

1. Lawlor, Alison (May 9, 2006). "LEN CARLSON, CARTOON VOICE ARTIST: 1937-2006". The Globe and Mail. p. S9. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.
2. Gillis, Kevin. "In Memory of Len Carlson 1938-2006". The Unofficial Raccoons Homepage. Jim Gilsinan. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
3. Archer, C. "TV Review - Rise Up: Canadian Pop Music in the 1980s Part One". Gloryosky. Retrieved 19 November 2024.

External links

• Len Carlson at IMDb
• Len Carlson at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Eulogy by Kevin Gillis