As I've occasionally mentioned here, we're currently in production on the second season of The Garfield Show — and be careful if you click on that link because loud audio may start automatically once you get there. This is a new animated series that is airing in many countries around the world. I am assured that this one, soon, will be among them. Today I was in a recording studio for much of the day playing Voice Director, mostly on scripts I wrote for said series. Here's who we had in today doing the voices I was directing…
Back row, left to right: Frank Welker (voice of Garfield and darn near everything else on this planet), me (looking like I didn't get much sleep the night before), Laura Summer (enchanting voice actress) and Wally Wingert (voice of Garfield's owner, Jon). Wally, by the way, is the announcer on The Jay Leno Show.
Front row, left to right: June Foray (legendary voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, among zillions of other credits), Stan Freberg (master satirist, cartoon voice and personal hero), Jason Marsden (fine actor and the voice of Nermal on our show) and Gregg Berger (yet another fine actor who, among his many credits, barks for Odie.) Gregg, by the way, will be a guest this weekend at the Mid-Ohio-Con in Columbus, Ohio and he and I are doing a panel on cartoon voice work on Sunday.
And may I just say what a personal thrill it is to work with June Foray and Stan Freberg? If you're anywhere near my age — physically, 57; emotionally, 12 — you may have some sense of how important these two folks were to many a childhood, especially one like mine. I've worked with them individually before many times. But between takes when they started lapsing into dialogue from St. George and the Dragonet, a record they did that I've played eighty thousand times in my life…well, that's not something you can ever get jaded about. I hope.