Jim Cummings!
Last night I met the amazing voice acting talent, and someone of whom I’m an immense fan - Jim Cummings. Anyone who knows me should be pretty aware that I don’t really get starstruck and I don’t really care that much about famous people - and I suppose in truth Jim Cummings himself isn’t that “famous”.
However, his voices are iconic!
Tigger, Winnie the Pooh, Taz (the Tazmanian Devil), Dr. Robotnik, a number of characters on Gummi Bears, dozens of Disney films…
You’ve heard him dozens, if not hundreds of times even if you’ve never heard his name before. Guys like Jim are the true actors in my opinion… They are men who’s straight acting chops are beyond compare. With an inflection they can make you feel the sadness, joy, humor and drama in any situation just like any on-screen performer, but they can do it all in a thousand different voices, even replicating known timbres so well that they are indistinguishable from the original.
I’m geeking out about it for sure, but hopefully I’m also doing a bit of a public service here… Jim, Maurice Lamarch, Billy West, Tress McNeil, Jess Harnell, Tom Kenny, John DiMaggio, even Mark Hamill… All these folks (and more) deserve so much more respect in the industry and in the public than they actually get.
They also all probably bring more joy to more people’s lives than any other actors ever do as a collective - yet extremely small - group. They are the voice of our childhoods. They are Ren & Stimpy, Homer Simpson, Professor Farnsworth, Spongebob Squarepants, The Joker… They are our favorite characters growing up.
We should at least all know their names.
