Townsend Coleman

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Townsend Coleman
Townsend Coleman by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Coleman in 2018
OccupationVoice actor, DJ
Years active1974–present

Townsend Coleman is an American voice actor who has performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s. Among his most notable roles are Michaelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,[1] Wayne Gretzky on ProStars, and the title characters in Where's Wally? and The Tick.

Early work[]

Coleman was a disc jockey for WGCL in Cleveland, Ohio, in the late 1970s. This included the weekend of July 7–8, 1979, when that radio station presented his own take on American Top 40 after the station's refusal to air the "Top 40 Disco Songs" special for that weekend.

In the same period, Coleman appeared in several plays through Jerry Leonard's Heights Youth Theater ensemble. The plays were staged at Wiley Junior High School in University Heights, Ohio – just down the road from John Carroll University. Other famous performers who appeared in Leonard's plays include the actress Carol Kane.

Voice acting[]

Coleman's career as a voice actor took off in the 1980s when, having recently moved to Los Angeles, he auditioned for the role of Corporal Capeman on Inspector Gadget. He also portrayed Riot on Jem, Gobo in the animated version of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock, Scott Howard on the animated Teen Wolf and many others. In TV commercials, he was the 7-Up "Spot", Keebler Elves, and Raid Bugs. Coleman has also been the voice of NBC commercials for programs such as Must See TV and The Tonight Show since the early 1990s. Coleman has also provided the voice for Jason Whittaker on the Focus on the Family radio drama Adventures in Odyssey since 1994. He also voiced the Autobot Mini-Cassette Rewind on the Transformers cartoon series (1986) and provided the voice of Colt in Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.

From 1987 to 1996, Coleman voiced Michelangelo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Coleman also provided the voice for The Tick in the 1994 cartoon series, for which he received an Annie Award nomination. Coleman performed a wide range of voices in King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow, including Vizier Abdul Alhazred, Shamir Shamazel, Lord Azure, Ferryman, Beast and the Minotaur.

Coleman returned to the Transformers franchise by voicing Sentinel Prime in the Transformers Animated series. The character was designed to look like The Tick, as confirmed by the writers of the show at Botcon 2008, Coleman also currently provided the voice of Neddy the Mallet in the Cartoon Network series, Mighty Magiswords. Neddy's mannerisms on the show are based on The Tick which led to him being acquired the role. According to the creator Kyle Carrozza, Neddy was Townsend's first original cartoon role in years.

Recently, he also returned to the Tick franchise in the 2017 series on Amazon Prime, but this time providing the voice of the ex-superhero dog Midnight.

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
1986 Black Moon Rising Waiter Live action
The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure Eliab / Fox Soldier #2 TV Movie
The Amazing Adventures of Inspector Gadget Cpl. Capeman
1987 Alice Through the Looking Glass Tom Fool TV Movie
1988 Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears Zor One
1992 FernGully: The Last Rainforest Knotty
1998 Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero Additional Voices Direct-to-video
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night Father Joseph (speaking)
2000 The Christmas Lamb Samuel / Daneil / Joseph TV Movie
2007 Superman: Doomsday Drill Operator Direct-to-video
2008 Justice League: The New Frontier Dr. Magnus
2013 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Morrie / Abner
Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite Commissioner Gordon
2016 Sing Additional Voices
2018 The Grinch Additional Voices

Videogames[]

Year Title Role Notes
1992 King's Quest VI Vizier Abdul Alhazred / Shamir Shamazel
Lord Azure
2007 Mass Effect Lord Darius / Rafael Vargas
Zabaleta
2012 Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Mr. Freeze / Mad Hatter
Commissioner Gordon / General Zod
Spec Ops: The Line Soldiers

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1985 Inspector Gadget Corporal Capeman / Sweetly
1986 The Transformers Mini-Cassette Rewind / Martin
1986-1987 Teen Wolf Scott Howard / Teen Wolf
1987-1996 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Michaelangelo, Rat King, Krang (1989 alternate)
Shredder (1993 alternate - 7 episodes only)
Usagi Yojimbo, Rahzar
Screwloose, Splinter (season 5 alternate)
Burne Thompson (season 3 alternate)
Jerry Spiegel, Electrozapper
Dalton Dumpsky, Fritz
1987 Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series Gobo Fraggle / Wrench Doozer
Architect Doozer
Episode: "Wembley and the Bemble/A Fraggle for All Seasons"
1988 Jem and the Holograms Rory "Riot" Llewelyn
1988 Superman Teenage Clark Kent / Ted Kline
1989 Ring Raiders Yasu Yakamura
1990 TaleSpin Turkey Client / Newsreel Announcer Episode: "From Here to Machinery"
1991 Darkwing Duck Patrick Episode: Whiffle While You Work
1991 Where's Waldo? Waldo
1994-1996 The Tick The Tick
1995-1996 Timon & Pumbaa Vulture Police / Purplest Stupidest Pirate
1995-1997 Spider-Man Young and Middle-Aged Silvermane 2 Episodes
1996 Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series Canard 2 Episodes
1996-1999 Superman: The Animated Series Programmer / Thug Leader
Death Fist Ninja / Co-Pilot / Captain
4 Episodes
1997-1999 The New Batman Adventures Rocco / Mugger / Mugsy 2 Episodes
1999-2000 Batman Beyond Falseface / Lieutenant 2 Episodes
2002 Spy TV Announcer 2 Episodes
2005 Duck Dodgers Superego Dodgers / Protectorate #2 Episode: "A Lame Duck Mind"
2007 The Batman Campus Guard Episode: "Seconds"
2007-2009 Transformers: Animated Sentinel Prime, Tracks 13 Episodes
2014-2017 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 80s Michelangelo / Clerk 5 Episodes
2015 Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. Hercules Episode: "The Tale of Hercules"[2]
2016-2018 Mighty Magiswords Neddy the Mallet, Beeswax Crown
2017-2018 The Tick Midnight / Onward

Select filmography[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Townsend Coleman Interview" Kidzworld.com. Retrieved on June 19, 2009.
  2. ^ "The Tales of Hercules". Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. Season 2. Episode 16. March 15, 2015. Disney XD.

External links[]

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