Good afternoon one and all, and welcome to the first part of the first IMDB Page Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. This is my first time hosting this sort of thing so bear with me. I’ve hosted an award show in the past but that whole thing was a catastrophe and the world shut down a month later and my colleague Jessica left us for a (revenue generating) publication so now it’s just me in an empty ballroom with three large bronze heads and like $275,000 in catered food but I digress.
This night isn’t about me (Editor’s note: that’s a lie), it’s about the three people whose gold-plated heads rest on pedestals beside me. These three men are true legends of multiple industries with over 1,000 IMDB credits between the three of them. But being an IMDB Page Hall of Famer isn’t just about being a prolific actor/director or being in a million different roles, being an IMDB Page Hall of Famer is about… well, it’s about a lot of different things, I’ll get into it, but each one of these men embody a different characteristic of what I want this Hall of Fame to represent – one being “the voice,” one being “the face,” and finally, “the vision” – and I hope that they can each provide a clear template to the audience of what exactly we’re looking for in a Hall of Famer.
So without further ado, it’s time to induct our inaugural member, the man who prompted this tweet and probably the establishment of this Hall of Fame as a whole. The man. The voice. The legend.
What people (my age) probably know him best as: Captain Gantu (the main villain in Lilo & Stich) or any number of Seth Macfarlane characters.
I came across Mr. Richardson’s IMDB page for the first time while watching the show Invincible, where he voices twin brute villains who bicker over which one’s the dumb clone. He’s one part of an absurdly deep voice cast of A and B list actors but his characters keep popping up away from the main action and having some of the funniest and most entertaining scenes of the show so far and the voice acting is always top class.
Well, as it turns out, that’s because Kevin Michael Richardson has not left a recording studio in 20+ years.
As I mentioned in the linked tweet above, this guy has one of the most overwhelmingly deep IMDB pages I’ve ever looked at. Movies, TV, video games, cartoons, it’s simply too much. As someone who advocates for coasting by in life while doing the bare minimum required of you to maintain your occupation, I should be diametrically opposed to Mr. Richardson’s love for the work that he does. But I’m also a 23 year old dude who grew up on Star Wars video games and the Disney Channel so I would be remiss if I didn’t honor this man for his sheer number of contributions to my childhood entertainment. But sheer quantity alone doesn’t get you into the hall of fame unless your name is Craig Biggio, no, Mr. Richardson has been stepping into the booth and recording GAS for the better part of 30 years, and for that reason he is more than deserving of the first inaugural seat in the IMDB Page Hall of Fame.
I don’t know how to get into this guy’s career without just listing off a bunch of things, so without further ado I will list off a bunch of things:
The first list is “Cartoons I watched as a kid in which Kevin Michael Richardson voiced multiple roles” : The Penguins of Madagascar (83 episodes, replaced Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice after the Madagascar movie), The PJs (40 eps), Static Shock (34 eps as Robert Hawkins) Lilo and Stitch: The Series (26), The Fairly OddParents (23), The Proud Family (20), Samurai Jack (19), The Powerpuff Girls (15), Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (14), Codename: Kids Next Door (12), Teen Titans (10), Danny Phantom (10), Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends (7), Kim Possible (7), Phineas and Ferb (7 eps including one in which he voices Obama? I missed that ep), Avatar: The Last Airbender (6), Johnny Bravo (5).
Next list: “Cartoons I watched/watch as a kid/non-kid in which Kevin Michael Richardson voiced multiple roles” : Family Guy (88+ episodes, mainly as Jerome + a wide variety of celebrities), American Dad (88+ eps, mainly as principal Lewis), The Cleveland Show (88+ mostly as Cleveland Jr.) The Simpsons (80), F is for Family (28 mainly as Rosie), The Boondocks (17), and (the aforementioned) Invincible (new episodes every Friday on the Bezos channel).
“Star Wars Video Games he has voice roles in” : Phantom Menace (1999), Force Commander (2000), Jedi Power Battles (2000), Early Learning Activity Center (2000), Demolition (2000), Super Bombad Racing (2001), Galactic Battlegrounds (2001), Rogue Squadron II – Rogue Leader (2001), Obi-Wan (2001), Jedi Starfighter (2002), Jedi Knight II – Jedi Outcast (2002), Bounty Hunter (my personal favorite) (2002), Knights of the Old Republic (everyone’s favorite) (2003), The Old Republic (2011), The Old Republic – Rise of the Hutt Cartel (2013), Battlefront (2015), The Old Republic – Knights of the Eternal Throne (2016).
He typically voices different characters in each of them, but he specializes in Mace Windu, Boss Nass, and Jabba the Hutt. Also has roles in the Clone Wars show+movie and some of the Lego Star Wars shows.
“A few of the things he’s recorded songs for” : Dexter’s Lab, Rugrats in Paris (he’s one of the sumo wrestlers who sings the “Bad Girl” song which is a classic, Kingdom Hearts II, The Boondocks, Simpsons, Spongebob, Cleveland Show, American Dad, Gravity Falls.
“Some other things you might know him from” : Porco Rosso, Goro in the original Mortal Kombat movie, BASEketball, the Disney Hercules show, the early early Fallout games, Ratchet and Clank, Crash Bandicoot, bunch of Kingdom Hearts games, bunch of different Scooby Doo shows, Halo 2, World of Warcraft, Dave the Barbarian, Higglytown Heroes, Hoodwinked, the Joker in one of the Batman shows, a TON of Marvel and DC animated shows, Lex Luthor + Black Manta in a different Batman show, Bulkhead in a bunch of Transformers stuff, a couple Ben 10 shows, Monsters vs Aliens show, Princess and the Frog, Uncle Grandpa, Thundercats, one of the TMNT shows, Sherriff on Gravity Falls, a bunch of Elder Scrolls voices, Young Justice, Teen Titans Go, and then one-off roles in basically every animated show I didn’t mention between 2000 and today.
What I’m saying to you is that if you grew up in America in the past 30 years with a tv in your home you probably know Kevin Michael Richardson’s voice from a half-dozen things at the very least. Thank you to a true legend who I’m sure is FAR from finished.
Time for a quick highlight reel:
Worm Stuff 