Favorite narrators (documentaries etc)

[bill5]

Maybe they are largely known for being narrators, or maybe something else but they did great narration work etc. Some of mine:

 

Peter Coyote - Probably gets my vote as best all time, so great esp in those Ken Burns specials

David Attenborough

Orson Welles

 

[o0Ampy0o]

One of my all time favorites was Rod Serling. I preferred Serling narrating the The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau series to whomever took over after his passing, (George Wilson?). There was something in the replacement's voice that was flat. Jacques Cousteau was good at doing some of the narration.

 

Same applies to David McCullough although not as extreme.

 

Bill Moyers narrated and interviewed during portions of Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth. I enjoy Charlie Rose interviews partially because I enjoy his voice. They both sound similar to me in certain ways.

 

Jeff Bridges has an interesting voice for narration although I may have only heard him doing commercials.

 

Michael Douglas, although I cannot name the film(s).

 

Anthony Hopkins has a good voice for narration.

 

Ralph Waite was good narrating as an older John Boy in The Waltons.

 

Robert Redford was good narrating as an older Norman Maclean in A River Runs Through It.

 

They say the voice is key to being a good actor. People overlook how significant it is because film is a predominantly visual medium. I can think of several actors who who were limited because they either had a weak voice or were unable to adopt plausible accents.

 

For instance, I know he started off strong in Primal Fear and has managed a long career with many good roles but I think Edward Norton has a weak voice limiting him even though I had not yet come to that conclusion and was able to find his performance in American History X plausible. His voice rendered him too much a man of our times for period pieces like The Painted Veil and The Illusionist. Those films left me in a position where I am now too aware of his nasally, weak, contemporary voice. ( obviously just sharing my opinion you may disagree 🙂 )

 

Mike Tyson had a brief dramatic role in Spike Lee's 25th Hour. It is unfortunate that he has such a distinct voice. I have seen worse performances. He was just as good as the average actor who typically would have a role like that. He played himself in The Hangover and was flawless delivering his lines and acting as himself. It isn't easy looking natural saying lines and doing things for a camera even playing yourself, in case anyone thinks "well he is just playing himself."

 

Kevin Costner is another who comes up short because of his voice, (i.e. Robinhood). He missed the mark in JFK but to his credit he nailed the same accent in Thirty Days.

 

[Polychrest]

Peter Coyote for sure.  Lawrence Olivier for the indelible dramatic gravitas of his 1973 “World at War” series narration.

[Ivan May]

I really like Jim Dale's voice. If any of you don't remember him, he was the British actor who voiced the Harry Potter audiobooks.

[RABid]

James Earl Jones

John McDonough, was a really good narrator of audio books. Also did some acting. Fans of the Jan Karon Mitford series know him well.

[bill5]

Good choices...

 

I also liked Peter Graves and Jack Perkins on the Biography channel.

[KenElevenShadows]

I don't know really. I suppose most everyone's go-to answer would be Morgan Freeman.

[RABid]

I remember an interview with Connor Trinner (Star Trek) when he was asked about the books he narrated. He said something in the line of "it is work you take when you have no other way to pay the bills." He said narrating books took a lot of time for a little pay. But for him it lead to being the "voice of Nike" and he never had to narrate books again. According to him, voicing commercials for a major company pays much better than narrating books.

[o0Ampy0o]

Morgan Freeman, yes.

 

Interesting about compensation. Narrating a book is typically a larger a project. But it does not surprise me that commercials pay more. There is greater potential money stimulated in advertising.

 

Many actors have done voice work for cartoons, commercials and video games. It is bread and butter work in between film projects. The money is in animated film and commercials. An aside, attempting to sell an animated film based on who is voicing it is counterproductive to me. I don't care who it is. I care about what is created with the character.  My favorite animated film experienced as an adult is Pixar's A Bug's Life. There were a few actors in that which had good voices for animated characters. One was Phyllis Diller. I wasn't compelled to see it because she voiced a character. I enjoyed it more because her aging voice was well-suited for her animated character.

 

I have tried to enjoy audio books. No matter how good the narrator is I find it a relatively diluted way to experience a book. I get so much out of reading the book myself. For one thing, there is a rhythm in everything whether audio, visual or sensational. All three are available when I read myself. Visually, I am speaking of the words on the page not any illustrations or photographs which might be included. Writing and reading are both arts which can be appreciated seeing them on the page. Whether a narrator has the greatest speaking voice and reading ability or not listing to words read is not the same experience of this rhythm as reading the words myself.

 

I cannot comment on narrated books without mentioning the wonderful experience I have had listening to a few of my grammar school teachers reading books to the class. I feel great love for these people who did this for us. Do teachers still read to their classes nowadays? I suspect kids are just too wild to appreciate this art.

 

A key element is being present, hearing and perhaps sensing the vibe of the narrator's voice. 

 

As an adult many years ago I attended a weekend retreat. It was lead by a man who was the classic old soul archetype. He was very intelligent and had a knack for relating to a diverse range of people. He could speak the language of the common people as well as the specialized elite. He had an exceptionally soothing voice. He was also an author. When he read a passage from his books I was captivated and sucked in like I had been when my teachers read to the class.

 

It isn't just being able to read and having the interesting voice. It is comprehending the message and conveying it infused with the appropriate emotion. If they get it, chances are the listener will too.

 

One last thing, I cannot say for certain because you only have one chance to experience it but I suspect I enjoyed Mary Shelly's Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus more because I was reading it myself and also listening to the audio book while driving around running errands. I was assisting a friend doing an analysis. The audio/errand time provided the distance and perspective to consider things and replay different passages. The narrator also read in character when covering The Creature's dialog. It was particularly effective.

[Dave Bryce]

Any love for Mason Adams?  Sure, commercials were mainly his ballpark, but he did a zillion of them…

 

…and - speaking of ballparks - as a football guy and native Philadelphian, I gotta give props to John Facenda.  Can’t imagine NFL Films without him.

 

dB

[bill5]

3 minutes ago, Dave Bryce said:

I gotta give props to John Facenda.  Can’t imagine NFL Films without him.

 

Give the man a gold star.   A thousand times yes. One of the all-time iconic voices. And God bless youtube for having some of those videos he did online. Loved the music too. 

[KenElevenShadows]

I have my answer. I'd say this guy is my favorite narrator - bar none.

[o0Ampy0o]

3 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:

Any love for Mason Adams?  Sure, commercials were mainly his ballpark, but he did a zillion of them…

 

…and - speaking of ballparks - as a football guy and native Philadelphian, I gotta give props to John Facenda.  Can’t imagine NFL Films without him.

 

dB

 

Live broadcasting coverage of sports is a form of narration so include John Madden and John McEnroe.

 

Football coverage has had a great void unfilled. John McEnroe is the John Madden of tennis. These guys have not filled the air with rhetoric just to talk the talk as too many broadcasters have done. They truly loved participating in their sports. The way they have spoken when going off topic there has clearly been passion and great interest in life as well.

 

As a broadcaster alone throw in Al Michaels. :-)

[Joe Muscara]

Keith David

 

 

 

[o0Ampy0o]

Mel Blanc: It might have been an interesting piece of trivia when thought to be true how Bugs Bunny's voice actor was allergic to carrots. He used to bite and chomp on a carrot when doing some Bugs lines. He would have to quickly spit the carrot out so he could say the rest of the lines.

 

He was in a head on car crash and in a coma. The hospital had a TV next to his bed playing his cartoons hoping it would bring him back. Eventually a doctor decided to try asking Mel a question addressing Mel as Bugs Bunny and Mel responded.

 

Something else interesting is that Mel Blanc started smoking cigarettes when he was 9 years old.  That alone is shocking to me and it makes his life story even more miraculous.

 

He had a major impact on generations of children. His contribution to the animation industry has been unprecedented. He used his voice to lend life to multiple famous characters earning the reference The Man of 1000 Voices. Many were distinct and unique. You could not tell they were done by the same person.

 

He managed this while jeopardizing the means to his livelihood, his voice. But in the early days the dangers of smoking were unknown to the general public. Cigarettes were advertised on television.

 

I never smoked. I did try it. One of the things which discouraged me was the obvious consequence of breathing in any form of smoke. I choked and gagged. I was in my early teens. At that age each year involves a significant amount of growth. At 9, Mel was just a child.

 

Later while smoking a pack a day he managed to make a living manipulating his voice. He finally quit smoking but died from complications of emphysema 4 years later at the age of 81.

 

 

[bill5]

? He wasn't a narrator that I'm aware of.

[jazzpiano88]

Carl Sagan

[bill5]

"As we peer out........billllllllllllions and billllllllllllions of miles......."             

 

Cosmos was great

[o0Ampy0o]

 

On 6/20/2023 at 11:03 PM, o0Ampy0o said:

Mel Blanc...

 

 

4 hours ago, bill5 said:

? He wasn't a narrator that I'm aware of.

 

Actor | Voice | NARRATOR

https://mubi.com/cast/mel-blanc

 

 

IMDB Mel Blanc Narrator

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7335270/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_8_act

 

 

Audible Books Narrated by Mel Blanc

https://www.audible.com/search?searchNarrator=Mel+Blanc

 

[Threadslayer]

On 6/16/2023 at 7:48 PM, bill5 said:

 

Peter Coyote - Probably gets my vote as best all time, so great esp in those Ken Burns specials

 

 

Don't forget Shelby Foote. 

[o0Ampy0o]

4 hours ago, Threadslayer said:

Don't forget Shelby Foote. 

 

Shelby Foote was a significant contributor, like the starring role in a film, to the quality of Ken Burns's Civil War documentary.

[jazzpiano88]

Anti Narrator (speaks at 7.8x human speech rate):  Marc Andreesen. 

 

I think he was the model for the Coneheads Movie...   Mebs!   Mebs!

 

[Stokely]

David Attenborough 

Worst: Harrison ford in blade runner, the non-voiceover version is so much better, wish I could un-hear the theatrical version with it.

For non-documentaries, there's Morgan Freeman (Shawshank Redemption) and Sam here, this intro is one of my favorite voiceovers.
 

 

[bill5]

On 6/22/2023 at 10:10 AM, Threadslayer said:

Don't forget Shelby Foote. 

Interesting, I didn't know he did narration...I've seen him interviewed in snippets in documentaries, but not narrate one himself. 

[o0Ampy0o]

Thread title: Favorite narrators (documentaries etc)

 

On 6/16/2023 at 7:48 PM, bill5 said:

Maybe they are largely known for being narrators, or maybe something else but they did great narration work etc.

 

Narrator

 

The Civil War: A Narrative (1958–74) ~Shelby Foote

 

"Were it not so meticulously researched and based solidly in the historical record, it would outstrip all other contenders for the title of the Great American Novel, such is the quality of the prose. Put simply, it’s America’s Iliad. But even better than reading Foote on the Civil War is listening to him speak about it. Sitting opposite Burns in the library of his Memphis home, he talks through the issues, events, and personalities of the war with a voice like black velvet. He has the kind of magnificent, gravelly Southern drawl that is perfectly suited to his subject, and his storytelling powers are unmatched."

 

~National Review

[Jeff Leites]

I don't understand everything he talks about, but I like watching Brian Greene.

 

[Canoehead]

Peter Thomas -Forensic Files