While most of the year our blog is dedicated to the important facets of the voiceover industry that keeps it running, such as voice recording for doctor’s offices or IVR prompts for banks, but every December we like to mix it up a bit. We like to get festive. This year has been a big, hard year for so many, which is why we want to celebrate a little! So, make some hot cocoa, snuggle up beside the fire, and enjoy this year’s list of our favorite famous voices of Christmas:
4) Boris Karloff in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
At this point in pop culture, it’s hard not to think of Christmas without thinking of the Grinch. Sure, Santa Claus is a crowd favorite, but this lovable curmudgeon has almost become as synonymous with the big man from the North Pole himself! Our hearts always grow three sizes at the sound of his voice saying, “Christmas is for everyone!” All of this and more is why Boris Karloff comes in as our number three spot as the artist who gave voice to this beloved Dr. Seuss character.
3) Jean Shepard as Adult Ralphie in A Christmas Story
How could we make a list about famous Christmas voices without including Jean Shepard. The actor who gave voice to adult Ralphie in the timeless classic, A Christmas Story. For twenty-four hours every year this voice rings through television sets in marathon reruns, it gets quoted as every child is handed a questionable present on Christmas Day….Almost as if every one of us have heard, “don’t shoot your eye out” at least once in our young lives. It’s for this iconoclastic performance that we give Shepard the number 2 spot on our list this year. If 2020 would have had a voice sample to remind us of its danger, Jean Shepard’s famous line would have been it!
2) Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo in A Muppet Christmas Carol
Brian Henson knew what he was doing in 1992 when he cast Dave Goelz to portray The Great Gonzo who was portraying Charles Dickens in the smash hit, A Muppet Christmas Carol. No other muppet voice could enact such lines as, “I told you storytellers are omniscient; I know everything!” with the finesse and ease that Goelz does. Gonzo communicates the traditional Dickens story with style and hilarity. It keeps us coming back for more almost 20 years later. If 2020 was the year everything got shot out of a cannon, Gonzo’s the character we turn to in order to celebrate the season right. ***An honorable mention goes to Rizzo the Rat, who is the best straight man in muppet comedy.
1) Christopher Shea as Linus Van Pelt in A Charlie Brown Christmas
If the Christmas tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas doesn’t completely embody the year we’ve had…we don’t know what does. The heartwarming speech that makes us love this little tree, however, belongs to the beloved Linus Van Pelt. Which is why this year’s number one spot goes to the voice over artist that gifted us this tear-jerker, Christopher Shea. Each and every year new little ones are introduced to the magic of Shea’s speech at the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas, and each year the adults who watch it with their little ones shed a little tear of joy. We can’t help but love Linus as he reminds us all the reason for the season.
There are so many other great voices in the industry, but these are just a few we wanted to celebrate this year. From all of us at Worldly Voices, we wish ou and yours a very happy holiday season!!
