Rob Paulsen

In May 2011, working with social media and web producer Chris Pope, Paulsen rolled out a brand new website RobPaulsenLive.com, as well as a weekly audio podcast called Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen, which started out being managed and deployed by The Tech Jives Network, before moving to be part of Nerdist Industries' Nerdist Podcast Network. Some episodes were recorded before a live audience at The Improv in Hollywood, California, while later ones were recorded at the Nerdist Showroom. The show is on indefinite hiatus following the March 23, 2019 episode the Dante Basco.

Paulsen serves as the voice director for the subsequent series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which premiered in July 2018.

In February 2016, Paulsen was diagnosed with Stage III throat cancer. Paulsen has since undergone treatment, and his cancer is now in remission.

In the video game The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge, he did the voice of Igor. He also reprised his role as Yakko Warner, Dr. Otto Scratchansniff, and Pinky in Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt. Rob Paulsen voiced the lead character, Lazarus Jones, in the PS2 game Ghosthunter, and played The Duck Avenger in Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows. Rob also voiced Alfredo Fettuccini, Bob the Ghost Pirate, Lookout and Ghost Priest in The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. He voiced the Fox and the Mouse in the Green Eggs and Ham PC game. He also voiced Tlaloc in Tak and the Power of Juju. He has voiced The Riddler in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, a role he reprised in Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite. Rob is the voice of talking alien dog Beak-Beak in Armikrog. Paulsen also voices Smash Hit in Skylanders: SuperChargers and Skylanders: Imaginators.

He returned to the franchise as Donatello for the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series on Nickelodeon, which ran for five seasons and 124 episodes from September 29, 2012 until November 12, 2017. He also reprised his role as 1987 Raphael in the multiple 1987/2012 crossover episodes.

In June 2011, Paulsen made announcements that he was taking his show on the road with his "Lots of laughs and autographs" tour. Working closely with a team that included Chris Pope, his publicist, and others he made his first successful tour in Atlanta, Georgia, which happened on July 30, 2011, and another in Dallas, Texas on September 17, 2011, that required two seminars, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, as they were so popular.

He also voiced Zeek and Joshua in K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments, Rude Dog in Rude Dog and the Dweebs, and Archie the Raccoon, A.K.A. Ze Archer, in "Mask of the Raccoon" on The Penguins of Madagascar. He reprised his role as Throttle in the 2006 Biker Mice from Mars, and also provided the voices of 2T Fru-T, Mike Ellis, Dark Comet and Ronald in the 2001 cartoon series Butt-Ugly Martians.

In 2004, he was nominated for his role of the Troubadour in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, and in 2005, he was nominated for his role in The Happy Elf.

Paulsen is also the current voice of classic Disney character "José Carioca". Rob became the new voice of "Prince Eric" of Disney's The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea since Christopher Daniel Barnes failed to reprise the role in 2000, though Barnes did return to voice the character in the Kingdom Hearts series when Paulsen was unavailable. Another Disney character he is currently the voice of is Toodles from the kids show "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". From season 3, he voiced Toodles in Happy Birthday Toodles, Road Rally, and Space Adventure, as well as every episode of season 4. He is also the voice of Peck the Rooster and other minor characters in the Nickelodeon computer-animated series Back at the Barnyard and various characters on the Disney Channel animated series The Replacements. He is the voice of Bobble in the Tinker Bell movies. Paulsen also played the titular character for an animated web series based on the video game Bravoman for Namco Bandai's ShiftyLook division.

Paulsen has been a regular industry guest and featured panelist at San Diego Comic-Con International over the past several years. He has also appeared at animation industry-related events, such as the World Animation Celebration Online in 1998, among many others. He has also been a guest at several anime conventions, including JACON, Mikomicon, and Anime Overdose. Paulsen was a guest of honor at Anthrocon in 2007. He has recently started doing "Rob Paulsen Live" seminars across the U.S. to talk of his career, sign autographs, and talk with fans. Sometimes, people in attendance would request him to sing the famous Yakko's World number, where he sings all the nations of the world with his Yakko voice in a fast-paced delivery without rehearsing.

Paulsen has been nominated for an Annie Award for his role of Pinky for 4 consecutive years, which he won in 1996, 1997, and 1999. In 1999, he also won the Daytime Emmy Award for voicing Pinky.

However, Paulsen's most famous advertising role was in the original commercial of the now ubiquitous Got Milk? campaign. The famous commercial, Who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?, aired in 1993, and launched the Got Milk? campaign into a monstrously successful enterprise. Paulsen continues to be one of the most sought-after commercial voice actors in the industry.

In 1993, he starred as the title character in both Mighty Max and The Mask. Also at this time, he starred in what became one of his most popular roles, "Yakko Warner" of Animaniacs. Paulsen also provided the voice of "Pinky" from both Animaniacs and its spin-off Pinky and the Brain, a show which won him several Annie Awards and a Daytime Emmy in 1999. He also did a number of characters in Tiny Toon Adventures, including "Fowlmouth", "Arnold the Pit Bull", and "Concord Condor". In the direct-to-video movie Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, he did the voices for "Banjo Possum", "Mr. Hitcher" (who would also appear in other episodes), and "Johnny Pew".

Throughout the early 1990s, Paulsen continued to co-star in animated series, which allowed him to branch further into radio and television announcements and dropped live action acting from his repertoire. In 1993, he voiced "Antoine D'Coolette" in ABC's series Sonic the Hedgehog, and "Arthur", an insecure accountant in a moth costume (wings included), in the superhero series The Tick in 1995, replacing Micky Dolenz, who had originally played Arthur.

He portrayed the voice of Chomper and Strut in The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, Spike and Rinkus in The Land Before Time sequels and Spike in the TV series, but Spike was played anonymously in the original The Land Before Time. Paulsen also played Mo in The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water. Paulsen also voiced the robot "D.E.C.K.S." in the early 1990s TV series Wake, Rattle, and Roll. Paulsen also voiced Prescott A. Wentworth III in the Jem episode The Fan.

From 1987 to 1995, Paulsen voiced Raphael and various supporting characters in the original 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Originally starting as a five-part miniseries, the series continued for ten seasons and 193 episodes. It was a great success and became an instant pop culture symbol. Paulsen has said that Raphael's voice is very similar to his natural voice.

He began his voice-over career in 1983 with the mini-series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, where he played "Snow Job" and "Tripwire". A few years later, his career launched into more roles such as "Cobra Slavemaster" and reprising "Snow Job" and "Tripwire" on G.I. Joe, "Corky" on The Snorks, "Marco Smurf" on the later seasons of The Smurfs, "Boober" on the animated version of Fraggle Rock, "Hadji" in The New Adventures of Jonny Quest and the title character – "Saber Rider" and the villain "Jesse Blue" on Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.

During the 1980s, Paulsen also explored the field of live action films. His first movie was Eyes of Fire in 1983. He played supporting roles in Body Double, Stewardess School, Warlock, and Mutant on the Bounty. He appeared in television shows during this time as well, such as MacGyver and St. Elsewhere. He mentioned in an interview, regarding his role in Body Double, that he would not want his child (who was very young at the time of the interview) to see the movie, so he could not really be proud of his work.

Paulsen became more prevalent in the world of advertising as well. In the 1980s, he had been the announcer for the sitcom Cheers and continued to secure roles as an announcer. He appeared as the voice of "Mr. Opportunity", spokesman of Honda commercials on TV and radio, the announcer for Buffalo Dick's Radio Ranch, and the spokesman for Lucky Stores, a West Coast grocery store chain, before it was acquired by Albertsons in 1998. He provided the voice of "Dog" in the Taco Bell kids meal commercials from 1996 to mid-1997, with Eddie Deezen as the voice of "Nacho" the cat.

Paulsen was married twice. He first married Carol Anne Schnarr in 1979, they divorced in 1982 after three years of marriage. Paulsen married his second wife Parrish Todd, a photographer, in 1983. Together they have a son, Ashton "Ash" Paulsen. In an interview with a Chicago TV station, Paulsen described himself as "a singer who decided to become an actor." Growing up in Grand Blanc, Michigan, Paulsen sang in choirs throughout his youth and adolescence and began performing in plays in grammar schools. However, his idol growing up was Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings; he considered the arts to be a secondary career choice, primarily interested in becoming a professional hockey player.

Paulsen was born in Detroit, Michigan to Lee and Robert Frederick Paulsen Jr. He was raised in Grand Blanc, Michigan and attended Grand Blanc High School, from which he graduated in 1974. Paulsen later briefly attended University of Michigan-Flint but dropped out to pursue a career in show business.

Robert Fredrick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor and singer, who has done many voice roles in various films, television shows, and video games, including Raphael and Donatello from the 1987 and 2012 animated series respectively of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Yakko Warner, Dr. Otto Scratchansniff, and Pinky from Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain; Carl Wheezer from Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and its spin-off television show series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius; Peck the Rooster from Barnyard and its spin-off television show series Back at the Barnyard; Spike in the Land Before Time films and television series; and the title character in The Mask: Animated Series. In total, Paulsen has been the voice of over 250 different animated characters and performed in over 1000 commercials. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his role as Pinky, and three Annie Awards.