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Jeff Bergman
Jeff Bergman by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Bergman at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Jeffrey Bergman

(1960-07-10) July 10, 1960 (age 64)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater University of Pittsburgh
Occupation Voice actor
Years active 1974–present
Children 2
Signature
Jeff bergman signature.png

Jeffrey Bergman (born July 10, 1960) is an American voice actor. He is famous for giving new voices to many classic cartoon characters, especially from Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera.

Jeff Bergman was the first person to take over the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Bros. cartoon characters after the original voice actor, Mel Blanc, passed away in 1989. Bergman has shared these roles with other talented voice actors over the years.

Early Life and Voice Journey

Growing Up in Philadelphia

Jeff Bergman was born on July 10, 1960, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From a young age, he loved to imitate famous people and cartoon characters. His very first impression was of the TV host Ed Sullivan when he was just 6 years old! By the time he was 15, Jeff was already doing great impressions of different Looney Tunes characters.

Learning at University

He went to the University of Pittsburgh to study theater and communications. This is where he first started doing voice work. He got involved with a student radio station and also interned at real radio stations like KQV and WDVE.

While at university, he made his first demo tape, which is a recording of your work. A TV show called Evening Magazine even did a story about him! This helped him get an agent, which is someone who helps actors find jobs, after he graduated in 1983.

Meeting a Legend

During his time at university, Jeff attended a talk by Mel Blanc. Mel Blanc was the legendary voice actor for many Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny. Jeff later found Mel Blanc and met him in 1981. Jeff showed off his impressions of Blanc's characters, and Blanc was so impressed that he spent 45 minutes with him! Jeff says that Mel Blanc helped him a lot in his career.

A Career in Cartoon Voices

Becoming Bugs Bunny

Jeff Bergman voiced the Pillsbury Doughboy from 1986 to 2014. His work with Warner Bros. started in 1986 when he recorded voices for The Bugs Bunny Show. He really wanted to voice Bugs Bunny, so he made a special tape. On this tape, he switched between his voice and Mel Blanc's original recordings.

The president of Warner Bros. couldn't tell the difference! So, at 29 years old, Jeff Bergman became the first person to voice Bugs Bunny after Mel Blanc passed away on July 10, 1989 – which was also Jeff's 29th birthday!

Early Looney Tunes Roles

Jeff's first time voicing Bugs Bunny was at the 62nd Academy Awards, where Bugs presented an Oscar. He also voiced Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in TV specials like Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue and The Earth Day Special in 1990. In The Earth Day Special, he also voiced Tweety Bird and Porky Pig.

He lent his voice to Bugs, Daffy, and Porky in the animated parts of the movie Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). In 1991, he voiced Bugs, Daffy, and Elmer Fudd in the short film Box-Office Bunny. He also voiced many characters, including Sylvester the Cat and Foghorn Leghorn, in shows like Tiny Toon Adventures.

Beyond Looney Tunes

Outside of Looney Tunes, Jeff also voiced George Jetson and Mr. Spacely in Jetsons: The Movie (1990). He took over these roles because the original voice actors had passed away during the movie's production. He was working at a radio station when he got the call to fly to California to finish the voices! He also voiced George Jetson for a theme park ride.

In the mid-1990s, Jeff decided to take a break from voicing the Looney Tunes characters because he didn't want to move to Los Angeles. Other voice actors like Joe Alaskey and Billy West then took on some of those roles.

Returning to Beloved Characters

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Jeff continued to voice many Hanna-Barbera characters, like Fred Flintstone. He would sometimes fill in for the Looney Tunes voices if other actors weren't available. In 2003, he even voiced Bugs Bunny on the TV show Saturday Night Live.

After almost 20 years, Jeff returned as the main voice for Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester the Cat, Pepé Le Pew, and Tweety in The Looney Tunes Show (2011). He also came back for the series New Looney Tunes (2015), voicing Bugs, Foghorn, Sylvester, and Elmer Fudd. In Looney Tunes Cartoons, he voices Foghorn, Sylvester, and Elmer Fudd, while other actors voice Bugs, Daffy, and Tweety.

Jeff Bergman is also a regular voice actor on the TV show Family Guy, often voicing Fred Flintstone and Sylvester the Cat. He has also voiced characters in The Cleveland Show and American Dad!. From 2000 to 2015, he was the announcer for the Boomerang TV channel.

More recently, Jeff became the new voice of Eustace Bagge in the Courage the Cowardly Dog and Scooby-Doo crossover movie, Straight Out of Nowhere.

Characters He Voices

Jeff Bergman has voiced a huge number of characters throughout his career. Some of his most famous voices include:

Personal Life

Jeff Bergman lives in Los Angeles, California, and has two sons.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jeff Bergman para niños

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