Maurice LaMarche facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maurice LaMarche
LaMarche at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1958-03-30) March 30, 1958 (age 67) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Voice actor comedian
Years active	1977–present
Spouse(s)	Robin G. Eisenman ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	1

Maurice LaMarche is a Canadian voice actor, born on March 30, 1958. He is well-known for bringing many cartoon characters to life with his voice. Some of his most famous roles include The Brain from Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, Big Bob in Hey Arnold!, and many characters in Futurama, like Kif Kroker. He also voiced Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters.

Maurice LaMarche's Early Life

Maurice LaMarche was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 30, 1958. His family soon moved to Timmins, Ontario. Growing up, Maurice loved cartoons and TV shows from the 1960s.

In high school, he discovered he was good at imitating famous people. This talent became clear during a school "variety night" when friends encouraged him to perform. His act, "celebrities as waiters," became a favorite and he used it throughout his stand-up comedy career. A fun fact: future comedian Mike Myers was one of his neighbors and schoolmates!

Maurice LaMarche's Career Journey

Stand-Up Comedy Beginnings

When Maurice was 19, he tried his stand-up act at an open mic night in New York City. He said the audience "totally ignored" him. Other Canadian comedians also told him not to try to make it outside of Canada. So, he went back to Canada, kept doing stand-up, and started doing voice work too.

Three years later, LaMarche moved to Los Angeles to try stand-up comedy again. Looking back, he felt he should have stayed in New York longer. He thought New York would have made him a stronger comedian.

Over the next five years, Maurice's comedy career grew. He performed in comedy clubs across the US and appeared on TV shows like The Merv Griffin Show. Even though he was getting noticed, he felt his jokes needed to be funnier. He was part of a special HBO comedy show in 1985 with other famous comedians like Bob Saget. Maurice felt he was close to becoming a "great comedian" who could truly stand out.

During his stand-up days, Maurice opened shows for big stars like Rodney Dangerfield and George Carlin. He often performed in major showrooms in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Maurice decided to stop doing stand-up comedy in 1990.

Voice Acting: Bringing Characters to Life

Early Voice Roles in Canada

Maurice LaMarche started his voice acting career in 1980. His first jobs were for two animated Canadian TV specials: Easter Fever and Take Me Up to the Ball Game. He also did voices for a popular TV show in Toronto called The All-Night Show. On that show, they would put Maurice's lips onto photos of famous people, and he would imitate them to promote the show. When Maurice left the show in 1981, a young comedian named Jim Carrey took his place.

Television Voice Work

D.C. Douglas with LaMarche at Dragon Con, 2021.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1981, it took a few years for Maurice to become well-known in American voice acting. He started with Inspector Gadget in 1985. Then he worked on shows like Dennis the Menace and Popeye and Son. A big role came when he voiced Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters.

After The Real Ghostbusters, Maurice became a regular voice actor. He appeared in many cartoons such as Tiny Toon Adventures, GI Joe, and Batman: The Animated Series. In 1993, he got one of his most famous roles: The Brain on Animaniacs. Later, The Brain got his own spin-off show, Pinky and the Brain.

Maurice continued to voice characters in shows like Hey Arnold! (as Big Bob Pataki) and Queer Duck. He also became the voice of Mortimer Mouse in Mickey Mouse Works. In 1999, he started working on Futurama. Since then, he has continued to work steadily in TV, even making guest appearances on The Simpsons. He was also the voice of Father in Codename: Kids Next Door and Grumpy in Disney XD's The 7D.

Maurice has done many voices for Warner Bros. Animation and DiC Entertainment cartoons. He also created the famous belches for the "Great Wakkorotti" shorts on Animaniacs. One of these belches was even used in the movie Elf (2003). In 2011, he voiced Yosemite Sam again in The Looney Tunes Show. He also appeared in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as Chancellor Neighsay.

The Brain in Pinky and the Brain

Maurice LaMarche voices The Brain in both Animaniacs and its spin-off, Pinky and the Brain. He says that when he saw a picture of The Brain, he immediately thought of Orson Welles, a famous actor and director. Even though the character wasn't designed to look like Welles, voicing The Brain gave Maurice a chance to use his amazing impression of Welles. Many Pinky and the Brain episodes even made jokes about Welles's career. Maurice won an Annie Award for his role as The Brain and was nominated for an Emmy. He later used this voice for the character Father in Codename: Kids Next Door.

The Critic and Many Voices

While working on the show The Critic, Maurice LaMarche once voiced 29 different characters in just one 30-minute episode! This shows how talented he is at creating many unique voices. On The Critic, he also got to make fun of Orson Welles again. For example, a video of a will being read would turn into a commercial for "Mrs. Pells Fishsticks" or "Rosebud Frozen Peas" using Welles's voice.

Futurama Characters

LaMarche at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, on a panel for Futurama

Some of Maurice's most well-known voice work comes from Futurama. He voices many characters, including Zapp Brannigan's assistant Kif Kroker, the dramatic robot actor Calculon, the fancy Hedonismbot, the news anchor Morbo, and Lrrr, the ruler of Omicron Persei 8. He also used his Orson Welles impression on the show. He won an Emmy Award in 2011 for his voices in the episode "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" and another Emmy in 2012 for "The Silence of the Clamps".

Heroes Voice Role

Maurice LaMarche provided a voice-only performance in the second episode of the NBC show Heroes, called "Don't Look Back". He was the voice of the villain Sylar in a recorded phone conversation. The role of Sylar was later played by Zachary Quinto.

Film Appearances

Maurice LaMarche has appeared in many films. He famously dubbed the voice of Orson Welles for actor Vincent D'Onofrio in the movie Ed Wood. He also voiced Pepé Le Pew in Space Jam and the Alec Baldwin puppet in Team America: World Police. He reprised his roles from Queer Duck and Futurama in their direct-to-video movies. More recently, he was the voice of Mr. Big, the crime boss in Disney's 2016 film Zootopia.

Maurice had one on-camera role in a movie called Funny Farm (1981). It was a Canadian film about a young stand-up comedian. Maurice played Dickie Lyons, an impressionist who becomes friends with the main character. The movie also featured Howie Mandel.

In Mark Hamill's 2004 film Comic Book: The Movie, Maurice made a rare live appearance in the DVD's special features. He re-enacted his impression of Orson Welles's famous frozen peas commercial outtake.

Commercials and Theme Parks

Maurice LaMarche has also lent his voice to many commercials. He voiced Kellogg's Froot Loops spokesbird Toucan Sam and the animated Willy Wonka character for Nestlé's Willy Wonka Candy Company commercials. He was also the narrator for Lexus car commercials. In the early 1990s, he appeared as himself, doing the voice of Popeye the Sailor for Long John Silver's restaurants. In 2018, he was featured in a commercial for the video game Forza Horizon 4.

For theme parks, Maurice provided the voice of Yosemite Sam for the Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure! ride at Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1992.

Maurice LaMarche's Personal Life

Maurice LaMarche has been married to Robin G. Eisenman since May 19, 1991. They have one son, Jonathan.

Maurice LaMarche's Filmography

Film Voice Roles

Animation Voice Roles

Video Game Voice Roles

Live-Action Acting Roles

Awards and Nominations

Maurice LaMarche has won several awards for his amazing voice work:

See also

In Spanish: Maurice LaMarche para niños