Townsend Coleman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Townsend Coleman
Coleman at Animate! Columbus in 2024
Born	Townsend Putnam Coleman III (1954-05-28) May 28, 1954 (age 71) New York City, New York, United States
Occupation	Voice actor, DJ
Years active	1974–present

Townsend Coleman, born on May 28, 1954, is a famous American voice actor. He has lent his voice to many characters in animated series and TV commercials since the early 1980s.

Some of his most well-known roles include Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. He also voiced Jason Whittaker in Adventures in Odyssey. You might also know him as the voice of The Tick and Waldo from Where's Wally?.

Early Life and Beginnings

Townsend Coleman was born in New York City, New York. In 1955, when he was very young, his family moved to Denver, Colorado.

Starting in Radio

Before becoming a voice actor, Coleman worked as a disc jockey (DJ). He was a DJ for a radio station called WGCL in Cleveland, Ohio, in the late 1970s.

He also acted in several plays during this time. These plays were put on by a group called Jerry Leonard's Heights Youth Theater.

From Dance Shows to Voice Acting

Before he started voice acting, Coleman hosted two dance shows on local TV. One was called We're Dancin' in New York City. The other was The Dance Show in Atlanta.

A Career in Voice Acting

Coleman's journey as a voice actor really began in the 1980s. He moved to Los Angeles and tried out for a role on Inspector Gadget. He got the part of Corporal Capeman.

Famous Cartoon Voices

Coleman has voiced many characters in popular cartoons. He was Riot on Jem and Gobo in the animated version of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock. He also voiced Scott Howard on the cartoon Teen Wolf.

From 1987 to 1996, Coleman was the voice of Michelangelo in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. He also voiced other characters in the show, like the Rat King and Krang.

In 1994, he became the voice of The Tick in The Tick cartoon series. For this role, he was even nominated for an Annie Award, which is a big award for animation.

Voices in Commercials and Radio

You've probably heard Coleman's voice in many TV commercials. He was the voice of the 7-Up "Spot" character. He also voiced the Keebler Elves and the Raid Bugs.

Since the early 1990s, Coleman has been the voice for NBC commercials. He announced shows like Must See TV and The Tonight Show.

Since 1994, Coleman has voiced Jason Whittaker on the Focus on the Family radio drama Adventures in Odyssey.

Recent Roles

Coleman has continued to voice characters in newer shows. He returned to the Transformers world by voicing Sentinel Prime in the Transformers Animated series. This character was even designed to look a bit like The Tick!

More recently, he voiced Neddy the Mallet in the Cartoon Network series, Mighty Magiswords. Neddy's personality was based on The Tick, which helped Coleman get the role. This was his first original cartoon role in many years.

In 2017, he also returned to the Tick series. He voiced an ex-superhero dog named Midnight in the 2017 series on Amazon Prime.

Film and TV Appearances

Townsend Coleman has voiced characters in many movies and TV shows.

Movies

Television Shows

Video Games

Radio Shows

Announcer Roles

• NBC advertising (1992–2009)