Townsend Coleman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Townsend Coleman
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Coleman at Animate! Columbus in 2024
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Townsend Putnam Coleman III
May 28, 1954 New York City, New York, United States
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| Occupation | Voice actor, DJ |
| Years active | 1974–present |
Townsend Putnam Coleman III (born May 28, 1954) is an American voice actor. He has lent his voice to many popular animated series and TV commercials since the early 1980s. Some of his most famous roles include Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jason Whittaker in Adventures in Odyssey, and the main characters in Where's Wally? and The Tick.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Townsend Putnam Coleman III was born in New York City, New York. His family moved to Denver, Colorado in 1955 when he was just a baby.
Starting in Entertainment
Before becoming a voice actor, Coleman worked as a disc jockey (DJ) at a radio station in Cleveland, Ohio, in the late 1970s. He also acted in several plays in University Heights.
Later, he hosted two dance shows on local TV stations. One was called We're Dancin' in New York City, and the other was The Dance Show in Atlanta.
Voice Acting Career
Coleman's career as a voice actor really took off in the 1980s. After moving to Los Angeles, he got his first big voice role as Corporal Capeman on Inspector Gadget.
Famous Cartoon Voices
He voiced many characters in popular cartoons, including:
- Riot on Jem
- Gobo in the animated Fraggle Rock
- Scott Howard on Teen Wolf
- Rewind on Transformers
From 1987 to 1996, Coleman was the voice of Michelangelo in the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. He also voiced The Tick in the 1994 cartoon series, which earned him an award nomination.
Commercials and Radio
You might have heard Coleman's voice in many TV commercials. He was the voice of the 7-Up "Spot" character, some of the Keebler Elves, and the Raid Bugs. He also voiced commercials for NBC shows like Must See TV and The Tonight Show for many years.
Since 1994, Coleman has been the voice of Jason Whittaker on the popular radio drama Adventures in Odyssey.
Later Voice Roles
Coleman 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! He also voiced Neddy the Mallet in the Cartoon Network series, Mighty Magiswords.
In 2016, he joined The Tick again, but this time in the Amazon Prime live-action series. He voiced an ex-superhero dog named Midnight.
Film Roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Black Moon Rising | Waiter | Live action |
| The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure | Eliab, Fox Soldier #2 | Television film | |
| The Amazing Adventures of Inspector Gadget | Cpl. Capeman | ||
| 1987 | Alice Through the Looking Glass | Tom Fool | Television film |
| 1988 | Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears | Zor One | |
| 1992 | FernGully: The Last Rainforest | Knotty | |
| 1998 | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero | Additional voices | Direct-to-video |
| Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night | Father Joseph (speaking voice) | ||
| 2000 | The Crippled Lamb | Samuel, Daniel, Joseph | Television film |
| 2007 | Superman: Doomsday | Drill Operator | Direct-to-video |
| 2008 | Justice League: The New Frontier | Will Magnus | |
| 2013 | Batman: The Dark Knight Returns | Morrie | |
| Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite | Commissioner Gordon | ||
| 2016 | Sing | Harry | |
| 2018 | The Grinch | Additional Voices | |
| 2019 | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | The F.B.I. Intro Announcer (voice) | uncredited |
Television Roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Inspector Gadget | Corporal Capeman, Sweetly | |
| 1986 | The Transformers | Mini-Cassette Rewind, Martin | |
| 1986–1987 | Teen Wolf | Scott Howard / Teen Wolf | |
| 1987–1996 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Michaelangelo Rat King Krang Shredder Usagi Yojimbo Rahzar Screwloose additional voices |
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| 1987 | Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series | Gobo Fraggle, Architect Doozer | 13 episodes |
| 1988 | Jem and the Holograms | Rory "Riot" Llewelyn | |
| 1988 | Superman | Teenage Clark Kent, Ted Kline | |
| 1989 | Ring Raiders | Yasu Yakamura | |
| 1990 | TaleSpin | Turkey Client, Newsreel Announcer | Episode: "From Here to Machinery" |
| 1991 | Darkwing Duck | Patrick | Episode: "Whiffle While You Work" |
| 1991 | Where's Wally? | Waldo | |
| 1991–1992 | Space Cats | Scratch | |
| 1992 | Batman: The Animated Series | Chick | Episode: "It's Never Too Late" |
| 1994–1996 | The Tick | The Tick | |
| 1995–1996 | Timon & Pumbaa | Vulture Police, Purplest Stupidest Pirate | |
| 1995–1997 | Spider-Man: The Animated Series | Silvermane (Young) | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series | Canard | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Superman: The Animated Series | Various voices | 4 episodes |
| 1997–1999 | The New Batman Adventures | Rocco, Mugsy | 2 episodes |
| 1997–1998 | Pinky and the Brain | Various voices | 8 episodes |
| 1998 | Animaniacs | Pressberg Katzeneisnerman | Episode: "Hooray for North Hollywood" |
| 1998 | I Am Weasel | Hector, Prisoner | Episode: "I Stand Corrected" |
| 1998–2002 | The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries | Various voices | 3 episodes |
| 1999–2000 | Batman Beyond | False-Face, Lieutenant | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain | Claude Gristle | Episode: "Hooray for Meat" |
| 2002 | Spy TV | Announcer | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Duck Dodgers | Superego Dodgers, Protectorate #2 | Episode: "A Lame Duck Mind" |
| 2007 | The Batman | Campus Guard | Episode: "Seconds" |
| 2007–2009 | Transformers: Animated | Sentinel Prime, additional voices | 13 episodes |
| 2014–2017 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 80s Michelangelo, Clerk | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | Hercules | Episode: "The Tale of Hercules" |
| 2016–2018 | Mighty Magiswords | Neddy the Mallet, various voices | |
| 2017–2018 | The Tick | Midnight, Onward |
Video Game Roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | King's Quest VI | Vizier Abdul Alhazred, Shamir Shamazel, Lord Azure | |
| 2007 | Mass Effect | Lord Darius, Rafael Vargas, Zabaleta | |
| 2012 | Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes | Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter, Commissioner Gordon, General Zod | |
| Spec Ops: The Line | Soldiers | ||
| 2021 | Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl | Michelangelo | Voiceover added in 2022 update |
| 2022 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge | Michelangelo, Rat King, Rahzar | |
| 2022 | Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway | Michelangelo |
Radio Roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–present | Adventures in Odyssey | Jason Whittaker | 131 episodes |
Announcer Work
- NBC advertising (1992–2009)
