William Dufris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Dufris
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| Born |
William Duffy
February 1, 1958 Houlton, Maine, U.S.
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| Died | March 24, 2020 (aged 62) South Portland, Maine, U.S.
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| Occupation | Voice actor |
| Years active | 1978–2020 |
William Dufris (born February 1, 1958 – died March 24, 2020) was an American voice actor. He was also a talented narrator for audiobooks. He was known as William Dufris or Bill Dufris.
Contents
William Dufris's Amazing Career
William Dufris started his career in London, England. He worked on many radio plays for the BBC. He acted alongside famous people like Kathleen Turner and Helena Bonham-Carter.
He also worked with director Dirk Maggs on audio dramas. These included Spider-Man, where Dufris voiced the main character, Peter Parker. He also worked on Judge Dredd and An American Werewolf in London.
Starting His Own Companies
These experiences helped Dufris create his own audio company in the UK. It was called The Story Circle, Ltd.
When he moved back to the United States, he started Mind's Eye Productions. He also helped create Rocky Coast Radio Theatre and The AudioComics Company. For these companies, he was a producer, director, actor, and engineer.
He directed many audio projects for AudioComics. These included Starstruck and Titanium Rain. He also directed Super Indian, an audio comedy.
Voice of Bob the Builder
William Dufris was most famous for being the voice of Bob in the American English version of Bob the Builder. He voiced Bob for the first nine seasons of the popular children's animated series.
He also voiced other characters in Bob the Builder. These included Farmer Pickles, Mr. Beasley, Mr. Sabatini, and Skip.
Dufris also lent his voice to other TV shows. He was Elvis and Dougan in Rocky and the Dodos. He also dubbed several anime films. These included X, Appleseed, and two Lupin III movies.
He was also well-known for narrating the Pendragon book series. These books were written by D.J. McHale.
Later Work and Passing
In 2018, Dufris and Jack Bowman started a new audiobook company. It was called Dagaz Media.
William Dufris passed away on March 24, 2020. He was 62 years old.
Awards and Recognition
William Dufris was nominated for the Audie Awards twelve times. These awards are given by the Audio Publishers Association for great audiobooks. He won an Audie Award in 2012 for Best Non-Fiction.
He also won 24 Golden Earphones Awards from AudioFile Magazine. AudioFile even called him "One Of The Best Voices At The End Of The Century."
Publishers Weekly praised his reading of Neal Stephenson's novel Anathem. They called his performance "a delight for the ears."
Voice Acting Roles
Here are some of the shows and movies where William Dufris was a voice actor:
- Angel Cop
- Appleseed
- Bob the Builder - Bob, Farmer Pickles, Mr. Beasley, Mr. Sabatini, Skip (US dub)
- Judge
- Lupin III (The Secret of Mamo and Goodbye Lady Liberty) - Arsène Lupin III
- New Dominion Tank Police
- Patlabor: The Movie
- Patlabor 2: The Movie
- Rocky and the Dodos - Elvis, Dougan
- X
- Venus Wars
Audiobook Narrations
William Dufris narrated many audiobooks. Here are some of them:
Tantor Media Audiobooks
- Destroyermen series: Into the Storm, Crusade, Maelstrom, Distant Thunders, Rising Tides, Firestorm, Iron Gray Sea
- The Enduring Flame series: The Phoenix Unchained, The Phoenix Endangered, The Phoenix Transformed
- Holmes on the Range series: Holmes on the Range, On the Wrong Track, The Black Dove, The Crack in the Lens, World's Greatest Sleuth!
- The Imager Portfolio series: Imager, Imager's Challenge, Imager's Intrigue, Scholar, Princeps, Untitled
- Isaac Asimov's Robot series: The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- The Red Badge of Courage
Other Audiobook Titles
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Anathem by Neal Stephenson
- Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
- The Pendragon Adventure series
- Danse Macabre by Stephen King
- Replay by Ken Grimwood
- Old Man's War by John Scalzi
- The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
