You probably know his voice but you've never seen his face or heard his name. He's
Larry Kenney ... or ... Count Chocula ... or ... Sonny the Cuckoo Bird. He's also the announcer for the VH1 series "Best Week Ever." In the 1980's Kenney provided the voice for Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats among others. Larry has also made cameo voice appearances on "Family Guy," "Grand Theft Auto IV" and "Robot Chicken."
Kenney has been a respected voice in radio and television since 1963. He has twice won the coveted "Radio Personality of the Year Award" from Billboard Magazine. In 1973, he joined the cast of the "Imus in the Morning" a radio show, where he became known for his hilarious impersonations of such figures as
Henry Kissinger,
Richard Nixon,Ross Perot and
Andy Rooney. From 1976 to 1979 he was the host of the television game show "Bowling for Dollars."
Larry and his wife have three children.
Kerri, his oldest daughter, is also in show business, best known for her work on the Comedy Central series "Reno 911!"
I had a chance to ask Larry a few questions recently while he was en route to a project in California.
Anybody who grew up in the 1980's remembers you as the famous, Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats. Of course there are many rumors circulating of a possible Thundercats movie. Who do you think would be cast to play Lion-O?
"It's no longer a rumor; Warner Brothers has begun production of a full-length, CGI animated THUNDERCATS film and plans to have it in theatres in early 2010. No word yet on who will provide the voices."
What are some of the voices you have provided that readers may recognize but have no idea it was you?
On T-CATS, I did the voices of LION-O, JACKALMAN, RATTARO, and others. I was LT. BLUEGRASS on "SILVERHAWKS," DOLPH on "TIGERSHARKS," and BOOM BOOM BURMESE on "KARATE KAT." For 30 years, I've provided the voices of COUNT CHOCULA and SONNY THE COCOA PUFFS BIRD on TV commercials.
That being said, let's talk breakfast. You provided the voice of Sonny, the Cocoa Puffs cukoo bird and Count Chocula. So what's your favorite cereal?
To be honest, I'm a Wheaties, Raisin Bran kind of guy.
How have cartoons changed since the days when you provided voices for series such as Thundercats, SilverHawks, and TigerSharks?
I can't comment on the difference in Children's animated series, since my kids are grown and I have no occasion to watch today's batch. But the new generation of adult-oriented shows (Family Guy, Simpsons, American Dad, etc.) would have been rated "X" back in the 80's. I'm not a prude, but I'm honestly astonished at some of the language and topics on them. But then, the world has changed a great deal.
Rankin/Bass Productions was responsible for countless childhood television classics. Of course, most readers can easily call to mind their holiday classic, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, but you were the voice of the Commander of the Wind Demons in one of my favorite Rankin/Bass holiday films, the "Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." What do you think made Rankin/Bass so unique that keep their productions, particularly their holiday specials so incredibly popular today?
The Rankin Bass Holiday Specials will be popular forever, I think, because of the values and sense of decency and fair play they espouse.
What one message would you give your fans if you were given the opportunity to provide one memorable quote that would last for years?
"Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead." (Hans Christian Andersen)
Larry, your voice brought to life several of my childhood heroes and I enjoy following your career today. Thank you so much for taking time to visit with me.
Jeremy "Basil" Dannebohm writes from Denver, Colorado.