Larry Kenney
Larry Kenney (born August 5, 1947) is an American voice actor and radio personality.[2]
Larry Kenney | |
|---|---|
Kenney in March 2014 | |
| Born | August 5, 1947 Pekin, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Voice actor, radio personality |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Known for | Imus in the Morning ThunderCats SilverHawks Count Chocula Sonny the Cuckoo Bird Bowling for Dollars |
| Spouse | Carol Ann Jacobs Kenney[1] |
| Children | 3, including Kerri Kenney |
Early life edit
Larry Kenney was born August 5, 1947, in Pekin, Illinois,[2] the son of George and Joyce Kenney.[3] He has a brother, Steven, and a sister, Jody.[3] He graduated from Pekin Community High School.[4] He attended Western Illinois University but did not graduate.[5]
Career edit
In 1963, Kenney began his radio career at the age of 15 as a disc jockey at WIRL in Peoria, Illinois.[2][6] After WIRL, he worked at WOWO, Fort Wayne, Indiana;[2] WKYC (AM, now WTAM), Cleveland, Ohio (1970–1973); WHN, New York City;[6] WYNY, New York City; WJJD (now WYLL), Chicago, Illinois; and WKHK (now WLTW), New York City[2] until 1972.[6]
Kenney was part of the regular cast on the Imus in the Morning[6] radio show from 1973 to 2007, where he recorded impersonations of dozens of characters, including General George Patton,[7] Andy Rooney,[8] and Ross Perot.[7]
Also in 1973, Kenney joined 1050 WHN (now WEPN), a country music station in New York City.[5][9] He originally announced the afternoon drive-time, before taking over the prestigious morning drive-time in 1974.[10] His show was a hit, not only for the music, but also for his comical characters who "joined" him while performing his deejay duties. Billboard named him Best Country Disc Jockey "at a station in a metropolitan area of one million, or more" in 1976[11] and Best Country Music Personality in 1978.[12] He stayed at WHN until the fall of 1979, when he moved to WYNY to host the morning slot for a year[13] before moving to WKHK's (now WLTW) morning show.[14] He was the host of the New York edition of the television show Bowling for Dollars on WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV) from 1976 to 1979.[15][16]
He is also known for his voice work as Lion-O on the 1980s Rankin/Bass cartoon ThunderCats, and Karate Kat, a martial arts blackbelt cat featured as part of The Comic Strip. He was also the voice of Bluegrass in SilverHawks and Dolph in TigerSharks.[1] Kenney also did voice work for several breakfast cereal characters, including Count Chocula and Sonny the Cuckoo Bird.[2][6] In recent years, he has reprised this role for humorous ThunderCats references on the animated series Family Guy.[1] In the 2011 ThunderCats animated series on Cartoon Network, Kenney returned to the series, but as Claudus, Lion-O's and Tygra's father.[17]
Kenney provided voice-overs for The State, the 1990s sketch comedy cult classic which featured his daughter, Kerri Kenney.[18] He was also the announcer for VH1's Best Week Ever during its run from 2004 to 2009,[19] and provides introductions for Westwood One's radio coverage of Monday Night Football[citation needed] and various other commercial work, including for Skittles and Campbell's soup.[20] He was the announcer for The Beat 102.7 in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV and K.T.I. Radio in the L.A. Noire.[1] He also gives the voice to JB Cripps in Red Dead Online, the online component of Red Dead Redemption 2.[21]
In 2008, he was hired to do an impersonation of Mark Twain for a gala held by the Mark Twain House and Museum.[22]
Personal life edit
He and his wife Carol Ann Jacobs Kenney[1] have three children: daughters Kerri and Ashley, and son Tanner.[2] Kerri, the eldest, is an actress, best known for her work on the series Reno 911! and The State. Ashley works in the nonprofit sector and is the bassist and singer for the band Witch Hair out of New Haven, Connecticut.[23] Tanner did a voice of the Intelligent Agenda Caller in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.[24] Kenney now lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.[25][4]
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | A Star for Jeremy | Voice, television film | |
| 1985 | The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus | Wind Demon Commander | Voice, television film |
| 1986 | Light Moments in Sports 1986 | Narrator | Voice, television film |
| 1987 | Thundercats Ho! the Movie | Lion-O, Jackalman | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 1992 | Aisle Six | Announcer | Voice, short film |
| 1993 | The Waiters | Voice, short film | |
| 1993 | The Twelve Days of Christmas | Sir Carolboomer | Voice, television film |
| 2005 | Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story | Lion-O | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2011 | Butterfly Blues | Claudus | Voice, television short |
| 2015 | The macabre madness of Mortulia Morose | Host | Voice, short film |
| 2015 | Vault of Macabre II | Host | Voice, short film |
| 2015 | Vault of the Macabre Presents Scary Little Christmas | Host | Voice, short film |
| 2016 | Vault of the Macabre Presents All Hallow's Eve | Host | Voice, short film |
| 2016 | Vault of the Macabre Presents: the Fright Before Christmas | Host | Voice, short film |
| 2017 | Vault of the Macabre: the House Upon the Hill | Host | Voice, short film |
| 2017 | Vault of the Macabre: Christmas Cheer | Host | Voice, short film |
| 2018 | Vault of the Macabre Presents the Witching Hour | Host | Voice, short film |
| 2018 | Vault of the Macabre Presents the Christmas Witch | Host | Voice, short film |
| 2020 | Unit Eleven | Narrator | |
| 2020 | The Bloody Man | Radio DJ | Voice |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–1989 | ThunderCats | Lion-O, Jackalman, Snarf Eggbert, Torr, Safari Joe, Wizz-Ra, Pilot | Voice, main role |
| 1986 | SilverHawks | Lt. Colonel Bluegrass, Pokerface, Buzzsaw, Moonstryker, Time Stopper, General Rawlings, Professor Power, Space Bandit, Lord Cash, Warden Lockup | Voice, 65 episodes |
| 1987 | TigerSharks | Dolph | Voice |
| 1987 | The Comic Strip | Dolph, Karate Kat, Boom-Boom Burmese | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2011–2012 | ThunderCats | Claudus[26] | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2019–2023 | Teen Titans Go! | The Chief, Original Lion-O | Voice, 12 episodes |
| 2020 | ThunderCats Roar | Jaga[26] | Voice, 4 episodes |
Video games edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | The Beat 102.7 Announcer | |
| 2010 | Mafia II | Frank Vinci,[26] DJ | |
| 2011 | L.A. Noire | K.T.I. Radio Announcer | |
| 2012 | Alan Wake's American Nightmare | Eddie Rodman[26] | |
| 2018 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | JB Cripps[26] | Red Dead Online only |
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Larry Kenney at IMDb. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Larry Kenney". NBC News. Microsoft. October 23, 1997. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ a b "Joyce Ann Kenney". Legacy. 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Tarter, Steve (February 20, 2019). "Cosplay, comics, games, toys all featured at PeoriaCon on March 2". Journal Star. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Adams, Val (October 13, 1974). "Radio Roundup". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 133. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e Fritz, Steve (May 29, 2008). "Lion-O - Behind The Fur with Larry Kenney". Newsarama.com. New York City: Imaginova Corp. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ a b "Imus". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 31, 1996. p. 50. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fillo, Maryellen (November 5, 2008). "Spilling the beans/A coffee break with Larry Kenney". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. C02. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Blackwell, Bruce (September 2, 1979). "A funny thing happened on the way to the toothbrush". The Journal News. White Plains, New York. p. 122. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Adams, Val (June 30, 1979). "Columbia roars for Miles Davis". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 106. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Disc jockey wins honor". The Times Recorder. Zanesville, Ohio. December 7, 1976. p. 7. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Billboard makes radio awards". The Journal Herald. Dayton, Ohio. August 18, 1978. p. 60. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Eaton, Anne (April 27, 1980). "Powers, Kenny are victims of ratings". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. p. 168. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kerins, Annabelle (October 25, 1980). "WRVR changes its name". Newsday. New York, New York. p. 56. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Botta, Mike (February 8, 1980). "WYNY scores some points with Jersey". The Herald News. Passaic, New Jersey. p. 43. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Larry Kenney". NBC. October 23, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ "Meet Larry Kenney at Retro Con 2018! **SATURDAY ONLY!**". RetroCons. April 3, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ Harris, Jeffrey (September 30, 2011). "PowerCon/ThunderCon 2011: Interview with Original Lion-O Voice Actor Larry Kenney". Anime Superhero. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ "INTERVIEW WITH LARRY KENNEY: PART ONE: THUNDERCATS HAS HIS TONGUE". Cosmic Book News. August 21, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ Tarter, Steve (n.d.). "Voice of Cocoa Puffs bird will be heard on WIRL this weekend". Journal Star. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ "JB CRIPPS". Behind the Voice Actors. n.d. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ Fillo, Maryellen (November 11, 2008). "Hallowed Ground". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. C02. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Loom creates "Echoes" on new single".
- ^ Tanner Kenney at IMDb. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ Fischetti, Alex (November 5, 2015). "Larry Kenney is cuckoo for cocoa puffs & HamletHub finds out why". Ridgefield's HamletHub. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Behind the Voice Actors – Larry Kenney". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
External links edit
Interviews edit
- Larry Kenney e-mail interview (2000) on Thundercatslair.com
- Larry Kenney interview (2002) on Matt Blank website
- Larry Kenney audio interview with Nick Mills (2008) on Thundercatslair.com
- interview (c. 2008) with Rob Shan Lone on insomniacmania.com — transcript
- "ThunderCat Has His Tongue" (2009) with Don E. Smith Jr. on Cosmic Booknews