Patrick Warburton

Patrick Warburton

In the 1950s, Patrick Warburton would have probably been described as tall, dark and handsome. Although he did start out as a model, the 6' 3" married father of 4, is more known for his voice than his physical appearance. Other than perhaps Tim Curry, no other actor has been so prolific in voice-over animation.

Warburton started acting on television in the late 80's and made appearances on some of the most notable shows of the time. From Northern Exposure, to Murphy Brown to Mad About You, to Designing Women, Warburton made the network rounds. It wasn’t until his 11 episode stint on Seinfeld, as David Puddy, that Warburton finally had an audience take notice. That same year Warburton did his first television voice work on an episode of the animated Disney series Hercules.

With his notoriety from Seinfeld, Warburton started some film work. He played a bodyguard who gets knifed in Scream 3. Disney made Warburton the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the animated television series in 2000. That same year Disney cast him as Kronk, in the animated feature The Emperor’s New Groove.

Although his voice work was getting him jobs, Warburton continued to actually appear on television in such shows as, Malcolm in the Middle, and 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Daughter. In 2001 he starred in his very own show, The Tick, which ran for 2 years. He even had a small role in Men in Black II, in 2002. He did an American Express commercial with Jerry Seinfeld doing the voice of Superman in 2004.

Suddenly it seemed that Patrick Warburton’s voice was everywhere. He can be heard in the video game series Tak. His voice was in the theatrical films Hoodwinked, Sky High, Chicken Little and Open Season. He voiced Kronk for the direct to DVD sequel, The Emperor’s New Groove 2: Kronk’s New Groove. On television he was heard in a couple of episodes of The Batman animated show as well as Mr X on The Xs. He did all this while starring in the live action television show Less Than Perfect, 2003-2006.

No doubt to take a break from all of the family entertainment, Warburton played the lead in the independent, rated R, film The Civilization of Maxwell Bright. The adult themed film features Warburton in a full monty.  It also received good reviews and several awards. Although made in 2005 it was only given a limited release in 2007.

Things did not slow down for Warburton. He voice was a regular on Kim Possible, The Family Guy, The Venture Bros, and The Emperor’s New School. In 2007 he was back on the big screen as Prince Humperdink in the feature Happily N’Ever After. He also re-teamed with Jerry Seinfeld and lent his voice to Bee Movie. Patrick Warburton himself, could be seen this year in Underdog on the big screen and on his new television show Rules of Engagement, which co-stars Emperors New Groove’s David Spade.

Have we heard the last of Patrick Warburton? Of course not. A deep monotone voice like that is to good to put away. Next year he can be heard in the animated feature Space Chimps, and seen in the live action film Made for Each Other.