# Actors who voiced cartoon characters of themselves **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [May 18, 2022, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607 "2022-05-18T12:33:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/1 "2022-05-18T12:33:22Z")
There are plenty of cartoons featuring famous actors, but in almost all the cases the voices are caricatures, provided by someone else. In the Disney Silly Symphony **Mother Goose Goes Hollywood** featured speaking caricatures of W.C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Katherine Hepburn and others, but none of the stars provided the voices. The Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon **Hollywood Steps Out** was similar, with James Cagney, Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, and others, none of whom was voiced by the actor. Years later the movie **Yellow Submarine** featured The Beatles – only none of the voices were actually by the Beatles (except in musical segments and the end sequence). This has been pretty much the standard. However, there are some cases where the actual actor depicted DID provide the voice for the cartoon character – and not always in big-budget productions. Just to get some definitions relatively straight, these are cases where the cartoon character is a caricature of the actor and is a role you would expect the actor to play, even if given another name in the production – the Beatles characters of **Yellow Submarine** are no more the real Beatles than the characters they played in **Help** , but they’re clearly supposed to be the Beatles. And cartoons using previous recordings of the actors don’t count – they had to have made the voice acting for that cartoon. So Jerry Colonna and Ed Wynn in Disney’s **Alice in Wonderland** don’t count. Nor to Robert Goulet and Judy Garland in **Gay Purree**. There’s going to be some gray areas, but I think these are pretty clear **Bud Abbott** played himself in _The Abbott and Costello Cartoon show_, a 1967 Hanna Barbera work. He reportedly used to get fully dressed in formal suit and tie, treating it as a regular acting gig. **Woody Allen** voiced the cartoon version of himself in the movie _Annie Hall_. There was a cartoon version of Woody Allen in the opening credits for _What’s Up, Tiger Lily?,_ but that one had no speaking lines. **Dick van Dyke** , surprisingly, provided the voice for himself in _The Haunted Carnival_, part of _The New Scooby Doo Movies_ (1972-1973). So did **Don Knotts, Jonathan Winters, Tim Conway, Phyllis Diller, Sandy Duncan, Don Adams, Mama Cass (!), Davy Jones, and Sonny and Cher.** (Also the cast of The Addams Family, but as their characters on that show) **Groucho Marx** has been voiced by many other voice actors, but he himself provided the voice for the Napoleon character from their 1924 play _I’ll Say She Is_ for the 1970 Rankin-Bass TV production _The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians_. He was 80 art the time. There are lots of other comedians who provide their own voices, but I suspect most if not all of the other ones are actually taken from recordings of their acts. But there was no recording of I’ll Say She Is (and Chico Marx’ part was performed by someone else, since he had died in 1961) **Adam Sandler** played himself essentially in the 2002 **Eight Crazy Nights** , based mostly on his _Hannukah Song_. I can make a case for the 2003 _Allan Brady Show_, with Carl Reiner, Rose Marie, and Dick van Dyke reprising their TV roles on The Dick van Dyke Show. But that leads to things like Gilligan’s Planet, and I’d rather not go there. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/2 "2022-05-18T12:42:09Z")
Every guest star on _The Simpsons._ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/3 "2022-05-18T12:46:33Z")
You beat me to it while I was[looking for a list.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Simpsons_guest_stars) Nitpick: lots and lots of guest stars on that show didn’t play themselves. edit: [Family Guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Family_Guy_guest_stars) has also had quite a few. [Futurama, too.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Futurama_guest_stars) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/4 "2022-05-18T12:53:00Z")
I presume we should exclude The Simpsons and Family Guy and similar shows with hundreds of celebs playing themselves. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I can make a case for the 2003 _Allan Brady Show_ , with Carl Reiner, Rose Marie, and Dick van Dyke reprising their TV roles on The Dick van Dyke Show. But this would be excluded, wouldn’t it? It’s a case of the actors reprising their roles in an animated version of the show, not the actors portraying themselves. Also excluded: _Star Trek Animated_, and _Fonz and the Happy Days gang_. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Any others? The Osmonds provided their own voices in [their cartoon show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Osmonds_(TV_series)). Muhammed Ali [had a show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_the_Greatest:_The_Adventures_of_Muhammad_Ali) where he provided his own voice. [As did Mike Tyson.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson_Mysteries) [And Mr T.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_T_(TV_series)) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/5 "2022-05-18T13:30:59Z")
In _Justice League Action_ the Joker and the Trickster kidnap Mark Hamill and hold him for ransom. All three characters are voiced by Mark Hamill, who then uses his voice acting skills to impersonate the Joker and the Trickster to escape. Oh, and Swamp Thing. Very Meta. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EL-VHe_4GmE/maxresdefault.jpg "Justice League Action | Missing the Mark | @dckids") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL-VHe_4GmE) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/6 "2022-05-18T13:32:37Z")
Scooby Doo had tons of real-voiced cameos. Someone mentioned the Simpsons, but some of those were fakes – Christopher Walken reading Goodnight Moon, off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/7 "2022-05-18T13:34:18Z")
Don Adams (Get Smart, Inspector Gadget) voiced himself in the Scooby Doo episode “The Exterminator”. [Short clip](https://youtu.be/VAp4CilvIuA?t=85) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/8 "2022-05-18T13:51:36Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > In _Justice League Action_ the Joker and the Trickster kidnap Mark Hamill and hold him for ransom. All three characters are voiced by Mark Hamill, who then uses his voice acting skills to impersonate the Joker and the Trickster to escape. Oh, and Swamp Thing. Very Meta. Didn’t know about that. Mark, of course, is pretty famously the voice of The Joker in animation. Hamill was doing cartoon voices _before_ he appeared as Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie. He’d done voices for Scooby Doo and the Flintstones and for the Ralph Bakshi movie _Wizards_ ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/9 "2022-05-18T14:09:16Z")
(deleted) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/10 "2022-05-18T14:13:10Z")
John Candy voiced his cartoon self in Camp Candy. Cute show. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/11 "2022-05-18T14:19:12Z")
Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale on _Bojack Horseman_. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/12 "2022-05-18T14:25:51Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The Osmonds provided their own voices in [their cartoon show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Osmonds_(TV_series)). But, interestingly, the Jackson Five, who had a similar [Saturday morning cartoon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jackson_5ive_(TV_series)) at about the same time as the Osmonds (and which was produced by the same company, Rankin/Bass), did _not_ provide their voices to their cartoon. However, Wikipedia says that Diana Ross did appear as herself in the series pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/13 "2022-05-18T14:38:11Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Every guest star on _The Simpsons._ > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Nitpick: lots and lots of guest stars on that show didn’t play themselves. Right: _Some_ guest stars played themselves (so, thanks to _The Simpsons_, three of the four Beatles have voiced cartoon versions of themselves). Some voiced cartoon versions of live-action characters they’re known for playing (e.g. Duchovny and Anderson as Mulder and Scully in the X-Files crossover episode). And some just voiced characters within the Simpsons universe (e.g. Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob, among many many others). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/14 "2022-05-18T14:43:20Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > You beat me to it while I was[looking for a list.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Simpsons_guest_stars) > > Nitpick: lots and lots of guest stars on that show didn’t play themselves. I wouldn’t say lots. In general, when someone plays a celebrity on the show, they’re voiced by the celebrity. There are a few exceptions – George Bush when he was Homer’s neighbor was one and I think Bill Clinton was also impersonated – but a show that had Thomas Pynchon on it clearly goes out of its way to use the real celebrity. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/15 "2022-05-18T14:48:46Z")
No, you’re right that they rarely use impersonators - especially in the later seasons. I meant that quite a lot of guest stars on the show did not play _themselves_, but original characters (see Thudlow’s post just above yours). ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/16 "2022-05-18T15:47:32Z")
_Arthur_ regularly featured guest stars voicing animal-ized versions of themselves. Here’s a scene with Tom and Ray Magliozzi of “Car Talk”: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s-q-vBKC_e0/hqdefault.jpg "Car Talk Guys on Arthur") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-q-vBKC_e0) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/17 "2022-05-18T15:53:53Z")
I think there were some then famous radio and vaudeville guys in old Warner cartoons giving voice to their characters, but are unknown now. Sorry I can’t be more vague. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/18 "2022-05-18T15:56:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Hamill was doing cartoon voices _before_ he appeared as Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie. He’d done voices for Scooby Doo and the Flintstones and for the Ralph Bakshi movie _Wizards_ Plus a starring role where he also sings the theme song. Most if not all episodes are on Youtube. (I’ve watched them. It is okay, but that sidekick genie is a real stooge.) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycKEi9urkNA) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/19 "2022-05-18T16:26:19Z")
There would be occasional appearances by celebs on The Flintstones playing modern stone-age versions of themselves, including: Tony Curtis as Stony Curtis, James Darren as Jimmy Darrock, Ann-Margaret as Ann-Margrock and Hoagy Carmichael as himself. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KjaNj_TKoy8/hqdefault.jpg "Fred and Barney Sing "Yabba Dabba Doo" w/ Hoagy Carmichael") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjaNj_TKoy8) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607/20 "2022-05-18T16:30:01Z")
Elon Musk voiced a character on _Rick and Morty_. The character was Elon Tusk, which was essentially Musk but with enormous teeth. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-voiced-cartoon-characters-of-themselves/964607.md?page=2)