# What's the science behind impersonating people's voices? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 13, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406 "2022-02-13T16:29:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [March 5, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406/21 "2022-03-05T18:23:24Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > Really? Even an amateur impressionist with some skills will sound pretty impressive. Have you seen that clip where Mark Hamill does Harrison Ford? It’s uncanny. Yes, I have seen and heard it. As @Francis_Vaughan notes, Hamill is no amateur – he is a very skilled voice actor and impressionist. Yes, he does an excellent impression of Harrison Ford – but with one’s eyes closed (or just hearing audio), I suspect that most people would still say “that sounds _like_ Harrison Ford, but it’s not actually him.” ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406/22 "2022-03-05T19:48:19Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > I suspect the celebrity artist’s lawyers would have something to say I’d be interested in hearing from some lawyers about this. Maybe if the instructions were to imitate the particular celebrity’s pet phrases or his particular mannerisms or something, but if the ad agency hired an impersonator and just told him, “We were hoping for a Harrison Ford kind of sound here,” and on Take 2 asked, “Maybe give it more of a Tom Selleck-type feel?” and on Take 3 said, “Great, but can you put some Ted Danson into it? Let’s see how that works,” they could claim in court that they were just trying to describe some general qualities to inspire the actor, and never actually instructed him to impersonate anyone. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406/23 "2022-03-05T19:52:31Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > but if the ad agency hired an impersonator and just told him, “We were hoping for a Harrison Ford kind of sound here,” and on Take 2 asked, “Maybe give it more of a Tom Selleck-type feel?” and on Take 3 said, “Great, but can you put some Ted Danson into it? Let’s see how that works,” It now sounds like you’re asking about having an impersonator **not** do a straight impersonation, but just capture some of the “general qualities” of a celebrity’s voice. That’s not really an impression, IMO, and it feels like you’ve moved the goalposts a little bit from when you originally asked about: > [@Roger\_That](#): > > What I wonder about is why ad agencies pay a lot of money to famous people to do voice-overs on commercials when they could get a good impressionist to do **the same exact thing** for a lot cheaper. (emphasis mine) ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406/24 "2022-03-05T20:06:18Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It now sounds… What I’m trying to get at is that there must be some safe grounds where an agency can hire a skilled impersonator, and give him instructions that will get some spot-on celebrity impersonations but the agency will be protected legally against asking specifically that the celebrity they end up using has his or her property used without permission. You can’t copyright your voice, can you? I suspect that absent using someone’s catch-phrases or specific shtick, it’s very hard to make such a case in court. But IANAL so I’m asking. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406/25 "2022-03-05T20:58:57Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > What I’m trying to get at is that there must be some safe grounds where an agency can hire a skilled impersonator, and give him instructions that will get some spot-on celebrity impersonations but the agency will be protected legally against asking specifically that the celebrity they end up using has his or her property used without permission. See what I posted in post #20 – I’ve seen and heard ads which use a disclaimer “celebrity voice impersonated.” ---
**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:** [March 5, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406/26 "2022-03-05T21:07:41Z")
Also, you may find this article informative: It notes, among other things, that while voices, generally, are not subject to copyright, if a celebrity has a particularly distinctive voice, U.S. copyright law might possibly apply. The big legal issue seems to be whether use of an impersonator implies, to the casual viewer, that the actual celebrity has been used by the advertiser (and, thus, said celebrity is seen as implicitly endorsing the product). I would suspect that this is particularly an issue for celebrities who choose to not do any advertising, as well as for those who are opposed to the particular brand or product being advertised. > [@](#): > > In the US voice actors have been confirmed to have certain rights in their works. In [Midler v Ford Motor Co.](https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar_case?q=Bette+Midler,+Plaintiff-Appellant,+v.+Ford+Motor+Company&hl=en&as_sdt=2006&case=6021003493814451958&scilh=0), the singer and voice-actor Bette Midler asserted her rights in her voice, which was imitated in an advert by Ford. Although the Court of Appeal stated that _“…A voice is not copyrightable. The sounds are not ‘fixed’”_ , they did afford her rights under common law for appropriation of identity. They highlighted that _“…[a] voice is as distinctive and personal as a face. The human voice is one of the most palpable ways identity is manifested”_ . Arguably this is correct, since just a person’s voice in the abstract is not necessarily protectable, but the underlying work, including the recording of that work, could be. > > Similarly in [Waits v Frito-Lay Inc.](https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar_case?case=15989138338581244750&q=Waits+v.+Frito-Lay,+Inc.,&hl=en&as_sdt=2006), the US Court of Appeal determined that a radio commercial that imitated the voice of Tom Waits, a famous singer with a very unique voice, amounted to appropriation of publicity rights under California law and false, implied endorsement under federal law. > > Copyright does offer the widest set of rights in one’s voice, particularly in the United States, which would be used to protect a distinctive, well-known voice, but it would be unlikely that someone without the notoriety would succeed. > **[That Sounds Good - Do You Have IP Rights in Your Own Voice?](https://www.ipiustitia.com/2018/01/that-sounds-good-do-you-have-ip-rights.html)** > > A blog about Intellectual Property Law news, cases and legislation, made accessible to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406/27 "2022-03-05T21:31:35Z")
In a voiceover ad the IP right probably in play will be ‘right of publicity.’ Basically the right of a (usually famous) person to their endorsements of products. If you’re fooling people into thinking it is the celebrity, you might be losing a lawsuit. Voice is not always explicitly listed in the elements, but in some states is. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406/28 "2022-03-06T02:53:50Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I may sound like **Rich Little** in my mind, but once I open my mouth I sound like an idiot. I remember him on variety shows in the 1970s. He was great. I just looked him up. He’s still alive. I wonder if he still performs? ---
**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:** [March 6, 2022, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406/29 "2022-03-06T03:51:50Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I remember him on variety shows in the 1970s. He was great. > > I just looked him up. He’s still alive. I wonder if he still performs? There was a thread on Little in Cafe Society last year. He still performs in Vegas (see the link below), though I remember someone in that other thread commenting that they went to see his show a few years ago, and a lot of it was video clips of Little’s old performances, and the entire act was centered on the same celebrity impressions he did back in the '70s. > **[Rich Little: Live at the Laugh Factory | Tropicana Las Vegas](https://casinos.ballys.com/tropicana-las-vegas/rich-little.htm)** > > Treat yourself to something special with legendary comedian and impersonator Rich Little, performing limited-time Vegas comedy shows at Tropicana Las Vegas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-science-behind-impersonating-peoples-voices/959406.md?page=1)