Frank Welker: The Man Who Exploited Scooby-Doo
Jul 18, 2021 14:27:14 GMT -5
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Post by Retro Kartoonz on Jul 18, 2021 14:27:14 GMT -5
Voice actors tend to be the lesser known aspects of a film or television series. Their voices are heard, but the audience never really gets to know them personally. This is the case for a man who started his career in the 1960s and has been the voice of Curious George, Garfield, Speed Buggy, Scooby-Doo, and most notably, Fred Jones. Even though Scooby-Doo is unarguably a more pronounced character than Fred Jones in the Scooby-Doo franchise, Welker had a much larger role in voicing Fred Jones than he did voicing Scooby-Doo.
For some background information, Welker was born in 1946 and began his career in the 1960's as a stand up comedian and impressionist. As of 2021, Welker holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits. Because of this feat, he has a box-office gross of $17.4 billion. Welker’s career took off in 1969 when he received his first major voice role as Fred Jones in the new Saturday morning cartoon, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? Little did Welker know that fifty-two years later he would still be an iconic voice in one of the most well known cartoons to ever come to television.
Flashing back to 1969, it is important to note that, at the time, Welker yearned for Shaggy’s role, not Fred’s. In fact, Casey Kasem, the original voice of Shaggy, tried out for Fred’s role originally. As it turns out, the roles were reversed and Welker ended up with Fred’s while Kasem assumed Shaggy’s.
From 1969 until 1988, Welker voiced Fred whenever Fred was present. There were several times over the years where Fred was not present in certain episodes and incarnations. Obviously, when Fred was not present, Welker was not present to voice Fred. In addition to voicing Fred, Welker was also the voice of several side characters in several different episodes throughout the almost twenty year period. He was most often the voice of side characters when Fred was not in a specific episode or incarnation.
The first incarnation where Welker was totally absent was titled The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. There were a few situations before this when Welker was not present, but in those situations, he was present for part of the incarnation. This incarnation only ran for one year in 1985. It is unclear why Welker was absent in this incarnation, but one reason that could explain his absence is that Fred was left out of this incarnation. The incarnation included the protagonists of Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, and two new characters: Flim-Flam and Vincent Van Ghoul. The common antagonists were two characters named Weerd and Bogel. What is interesting is the fact that there were previous series of Scooby-Doo where Fred was not present and Welker was involved in voicing other side characters. In The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Fred is not present AND Welker did not voice any side characters. It is unknown why Welker sat this incarnation out, but it is known that he continued this leave from the Scooby-Doo TV shows until 2002; however, he was involved in a few movies between the years of 1984 and 2002. In 1988, Welker was involved in Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School and Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf. In 1994, Welker voiced several side characters in the made-for-television film titled Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights. Additionally, Welker starred in four other films before he returned to Scooby-Doo television in 2002. These films were Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998), Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost (1999), Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000), and the 2001 film, Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase. More will be discussed on Welker’s role in Scooby-Doo movies later.
One interesting detail that is noteworthy is the fact that during the 1988 series titled A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Welker did not voice Fred even though Fred was a character in the series. During this incarnation, the voicing role was taken over by a man named Carl Steven who assumed the role until the incarnation concluded in 1991. Steven was just seventeen when he voiced Fred in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It can be assumed that Steven picked up the voice role as Fred from Welker because of the fact that he had a less mature voice. In fact, this was vital for the role as the characters in the show were portrayed as younger versions of themselves. This trend was popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s and was dubbed “babyfication”. For additional context, Welker is not totally excluded from this incarnation. He was the voice of several side characters throughout this series of Scooby-Doo.
After a few year hiatus of not voicing Fred in the Scooby-Doo television shows, Welker came back in 2002 and, once again, presumed the role. The 21st century brought about a new rendition of Scooby-Doo titled What’s New, Scooby-Doo? From this incarnation to the present incarnation titled Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, Welker has continued to voice Fred religiously.
When the topic of Scooby-Doo movies (not TV shows) is brought up, it is likely that the name of Frank Welker enters the conversation, as he was a repetitive figure in them over the years. For simplicity, it can be assumed that Welker voiced Fred in every movie of Scooby-Doo that was ever produced. This is not entirely true, as there were a select few movies where Frank Welker was not on the cast list. In addition, Welker voiced several different characters in the movies where the character of Fred was not present. One example of a movie where Welker was not on the voice cast was in the 1987 film titled Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers. One reason that may explain why Welker was not in the cast is the fact that Fred was not a character in this film. This is a good theory besides that there were several episodes and movies when Fred was not present and Welker still had several voice roles. Additionally, a year later, in 1988, two more films were released. These two films were titled Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School and Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf. Interestingly enough, both of these films did not include Fred. Even though both of these films left out the character of Fred, Welker was a voice actor in both. Did Welker just decide to take off the year in 1987?
Lastly, Welkers role in Scooby-Doo video games needs to be discussed, as he was present in several. Now, the first ever Scooby-Doo game came out in 1983, but Welker started his Scooby-Doo video game career in 1999 in the game titled Scooby-Doo! Mystery of the Fun Park Phantom. This game was released for Windows. In 2001, the game Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase was released for both PlayStation and the Game Boy Advanced. Interestingly, Welker was only the voice of Fred in the Playstation edition. To date, Welker has voiced in eight different games spanning across eight different consoles.
One quick side note, Welker has voiced Scooby-Doo since 1997 when the original voice of Scooby-Doo, Don Messick, passed away after an incredible fifty-five year career. Due to this assumption of Scooby’s role, Welker has been voicing two of the main characters of the Scooby-Doo franchise since 1997. These two main characters, of course, being Scooby and Fred.
Frank Welker made his legacy by taking on the large role of voicing Fred Jones in the multimedia enterprise of Scooby-Doo. He did this via voicing Fred in TV shows, films, and video games. It is safe to say that Scooby-Doo would not be what it is today without the dedication from Welker. It is vital for the success of the Scooby-Doo franchise that Welker continues his renowned work.
For some background information, Welker was born in 1946 and began his career in the 1960's as a stand up comedian and impressionist. As of 2021, Welker holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits. Because of this feat, he has a box-office gross of $17.4 billion. Welker’s career took off in 1969 when he received his first major voice role as Fred Jones in the new Saturday morning cartoon, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? Little did Welker know that fifty-two years later he would still be an iconic voice in one of the most well known cartoons to ever come to television.
Flashing back to 1969, it is important to note that, at the time, Welker yearned for Shaggy’s role, not Fred’s. In fact, Casey Kasem, the original voice of Shaggy, tried out for Fred’s role originally. As it turns out, the roles were reversed and Welker ended up with Fred’s while Kasem assumed Shaggy’s.
From 1969 until 1988, Welker voiced Fred whenever Fred was present. There were several times over the years where Fred was not present in certain episodes and incarnations. Obviously, when Fred was not present, Welker was not present to voice Fred. In addition to voicing Fred, Welker was also the voice of several side characters in several different episodes throughout the almost twenty year period. He was most often the voice of side characters when Fred was not in a specific episode or incarnation.
The first incarnation where Welker was totally absent was titled The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. There were a few situations before this when Welker was not present, but in those situations, he was present for part of the incarnation. This incarnation only ran for one year in 1985. It is unclear why Welker was absent in this incarnation, but one reason that could explain his absence is that Fred was left out of this incarnation. The incarnation included the protagonists of Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, and two new characters: Flim-Flam and Vincent Van Ghoul. The common antagonists were two characters named Weerd and Bogel. What is interesting is the fact that there were previous series of Scooby-Doo where Fred was not present and Welker was involved in voicing other side characters. In The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Fred is not present AND Welker did not voice any side characters. It is unknown why Welker sat this incarnation out, but it is known that he continued this leave from the Scooby-Doo TV shows until 2002; however, he was involved in a few movies between the years of 1984 and 2002. In 1988, Welker was involved in Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School and Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf. In 1994, Welker voiced several side characters in the made-for-television film titled Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights. Additionally, Welker starred in four other films before he returned to Scooby-Doo television in 2002. These films were Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998), Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost (1999), Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000), and the 2001 film, Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase. More will be discussed on Welker’s role in Scooby-Doo movies later.
One interesting detail that is noteworthy is the fact that during the 1988 series titled A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Welker did not voice Fred even though Fred was a character in the series. During this incarnation, the voicing role was taken over by a man named Carl Steven who assumed the role until the incarnation concluded in 1991. Steven was just seventeen when he voiced Fred in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It can be assumed that Steven picked up the voice role as Fred from Welker because of the fact that he had a less mature voice. In fact, this was vital for the role as the characters in the show were portrayed as younger versions of themselves. This trend was popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s and was dubbed “babyfication”. For additional context, Welker is not totally excluded from this incarnation. He was the voice of several side characters throughout this series of Scooby-Doo.
After a few year hiatus of not voicing Fred in the Scooby-Doo television shows, Welker came back in 2002 and, once again, presumed the role. The 21st century brought about a new rendition of Scooby-Doo titled What’s New, Scooby-Doo? From this incarnation to the present incarnation titled Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, Welker has continued to voice Fred religiously.
When the topic of Scooby-Doo movies (not TV shows) is brought up, it is likely that the name of Frank Welker enters the conversation, as he was a repetitive figure in them over the years. For simplicity, it can be assumed that Welker voiced Fred in every movie of Scooby-Doo that was ever produced. This is not entirely true, as there were a select few movies where Frank Welker was not on the cast list. In addition, Welker voiced several different characters in the movies where the character of Fred was not present. One example of a movie where Welker was not on the voice cast was in the 1987 film titled Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers. One reason that may explain why Welker was not in the cast is the fact that Fred was not a character in this film. This is a good theory besides that there were several episodes and movies when Fred was not present and Welker still had several voice roles. Additionally, a year later, in 1988, two more films were released. These two films were titled Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School and Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf. Interestingly enough, both of these films did not include Fred. Even though both of these films left out the character of Fred, Welker was a voice actor in both. Did Welker just decide to take off the year in 1987?
Lastly, Welkers role in Scooby-Doo video games needs to be discussed, as he was present in several. Now, the first ever Scooby-Doo game came out in 1983, but Welker started his Scooby-Doo video game career in 1999 in the game titled Scooby-Doo! Mystery of the Fun Park Phantom. This game was released for Windows. In 2001, the game Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase was released for both PlayStation and the Game Boy Advanced. Interestingly, Welker was only the voice of Fred in the Playstation edition. To date, Welker has voiced in eight different games spanning across eight different consoles.
One quick side note, Welker has voiced Scooby-Doo since 1997 when the original voice of Scooby-Doo, Don Messick, passed away after an incredible fifty-five year career. Due to this assumption of Scooby’s role, Welker has been voicing two of the main characters of the Scooby-Doo franchise since 1997. These two main characters, of course, being Scooby and Fred.
Frank Welker made his legacy by taking on the large role of voicing Fred Jones in the multimedia enterprise of Scooby-Doo. He did this via voicing Fred in TV shows, films, and video games. It is safe to say that Scooby-Doo would not be what it is today without the dedication from Welker. It is vital for the success of the Scooby-Doo franchise that Welker continues his renowned work.
