LIVE Magazine Issue #267 February 8, 2018

LIVING LIFE HIGH ON THE HOG
The Man Behind Porky Pig!Emmy
Nominated Actor Comes to Camelot Theatre
for Benefit Performance
By Mallory Rose
What do Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Marvin
the Martian and Luke Skywalker all have
in common? Bob Bergen. That’s right! This
two-time Emmy nominated actor is one of
the most successful voice-over artists of our
generation. Yes, Bergen is the voice of all of
these beloved cartoon characters in addition
to a host of other popular characters on
some of the biggest animated projects on
both the big and small screens.
Bergen, The Voice Master, will be featured
in the upcoming On The Air! An Evening
of Radio Show Classic to benefit Dezart
Performs taking place at the Palm Springs
Camelot Theatre on Thursday, March 8th.
This popular event takes the audience back
to the Golden Age of Radio and brings
together a cast of celebrity performers
who recreate, on stage, some of radio’s
funniest and most memorable shows from
the 1940s and 50s. Complete with vintage
microphones, “on the air” and “applause”
signs, the actors, musicians and sound
effects crew will provide an unforgettable
evening of uproarious entertainment.
While participating in a previous On The Air!
performance, Bergen dazzled the audience
with an episode of Richard Diamond: Private
Detective as well as an original piece written
for Bergen’s Porky Pig. When asked what
classic radio shows will be featured this
year, Bergen explains, “Well, they’ve not
yet told me what scripts we are doing. But if
it’s anything like the last time I did this, and
I’m sure it will be, it’s going to be a blast!
We dress the part. They have an authentic
sound effects person with all the bells and
whistles of a classic radio show.”
Additional talent joining Bergen on stage
include Valorie Armstrong, Joyce Bulifant,
Bob Hardt, Millicent Martin, Sal Mistretta,
Roger Perry, Melinda Peterson, Phil Proctor,
Fred Willard, Francesca Amari, Darci
Daniels, Jaci Davis, Jea Lewis, Andrea
McGuire, Jeff Stover, Shelley Yoelin, and
Barney McClure.
A veteran of hundreds of voiceover projects
such as Minions, Sing, Despicable Me
3, Wreck It Ralph, The Secret Life of Pets,
Trolls, Tangled, Cars, A Bug’s Life, WALL-E,
Monsters Inc., Iron Giant, The Emperor’s
New Groove, Star Wars and more, Bergen
knew he had a calling at the early age of
5 when he told his mother that he wanted
to be the voice of Porky Pig. His mother
responded with “You can’t be Porky Pig.
You’re Jewish.”
Never one to be discouraged, at the age
of 14, he scoured all the Los Angeles
area phone books in search of the iconic
voiceover artist, Mel Blanc. He eventually
found Blanc’s wife’s name and number and
called the legendary artist. Blanc gave
Bergen solid advice and thought he had
heard the last of the young lad, but Bergen
had other ideas. Bergen recalled Blank
telling him that he had a recording session
at a studio the next week and the eager teen
managed to talk his way into the recording
session by telling the secretary that he was
a guest of Blanc and then by telling Blanc
that he was the guest of the secretary! The
two talents eventually became friends and
colleagues and of course Bergen eventually
took over as this generation’s voice of
Blanc’s famous Porky Pig. This coming
March marks the 28th anniversary since
Bergen first voiced the Warner Brothers and
Looney Tunes uber-famous pig.
“Right now we are recording Season 3 of
the New Looney Tunes. I also just worked