LIVE Magazine Issue #267 February 8, 2018

on a super cool new animated series”, says
Bergen, “but I also signed a super NDA, so
I can’t talk about it. Often we cannot talk
about current work until it is released. But
I’m busy, even if I can’t talk much about it.”
And busy he is. When not working in the
studio, Bergen himself teaches voice over
in Los Angeles to up and coming talent and
established actors looking to get into voice
over work. It is his love for teaching that, in
the past, had brought him to Palm Springs.
He says, “There used to be a voiceover
school in Palm Springs called Voicetrax.
I would come in and teach weekend
animation voiceover classes a few times a
year. They closed down a while back.”
When asked to pick some of his favorite
career highlights, Bergen offered, “Well,
certainly booking Porky Pig the first time, as
that was a dream since I was a kid. One
of my first major films was Gremlins, which
was a pretty cool early gig and it was a
Spielberg produced movie and directed
by Joe Dante. My two Emmy nominations
were thrills. They come with month long
parties and receptions. Guys have it easy!
We just wear the same tux over and over
and year after year. But that red carpet is
pretty surreal.” Bergen was nominated for
an Emmy in 2011 and again in 2013 for
Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for
his work on television’s The Looney Tunes
Show now available on the Boomerang
Cable Network.
Bergen has had the privilege of working
with many big stars but he explains, that
with animation, even though their names
appear alongside each other, they don’t
often work together in the studio. “Ya know,
when you do animation for features, for the
most part you work solo. So even though
I’ve worked on films with the likes of Tom
Hanks and Ellen DeGeneres, we’ve never
actually been in the studio at the same time.
It’s hard to coordinate everyone’s busy
schedule. It’s actually a bummer. I’m not
just a fan of so many who’ve worked with
me on the same films, but as an actor, it’s
always better to be able to work off each
other.”
Never one to rest, Bergen is also very
active in the Television Academy where
he is currently serving his second term
as Co-Governor for the Performers Peer
Group. His last Co-Governor was comic
legend, Lily Tomlin and current Co-
Governor is veteran character actress,
Patrika Darbo. Bergen considers both
actresses to be friends and this past
November he presented Tomlin with
a prestigious Society of Voice Arts &
Sciences Award at Lincoln Center.
In preparation for his Palm Springs
appearance, Bergen seems to have a
profound love and respect for radio.
I feel I was born 40 years too late. He
says, “I would have loved to have been
a part of the old time radio generation.
Back then, actors really got to stretch their
chops. And there was just so much of it,
from comedy to drama to thrillers. Just so
much fun! And such awesome scripts!”
Bergen is looking forward to visiting
Palm Springs for his upcoming Camelot
Theater performance and what is it that
he likes best about this dynamic Desert
city? The AC!!!!” Bergen quips! ”Also, I
just love the mid century architecture. It’s
like stepping back in time and it’s such a
friendly town and there are always fun
people to talk to while out and about,”
adds Bergen.
This talented guy is living large while
successfully experiencing the dream he
realized at an early age. The next time
you attend an animated movie or watch a
television cartoon, chances are that some
of the voices you hear will be straight
from Bergen’s mouth.
The famous quote from Porky Pig, “That’s
all folks”, does not apply here. We know
that Bob Bergen is not done. He has a lot
more work to do and we look forward to
following him and hearing his famous voices
for many years to come.
For tickets to see Bob Bergen on Thursday,
March 8th at the Camelot Theatre in On The
Air! An Evening of Radio Show Classics visit:
dezartperforms.org.
Follow Bob Bergen on social media @
bobbergen
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