Voice-Over

“You need just a few people to believe in your talent in order to get you started in voice-over and then you’ll be on your way.” - Richard Kiley

Richard Kiley, the stage, television and film actor who is most remembered for his Tony Award winning performance of Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha and who later became the voice of Exxon Mobil, Jurassic Park, and narrator of such popular PBS shows as Nova, and Planet Earth, shared those words of encouragement with me over a pot of coffee in his favorite diner in Warwick, New York in 1991. Since then I’ve been fortunate that more than “just a few people” have believed in my talent.

While in Los Angeles, I was represented by top voice-over agencies, Sutton Barth and Vernnai and Arlene Thornton and Associates and have voiced several commercials for various products and companies on both TV and radio. My training is based in two disciplines, animation and commercial techniques. I studied at Hanna-Barbera Studios with renowned animation actor, Charlie Adler. Charlie has voiced hundreds of characters for film and TV and was cast by Steven Spielberg as the energized Buster Bunny for Tiny Tune Adventures. I was a student of Susan Blu, voice actress for a myriad of cartoons and director of such shows as Smurfs, Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I learned and honed my sound studio technique from famed Hollywood commercial casting directors Cathy and Harvey Kalmenson. But I would consider Gary Michaels, founder/producer/songwriter of MTI Studios, to be my voice-over mentor. I was fortunate to receive his sage tutelage for 3 years in his employment as a writer, producer, director and voice-over performer. He believed in talents I never thought I possessed, awarding me opportunities that surpassed all of my expectations.

This is a sampling of my work as a voice actor and copywriter.

Thanks for listening.

Copywriting

Rick Ford has written numerous ad campaigns. Click the play buttons below to hear some samples of his copywriting.