Standish913.com has been blessed to do an exclusive interview with...
"BOB BERGEN"!
Let's get into some exclusive questions...
STANDISH: What would Bob be listening to on a long flight?
Boy, on a long flight I’m probably sleeping. If not sleeping, I’m reading. I’m an avid reader and with my schedule being so busy, I look forward to an extended length of time, like a long flight, to get through a book or two.
STANDISH: Was anybody with you when you called Mel Blanc for the first time?
Well, I only called him once. And no, I was home alone. My parents were out running errands and I just went to work trying to find him in a variety of phone books.
STANDISH: Who is Casey Kasem to you?
Well, the same person he is to everyone who knows his work. I still to this day listen to reruns of Classic American Top 40 on SiriusXM. And he was one of the top promo and commercial VoiceOver actors ever. He wasn’t the most vocally versatile when it came to animation, but the work he did as Shaggy in Scooby-Doo was legendary.
STANDISH: Can you describe your feelings when Casey Kasem called you?
I didn’t believe it was him. My parents had a friend who knew Casey and had him send me an autographed picture as a high school graduation present. I sent him a thank you note, mentioning I wanted to do voices for cartoons, and included my phone number. When he called he didn’t quite sound like the Casey heard on radio. He admitted he kinda put on that persona. He was very sweet and asked me to send him some voices on tape. If he liked it, he’d give it to his agent, which he did. That’s how I got my first agent, Don Pitts.
STANDISH: When you had that tape of 85 voices, how many would you say has been used in your work today?
I don’t remember. Porky was on it. I did a lot of impressions, but also a handful of original voices. The tape wasn’t very good. Very homemade and raw. But Casey and Don heard potential. Now, I’d been studying VoiceOver, acting and improv for years. I was ready to compete. One of the things I teach my animation VoiceOver students is that even a lousy impression can become the genesis of an original character. You can take that lousy impression, then marry that with the character specs from an audition. Once you add character traits, personality, acting choices, intent, etc., that lousy impression has now become a full, layered and nuanced original character. OH-and one could never get away today with a homemade demo like the one I sent Casey. The business is far less forgiving today. By virtue of having a demo, you are telling the world that you are ready to compete. Back in the old days we would snail mail our demos. Today, everything is done electronic and digital. The internet is written in permanent ink. One bad demo closes more doors than a good one opens.
STANDISH: Have you ever thought about getting a "That's All Folks" tattoo?
Never! Tattoos are not my thing.
STANDISH: Did any of your voice acting roles cause you to lose your voice?
Once. I did vocal effects in the film Fright Night 2. Lots of vampire voices, vampires attacking, dying, etc. I worked a few days on the film and lost my voice for some time. I went to my ENT who scoped me (a very odd procedure where a camera is placed down your nose to your throat to look at your vocal cords) and I had stressed out my cords. After following his suggestions and a week of voice rest, I got my voice back. But after that job, I’ve made it a point to not even audition for anything that appears to be vocally stressful. I pass on nine out of ten game auditions if/when the specs call for yelling or screaming.
STANDISH: In your opinion, what's the most unique voice that you do?
Honestly, I don’t think any are unique. One of the mantras I teach my students is that all characters have a voice. But not all voices have character. The voice is just one aspect of the character. So many people contact me about wanting to get into animation VoiceOver, expressing enthusiastically how everyone tells them they have a great voice. There’s no such thing as a good voice. There’s no such thing as a bad voice. There are just good actors and bad actors. As voice actors we recycle the same voices over and over. For instance, my first film was the movie Gremlins. The voice I did for the Mogwais is for all intents and purposes the same voice I did for Bucky the Squirrel in The Emperor’s New Groove. But the characters are totally different. You could voice an elf for a holiday project, then a few months later make him a leprechaun just by adding an Irish accent. Or, you can add some grit to that elf voice if the character is, say, an older, angry rough and tumble troll. It’s like a painter. They may use the same oil based colors from painting to painting, but each painting has its own personality.
STANDISH: What's been the most memorable commercial you've been apart of?
Boy…..not a clue. I mean, I’ve done a lot of commercials which personally I don’t find any of em memorable. I’ve had a handful of long running campaigns. I was the voice of the french fries for the McDonald’s Happy Meal spots for years. I wouldn’t call that memorable, though. I was the dad in the classic “Ruffles have ridges” potato chip commercial where the animated baby speaks for the first time trilling his r’s. People of a certain age will remember that one.
STANDISH: You were the grandstand host for many years... Can you tell us 3 people that left an impression on you after interviewing them?
You mean for the Hollywood Christmas Parade?? Hmmm…well, Roseanne Barr slapped me. I introduced her as Roseanne Barr and she smacked me, barking out, “It’s Arnold!” I'd forgotten she had just married Tom Arnold. I did not sue or hold a grudge. Folks weren’t as knee jerk litigious back then as they are today. And despite the slap I’m still a huge fan of her work. Jimmy Stewart was the Grand Marshall the first year I did the parade. Stars would ride in open cars through Hollywood, and I, along with others, would interview them for the audience in the grandstand. I had a mic with a very long cord, and would slowly walk alongside the moving cars, interviewing celebs. Stewart held onto my arm, and as the car kept driving I could feel the mic cord tugging, indicating I was getting to the end of my mic cord length. I kept trying to tell him, but he didn’t hear me. Eventually I dropped the mic, but he kept talking, holding onto my arm, and I kept walking. I told him, “Mr. Stewart, you are talking to no one right now.” I think we traveled a few blocks before I had to run back, pick up my mic, and get back to interviewing celebs. One year John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck were in a car that was going a bit too fast for me to walk alongside. I ran up and leaped, with the goal to sit on the edge of the door and continue interviewing them. I overshot and landed inside on my back looking up at them. But, being the pro that I am, I continued the conversation. My view was, shall we say, revealing. Eventually the driver had to stop to let me out. John and Amy could not have been nicer and more fun.
STANDISH: When you are coaching voice acting, is it more beneficial to have a class or teach one-on-one?
It’s just beneficial to study. Since Covid, more coaches, including myself, are just doing Zoom one on one teaching. You do learn from others, so group classes can be beneficial. The biggest mistake people make is just studying VoiceOver. Or, studying VoiceOver before studying acting. HUGE mistake. You need to hit your first VoiceOver class after honing your acting skills. I also recommend improv training. You will be spinning your wheels in a vo class without proper acting skills.
STANDISH: How often did the questions you were asking kids on "Jep" have you stumped yourself?
Boy, I never paid much attention to what I knew and (or) didn’t know. We would tape 5 shows in a day. Jep! was a kids version of the game show Jeopardy!, with the same producers and writers. Before the tapings I'd sit with the writers going over every clue to make sure of pronunciations and whatnot. Sort of a rehearsal. I was aware of every Daily Double, so I could be one step ahead of the contestants. I’ll tell ya, hosting a game show is hard. It’s fun! But it’s hard work. Your job is to make the game the star. And to build audience anticipation and enthusiasm by the way you interact with the contestants and the game play. I had a blast hosting the show.
STANDISH: Standish913 is FIRM in giving opportunity to the younger generation, what's a piece of advice for the next generation of voice actors?
Well, I have a lot of pieces here. It’s called voice “Acting” for a reason, and with a capital A. The blessing and the curse for today’s young people looking to get into the VoiceOver industry is the internet. The internet did not exist when I was starting out. It is a wonderful tool, with brilliant information a mouse click away. But it has also created this trend for the desire to make money at VoiceOver. When I was studying, a teacher would never mention making money or how much money one could make as voice actor. That was considered a huge unethical red flag. The truth is you could make nothing or you could make millions. And everything in-between. Classes were, and should always be for craft. But a lot of coaches today dangle that “make money at VoiceOver” carrot as an incentive to get students. After a few decades of this, this has conditioned both the actors and the coaches. These coaches are just giving the actors what they want…..not what they need.
Also, the internet has made everyone lazy and impatient. People don’t want to be great actors. They want to be working actors, and they want to invest as little as possible, be that time or financial. They dive in prematurely. Then they wonder why their career never took off. If VoiceOver is your interest, strive to be a brilliant actor, not a working actor. Those who are brilliant stand a better chance of working. I myself never went into this to make a dime. I’m still not into this for the money. Acting feeds my soul the way food feeds my body. When I audition for something the only person I am looking to please is myself. I’m not trying to give them what they want. I give them what I think is best for the character in my joy of creating. If I get the job, that’s icing on the cake.
I’m a firm believer in meritocracy. Earning based on hard work. If ya wanna be a voice actor, or…..anything in life, want it more than everyone else. Work harder than everyone else. Never play the victim or blame game. Victimhood is also a byproduct of the Internet. It’s holding people back in all aspects of life. People seek out to be offended or a victim, wasting precious time they will never get back. Time they could have spent being productive and proactive in their career.
Many years ago I was invited to take part in an all day VoiceOver workout group with some of the top voice actors in the business. I was only 16 at the time, working out with the likes of Don LaFontaine, Jack Angel, Ernie Anderson, Danny Dark, Steve Schatzberg. Voiceover royalty. These veteran voice actors would get together once a week and just workout reading commercials. One would think that they wouldn’t need to do this, as these were 6-7 figure a year voice actors. What that taught me at a young age was that no matter where you are in your career, you need to stay relevant. You need to challenge yourself and always work on your craft. My favorite part of the day was lunch, where these mentors would offer career advice, from marketing to acting professionalism. One of the best nuggets of advice came from Don. “Always carry yourself as a successful actor and never break character.” This is the antithesis of the internet, which, again, is more like group therapy for victims. A cesspool of complaining, with people spending so much of their time dwelling, seeking pity. This is not a recipe for success or even happiness. Victims cannot be happy. So, here’s my advice to those looking to get into voice acting:
1) Strive to be a great actor, not a working actor.
2) Never play the victim or the blame game. If things don’t go your way, look in the mirror and ask yourself, “What could I have done better?”
3) Never go into the arts for money. It will never feel like enough. You could have a goal to earn $30,000 a year acting, reach your goal, and realize you are no happier than you were being broke. It should be all about the joy of acting.
4) Use the internet to your advantage. Check out thevorg.net where you will find every VoiceOver agent, casting director, coach, demo producer, etc. Hit the websites of the top VoiceOver agents in the industry: Atlas Talent, DPN, SBV, CESD, AVO, VOX, etc. Listen to the demos of the actors already represented and working. Go to those actor’s own websites, IMDb pages, etc. You need to be as good or better than they are if you want a shot at competing. Go to iwanttobeavoiceactor.com and read from top to bottom. This site takes you from, “How do I even start?” to “I have an agent, now what?” Check out the interviews on vobuzzweekly.com From agents to actors and casting directors, you will get a masterclass in what this business is all about. What is expected of you. How great you need to be.
5) This is just advice for life. Practice the art of sticks and stones in regard to social media. The fact that kids, and even adults today allow the words of total strangers to emotionally impact them is asinine and toxic. One cannot be bullied online if one doesn’t read the words. If you get the feeling that a person or post is being cruel or antagonistic, roll your eyes and scroll on. One cannot be bullied if you ignore. Engage and you have just invited more. I know I’m going off topic here, but I firmly believe kids as well as adults have lost life and coping skills as they put too much emphasis on words. Actors have to have thick skin. Actors have to be resilient.
STANDISH: If you could go to dinner with 3 people dead or alive who would they be?
Wow, that’s a tough one. Like the celebs from the Hollywood Christmas Parade, only 3???
OK, I’ll try:
1) Abraham Lincoln. As divided as our country feels today, and again, much of this is due to social media, Lincoln’s presidency was during the greatest divide in the history of our country. What he accomplished, from abolishing slavery, winning the war, which lead to rebuilding and uniting the country was monumental. I do not think he could have accomplished any of this had social media existed. And I would be very interested in his opinion on social media.
2) Jesus. Even though I’m Jewish, and not all that observant, I value The Ten Commandments. And I wish more people did. Even an agnostic or atheist cannot deny the values in “thou shalt not murder/steal,” etc. Sadly too many choose not to value these values due to their issues with organized religion. Ya shouldn’t throw out the baby with the religious bath water. And one can have values despite some who have done bad in the name of religion. I cannot think of a more fascinating religious figure in history to chat with over dinner than Jesus. SO many questions.
3) Walt Disney. Not only was he a genius, he was a risk taker. Several times in his life and career he risked losing everything. Risk is one of the key ingredients for success.
STANDISH: Do you prefer to be behind the scenes or center stage?
Are you referring to on-camera acting vs VoiceOver? I did some on-camera work early in my career. Some soaps, sitcoms, commercials. Jep! was the last thing I did in front of the camera. Since my passion was VoiceOver I found that on-camera was getting in the way of my VoiceOver career. So I made a conscious decision to not pursue it. Also, I’m painfully shy. You wouldn’t know it, as I have put myself in situations where I have to be front and center. I’ve served on The Board of Governors at The Television Academy. I’ve received 5 Emmy nominations, which come with red carpets, receptions, etc. I hate the attention. I actually play the part of someone who wants to be there. I have found that many actors are shy. I have friends who are very successful film and tv actors, most, if not all very shy. One in particular told me years ago she plays the part of the celebrity people want to see. She plays the part of someone extroverted. I took this to heart, and it’s actually advice I give to my VoiceOver students. Play the part of confidence. When I meet fans at conventions, often they are trembling with nerves. They are truly delightful, as they are passionate about meeting and talking to cartoon voice actors. What they don’t realize is I’m as awkward as they are. But I play the part of the confident person they want to meet. And, this allows me to have a great time, despite being shy. I’m also able to keep a bit of myself to myself. I value privacy and make an effort to only show the world what I want them to see.
STANDISH: What are your social links?
IG: @bergen.bob
X: @BobBergen
FB: bob.bergen.756/
YT: Bob Bergen
STANDISH: Anything you'd like to include?
Well, I think I pretty much cover it…..including much more than you expected, I’m sure. ;-)
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