h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ertha Kitt has to have he best purring velvet voice!

Charlotte Green has a voice of quiet authority as a newsreader on Radio 4 and Miriam Marguiles (?spp) (Queenie's Lady in waiting in Blackadder)has just about cornered the market in UK TV advert voiceovers.

Andrew Sachs has done enormous numbers of TV documentaries - look for his name in the credits and it will surprise you. He even did a 1 hr radio play with no voices !! It makes you appreciate his acting in Fawlty Towers all the more.

Many of the older school of actors had beautiful voices. Charles Laughton as the Huncchback of Notre Dame was suitaly grotesque.

http://www.monstersinmotion.com/classic/05HGD04.html

but his voice was mellifluous.

The biggest surprise I ever got was an audio tape from our local library. It was a series of children's bedtime stories - read by Boris Karloff . He's best known for his film portrayal of Frankenstein's monster.

http://www.karloff.com/

Tom,
Come to think of it, Boris Karloff was featured as the voice of the surrogate Santa in Dr Suess' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". He has a very sonorous voice that just rolls out, washes over you, and holds you in rapt attention. I can see how that would work well to keep our young tikes focused on a story line in these days of 'short attention span theater'.
Tagging along and tacking on,
TJ aka B3fB2

Hi Blue Eyes - come to think of it Sinatra's voice did have something

I've seen the Grinch but missed the Karloff name in the credits. I do sometimes read them to catch who was so&so - usually a minor character who didn't make the billboard. You get surprises at times.

Since someone mentioned sports commentators

Murray Walker on Formula 1 racing seldom fails to raise a smile.
Bill McLaren *was* the voice of Scottish rugby and (older Scots only) the late great news desk voice of Donnie B McLeod. You can still hear him (I think) on the audiovisual commentary at the Bannockburn battle field exhibition.

Ian McKellan
Christopher Lee
Paul Schofield
John Hurt
Derek Jacobi

(yes, I have a thing for aging Brit actor-voices)

- Richard Harris, Alec Guinness and John Gielgud all had fantastic tones as well

as for the sexy ones: Sean Bean, Benicio del Toro, Brosnan, Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Samuel West

and Americans: Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Al Pacino, Paul Newman

Let's add another American actor to the list - Samuel L. Jackson.

And another - Garrison Keillor

How about another Scot - Bill Paterson. I was in a shop one day, and I heard this voice that just oozed like golden syrup all over the shelves and the counters. I turned around and there he was, buying some cheese

Oh yes, he crops up as a narrator a lot.

BTW I'm a Kate Bush fan too. And as for singing voices, Dido & Sinead O'Connor are great.

And Freddie Mercury. Oh that range.

Further to B3fB2's comments about being deeper than his size and picturing people on the phone do any of you get told your voice doesn't match your looks?
People on the phone invariably think I'm young and blonde.

Tefkat,

As this is a moderately "family" oriented webspace, I blushed about your characterization of me "being deeper than [my] size". Even though I've often pointed out:
.............|
Tall guys...|_.....Short guys...|____

B3fB2

When you said about people not sounding as they look, I just thought of Rick Astley. when I first heard 'Never Gonna Give You Up' I never imagined Rick to be blonde(ish) and quite short. I thought he might look a bit like Tony Hadley!

Some other famous people I think have nice voices:

Alan Rickman, Jeremy Irons, Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert De Niro.

Richard Harris did have a lovely voice (he couldn't sing very well, but I could've listened to him talk for hours) God bless him.

I think there's a distinct difference between sexy voices (in men, usually deep rich ones - testosterone induced?) & attractive voices which perhaps have more to do with accents & enunciation.

I'll put a vote in for Clement Freud.

Ooh - I'd forgotten about this thread.

Moira Stewart

B

It has to be Bob Harris - the chap who used to host the Old Grey Whistle Test and was a late night Radio One presenter. His voice used to make me swoon. The richest smoothest voice ever. Is he still on the air anywhere ? I could do with a reminder

Whispering Bob? Too comedy for me.

What about the Cadbury's Caramel Bunny? Does she count as 'famous'?

B

Mmmmm the Cadbury's Caramel bunny.

Hmm... a new AskHootoo thread: Which cartoon character would you most like to have sex with?

Liam.

Oh, that's easy - I've got a top 5, you know.

B

Right that does it... I'm off to post this thread.

Liam.

Bob Harris ? Comedy ? It's a female thing obviously. Oh - and the Cadbury's Caramel Bunny is in fact Miriam Margolis the rather rotund middle aged woman who appears in lots of things as an old Dragon. (Rememebr the puritan Aunt in BlackAdder who had to sit on a turnip ? I kid you not.

Oh...well, never mind.

Was she the puritan aunt as well? I know she was the Spanish Infanta (sp?)

B

Here you are

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1735103.stm