Larry Kenney
Kenney in March 2014
Born (1947-08-05) August 5, 1947
Pekin, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation(s)Voice actor, radio personality
Years active1963–present
Known forImus in the Morning
ThunderCats
SilverHawks
Count Chocula
Sonny the Cuckoo Bird
Bowling for Dollars
SpouseCarol Ann Jacobs Kenney[1]
Children3, including Kerri Kenney

Larry Kenney (born August 5, 1947) is an American voice actor and radio personality.[2]

Early life

Larry Kenney was born August 5, 1947, in Pekin, Illinois,[2] the son of George and Joyce Kenney.[3] He has a brother, Steven, and a sister, Jody.[3] He graduated from Pekin Community High School.[4] He attended Western Illinois University but did not graduate.[5]

Career

In 1963, Kenney began his radio career at the age of 15 as a disc jockey at WIRL in Peoria, Illinois.[2][6] After WIRL, he worked at WOWO, Fort Wayne, Indiana;[2] WKYC (AM, now WTAM), Cleveland, Ohio (1970–1973); WHN, New York City;[6] WYNY, New York City; WJJD (now WYLL), Chicago, Illinois; and WKHK (now WLTW), New York City[2] until 1972.[6]

Kenney was part of the regular cast on the Imus in the Morning[6] radio show from 1973 to 2007, where he recorded impersonations of dozens of characters, including General George Patton,[7] Andy Rooney,[8] and Ross Perot.[7]

Also in 1973, Kenney joined 1050 WHN (now WEPN), a country music station in New York City.[5][9] He originally announced the afternoon drive-time, before taking over the prestigious morning drive-time in 1974.[10] His show was a hit, not only for the music, but also for his comical characters who "joined" him while performing his deejay duties. Billboard named him Best Country Disc Jockey "at a station in a metropolitan area of one million, or more" in 1976[11] and Best Country Music Personality in 1978.[12] He stayed at WHN until the fall of 1979, when he moved to WYNY to host the morning slot for a year[13] before moving to WKHK's (now WLTW) morning show.[14] He was the host of the New York edition of the television show Bowling for Dollars on WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV) from 1976 to 1979.[15][16]

He is also known for his voice work as Lion-O on the 1980s Rankin/Bass cartoon ThunderCats, and Karate Kat, a martial arts blackbelt cat featured as part of The Comic Strip. He was also the voice of Bluegrass in SilverHawks and Dolph in TigerSharks.[1] Kenney also did voice work for several breakfast cereal characters, including Count Chocula and Sonny the Cuckoo Bird.[2][6] In recent years, he has reprised this role for humorous ThunderCats references on the animated series Family Guy.[1] In the 2011 ThunderCats animated series on Cartoon Network, Kenney returned to the series, but as Claudus, Lion-O's and Tygra's father.[17]

Kenney provided voice-overs for The State, the 1990s sketch comedy cult classic which featured his daughter, Kerri Kenney.[18] He was also the announcer for VH1's Best Week Ever during its run from 2004 to 2009,[19] and provides introductions for Westwood One's radio coverage of Monday Night Football and various other commercial work, including for Skittles and Campbell's soup.[20] He was the announcer for The Beat 102.7 in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV and K.T.I. Radio in the L.A. Noire.[1] He also gives the voice to JB Cripps in Red Dead Online, the online component of Red Dead Redemption 2.[21]

In 2008, he was hired to do an impersonation of Mark Twain for a gala held by the Mark Twain House and Museum.[22]

Personal life

He and his wife Carol Ann Jacobs Kenney[1] have three children: daughters Kerri and Ashley, and son Tanner.[2] Kerri, the eldest, is an actress, best known for her work on the series Reno 911! and The State. Ashley works in the nonprofit sector and is the bassist and singer for the band Witch Hair out of New Haven, Connecticut.[23] Tanner did a voice of the Intelligent Agenda Caller in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.[24] Kenney now lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.[25][4]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1982 A Star for Jeremy Voice, television film
1985 The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus Wind Demon Commander Voice, television film
1986 Light Moments in Sports 1986 Narrator Voice, television film
1987 Thundercats Ho! the Movie Lion-O, Jackalman Voice, direct-to-video
1992 Aisle Six Announcer Voice, short film
1993 The Waiters Voice, short film
1993 The Twelve Days of Christmas Sir Carolboomer Voice, television film
2005 Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story Lion-O Voice, direct-to-video
2011 Butterfly Blues Claudus Voice, television short
2015 The macabre madness of Mortulia Morose Host Voice, short film
2015 Vault of Macabre II Host Voice, short film
2015 Vault of the Macabre Presents Scary Little Christmas Host Voice, short film
2016 Vault of the Macabre Presents All Hallow's Eve Host Voice, short film
2016 Vault of the Macabre Presents: the Fright Before Christmas Host Voice, short film
2017 Vault of the Macabre: the House Upon the Hill Host Voice, short film
2017 Vault of the Macabre: Christmas Cheer Host Voice, short film
2018 Vault of the Macabre Presents the Witching Hour Host Voice, short film
2018 Vault of the Macabre Presents the Christmas Witch Host Voice, short film
2020 Unit Eleven Narrator
2020 The Bloody Man Radio DJ Voice

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1985–1989 ThunderCats Lion-O, Jackalman, Snarf Eggbert, Torr, Safari Joe, Wizz-Ra, Pilot Voice, main role
1986 SilverHawks Lt. Colonel Bluegrass, Pokerface, Buzzsaw, Moonstryker, Time Stopper, General Rawlings, Professor Power, Space Bandit, Lord Cash, Warden Lockup Voice, 65 episodes
1987 TigerSharks Dolph Voice
1987 The Comic Strip Dolph, Karate Kat, Boom-Boom Burmese Voice, 2 episodes
2011–2012 ThunderCats Claudus[26] Voice, 4 episodes
2019–2023 Teen Titans Go! The Chief, Original Lion-O Voice, 12 episodes
2020 ThunderCats Roar Jaga[26] Voice, 4 episodes

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Grand Theft Auto IV The Beat 102.7 Announcer
2010 Mafia II Frank Vinci,[26] DJ
2011 L.A. Noire K.T.I. Radio Announcer
2012 Alan Wake's American Nightmare Eddie Rodman[26]
2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 JB Cripps[26] Red Dead Online only

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Larry Kenney at IMDb. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Larry Kenney". NBC News. Microsoft. October 23, 1997. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Joyce Ann Kenney". Legacy. 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Tarter, Steve (February 20, 2019). "Cosplay, comics, games, toys all featured at PeoriaCon on March 2". Journal Star. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Adams, Val (October 13, 1974). "Radio Roundup". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 133. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Fritz, Steve (May 29, 2008). "Lion-O - Behind The Fur with Larry Kenney". Newsarama.com. New York City: Imaginova Corp. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Imus". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. March 31, 1996. p. 50. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Fillo, Maryellen (November 5, 2008). "Spilling the beans/A coffee break with Larry Kenney". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. C02. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Blackwell, Bruce (September 2, 1979). "A funny thing happened on the way to the toothbrush". The Journal News. White Plains, New York. p. 122. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Adams, Val (June 30, 1979). "Columbia roars for Miles Davis". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 106. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Disc jockey wins honor". The Times Recorder. Zanesville, Ohio. December 7, 1976. p. 7. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Billboard makes radio awards". The Journal Herald. Dayton, Ohio. August 18, 1978. p. 60. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Eaton, Anne (April 27, 1980). "Powers, Kenny are victims of ratings". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. p. 168. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Kerins, Annabelle (October 25, 1980). "WRVR changes its name". Newsday. New York, New York. p. 56. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Botta, Mike (February 8, 1980). "WYNY scores some points with Jersey". The Herald News. Passaic, New Jersey. p. 43. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Larry Kenney". NBC. October 23, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Meet Larry Kenney at Retro Con 2018! **SATURDAY ONLY!**". RetroCons. April 3, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  18. ↑ Harris, Jeffrey (September 30, 2011). "PowerCon/ThunderCon 2011: Interview with Original Lion-O Voice Actor Larry Kenney". Anime Superhero. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  19. ↑ "INTERVIEW WITH LARRY KENNEY: PART ONE: THUNDERCATS HAS HIS TONGUE". Cosmic Book News. August 21, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  20. ↑ Tarter, Steve (n.d.). "Voice of Cocoa Puffs bird will be heard on WIRL this weekend". Journal Star. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  21. ↑ "JB CRIPPS". Behind the Voice Actors. n.d. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  22. ↑ Fillo, Maryellen (November 11, 2008). "Hallowed Ground". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. C02. Retrieved July 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Loom creates "Echoes" on new single".
  24. ↑ Tanner Kenney at IMDb. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  25. ↑ Fischetti, Alex (November 5, 2015). "Larry Kenney is cuckoo for cocoa puffs & HamletHub finds out why". Ridgefield's HamletHub. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 "Behind the Voice Actors – Larry Kenney". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 11, 2019.

Interviews

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