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Along with the interview I
did with Ken Forsse, this is one of the greatest moments I've had in
my ten years of operating this site. I first had the opportunity to
talk with Mr. Baron while I was out in California visiting Ken in
2003... talking with 'Teddy Ruxpin' on the phone brought out the
four year old in me and I had a smile on my face for the rest of the
day. Likewise when I conducted this interview. Mr. Baron is a very
busy man these days, as he's a professional
cantor as well as still doing Teddy's voice when the opportunity
arises. I really appreciate him taking time out of his
busy
schedule to touch base with us. It was truly a pleasure. Here is
his interview, conducted in October 2007.
JOSH:
First off,
if you would like, just tell us a little about yourself, maybe
things we wouldn't know about you otherwise, and a little bit about
your history in the entertainment industry and what you're up to
these days.
PHIL:
I became a
professional musician at age 16. I originally played violin,
and aspired to be like my father, an accomplished violinist.
Eventually I switched to guitar because it was easier to sing at the
same time. I always sang, from the time I could talk, and this
always got the biggest reaction from people. I sang on
records, films, and many commercials before I started doing
voice-over work. My first voice gig was as Piglet for the
Disney Channel’s “Welcome to Pooh Corner.” Coincidently, Ken
also worked on that series early on when they were developing their
audio-animatronic characters, but we didn’t meet until
later.
JOSH:
How did you first hear about Teddy Ruxpin
and how did you become his
voice?
PHIL:
One night
about 10:30 I was watching TV with my wife when the phone rang. It
was George Wilkins, who I had met at Disney. George said he
was working on a new toy project and the guy they had doing the
voice was not a singer. He asked if I could come in and do the
singing for him. I said “Sure, when?” He said “right
now!” So I got dressed and headed over to North Hollywood to
what was then Emmy Lou Harris’ studio. After doing some
singing, Ken asked if I could read some lines. After a brief
conference somebody asked if I was busy the next day. I came
back and replaced all of Teddy’s lines, did the singing, and that’s
how it started.
JOSH:
It's been
widely reported that you and Will Ryan (Grubby's voice) have been
longtime friends, how did you meet and are you still in contact
these days?
PHIL:
Prior to Teddy
Ruxpin, Will and I had an act for about 6 years called Willio and
Phillio. We played around the mid-west and in LA, recorded 2
albums, had our own daily radio show in Cleveland, and did weekly TV
appearances back there. We came out to LA together to because
Disney had bought several of our songs, and we were also recording
with the Disney characters. It was a very exciting time.
We still see each other occasionally, and it’s always great fun when
we get together.
JOSH:
What is your
favorite memory/experience of being Teddy Ruxpin's voice?
Having the opportunity to touch children’s
lives was, and is, an ongoing privilege. Specifically, getting
to work with Will and Tony (Pope) was such a riot. The 3 of us
had done another TV show together (The Rainbow Patch for NBC) and
also several Disney albums (Tony was the voice of Goofy).
Also, amazingly, we were all from Cleveland. So the rapport
was terrific. It’s a wonder anything got recorded because we
were so busy laughing and telling
stories.
JOSH:
What is your favorite
Teddy Ruxpin storyline/tv episode
PHIL:
I particularly
like the episode when Teddy discovers who he is. He meets his
father (although his father doesn’t know who he is at first) and
eventually goes back to Rillonia and we meet the whole Ruxpin
family. By the way, a bit of trivia -- my wife Michelle was
the voice of Teddy’s mother.
JOSH:
Have
strangers ever recognized you as Teddy's voice or as a familiar
voice in your everyday life?
PHIL:
No. But if the subject comes up
with people of a certain age (say 20-25) they basically go crazy
when they find out.
JOSH:
When you recorded for the Adventure Series
and the TV series, did the voice actors record seperately or
together?
PHIL:
We were almost always together,
although occasionally there were “pick-up” lines that were added
later.
JOSH:
When the TV series ended after episode 65,
was it a planned exodus or just a hiatus that Teddy just never came
back from? The last episode seemed to lend itself to a continuing
plot rather than wrapping things up.
PHIL:
Ken wanted to leave the story open-ended to
imply more adventures to
come.
JOSH:
Ken has filled me in on the majority of the
talent behind the Adventure Series and the toy products, but as busy
as he was during that time didn't spend a lot of time with the TV
series people so he's been less informative about those things. Do
you remember exactly who voiced what character and did you ever meet
any of the other castmembers other than Will Ryan? Particularly I
think based on seeing him in other projects that the actor Les Lye
must have voiced Quellor, was wondering if you could confirm
that.
PHIL:
Will and I went to Ottawa to record
with the Canadian cast. We took, I think, 12 trips up there
and did roughly 5 episodes each time. We actually got quite
close with the cast. If you showed me the names I could tell
you who was who. Yeah, Les Lye was Quellor.
One
funny episode was when the heat went out in the studio. This
was the middle of winder in Ottawa, and let me tell you it was
freezing -- even for a couple of Clevelanders. There is a
photo somewhere of me at the microphone in my long winter coat, hat,
and scarf.
JOSH:
You came back and recorded new material in 2005 for Teddy's newest
release. Was that the first time you had done Teddy's voice
professionally since the TV show ended? If so you didn't miss a
beat. How do you feel about the re-release and the updated
stories and artwork?
PHIL:
There were a
few other opportunities to voice Teddy over the years. I did a
project for Yes! Entertainment which was a kind of interactive video
product for which I did quite a lot of new recording. Maybe
Ken has a copy of that. I love the new
toy.
JOSH:
Since
you have a wonderful new calling/career, would you return as Teddy's
voice on a larger scale if a new project, say a movie or new TV
show, came to fruition?
PHIL:
I’m still doing
Teddy. In fact, I did a session a few months back for Back
Pack’s new Teddy computer program. Teddy
lives!
JOSH:
If anything, what do you miss most
about being Teddy's voice / a full-time voice actor / in the
entertainment industry.
PHIL:
The checks!
(kidding!) When you are identified with a character like
Teddy, it’s possible to move people in a way that’s difficult in
regular life. Actually, my profession as a member of the
clergy is about as close as it
gets.
JOSH:
What advice would you give to individuals
wanting to break into a career in children's entertainment, voice
acting, or just the entertainment industry in
general?
PHIL:
Despite my
earlier quip, don’t do it for the money or the fame, because that
may never come. You have to want to be a vehicle for positive
messages. Unfortunately, much of children’s entertainment has
grown coarse, cynical, and dark. Be a
light.
JOSH:
in the Adventure Series Will Ryan did
the voice of Tweeg but was replaced
in the TV series by John
Koensgen for Tweeg's voice, do you know why they made the switch?
(Ken really disliked the change)
PHIL:
This was a “Canadian content”
production, partly underwritten by the Canadian government, so a
certain percentage of people working on the show had to be Canadian
citizens. That’s also why I was called “story consultant”
instead of head writer, and some of our American writers got no
credit at all (including my wife Michelle). Also, George
Wilkins did all the song tracks but I believe he was
uncredited.
JOSH:
Other than Teddy, did you voice any other
characters? Ken and I were watching some episodes and both
thought you must have
voiced Teddy's father as
well.
PHIL:
Right, I was Teddy’s father, and we
both voiced incidental characters. I do remember Will doing
the little character in the Ying Prison. I really wanted
someone to sing the song “Freedom” who could get the right feeling
from it, so we snuck Will in
there.
JOSH:
I read that you were a Henson employee, if
so what kinds of things did you do
there?
PHIL:
I was a
puppeteer on Muppets Tonight. I Worked on 8 Episodes.
Here is the
cast list, matched up with some characters from IMDB info. If you
can fill us in on any of the voices we're not sure about.
John Stocker- Gimmick
John Koensgen- Tweeg
(and also the Wizard)
Robert Bocksteal- LB
Les Lye- Quellor
Rick Jones-
Rick did various funny characters. I’d
have to watch the episodes to tell you which ones, but his voice is
very distinct.
Abby Hagyard-?
Tweeg’s mother and various
females
Not sure who these 3 are.
Donna Farron-?
Terrence Scammell-?
Anna McCormick-?
You left
out Pierre Cole (Paquette) who did
Wooley.
JOSH:
Any
parting thoughts or anything you would like to add that we didn't
touch on.
Can you and I be
friends?
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