Stephen James "Steve" Mackall (born December 9, 1959) is a Canadian-American voice actor, voice-over announcer, comedian, director, screenwriter and songwriter.[1] He was known as the voice of NBC's Must See TV,[1] and performed voice of the lead character of Marsupilami in both the Disney animated television series Raw Toonage (1992) and Marsupilami (1993).[2]
Steve Mackall | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stephen James Mackall (1959-12-09) December 9, 1959 (age 62) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Voice actor, voice-over announcer, comedian, director, screenwriter, songwriter |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Website | www |
Mackall graduated from Padua Franciscan High School and Ohio University.[3] After having won a trip to Los Angeles as first prize in a 1986 HBO comedy contest in Washington D.C.,[3] he decided to leave Washington and live in Los Angeles, working as a copywriter while pursuing his comedy career.[1][3] He began doing voice-over work in commercials in 1989.[1] Representative samples of his commercial work include being the voice of the cereal box for General Mills' 1993 Fingos promotion campaign,[4] and products and companies including CompUSA and Froot Loops, as well as being voice-over announcer for NBC, The WB, and Fox Kids Network.[3]
He is also recognized as the voice of Hyperman in the Adventures of Hyperman CD-ROM game released in 1995 which was followed by the Hyperion Animation/CBS Television Series, The Adventures of Hyperman, that aired from November 4, 1995 to August 10, 1996.[5][6]
Los Angeles Times writes that "Mackall is one of a small group of Hollywood artists who have achieved a faceless fame..." "probably best known as the voice of NBC's Must See TV",[1] and Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that he was "valued as an artist who can improvise voices for anything from animals to inanimate objects."[3]
Of Mackall's one man show, Wherever I Go, There we Are. LA Weekly wrote that his "wealth of experience as a voiceover artist and comedy scribe manifests itself in his artfully layered, near flawlessly timed and often funny solo act." They noted that his personal enthusiasm connected with the audience in a manner that reminded of Will Rogers.[8] In their review, Backstage West wrote that when recounting the nine stories which made up his performance, "Mackall is a strong performer" whose "speaking ability commands the attention and carries the audience through captivating and well-detailed portraits of near-otherworldly scapes."[9]