Larry Kenney

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

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

Career

In 1963, Kenney began his radio career at the age of 15 as a disc jockey at WIRL in Peoria, Illinois.[2][3] After WIRL, he worked at WOWO, Fort Wayne, Indiana;[2] WKYC (AM, now WTAM), Cleveland, Ohio (1970–1973); WHN, New York City;[3] WYNY, New York City; WJJD (now WYLL), Chicago, Illinois; and WKHK (now WLTW), New York City[2] until 1972.[3]

Kenney was part of the regular cast on the Imus in the Morning[3] radio show from 1973 to 2007, where he recorded impersonations of dozens of characters, including General George Patton, Andy Rooney and Ross Perot. Also in 1973, Kenney joined 1050 WHN (now WEPN), a country music station in New York City. He originally announced the afternoon drive-time, before taking over the prestigious morning drive-time in 1974. He stayed at WHN until the fall of 1979. His show was a hit, not only for the music, but also for his comical characters who "joined" him while performing his deejay duties. 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.

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][3] 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.

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

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.[4] Tanner did a voice of the Intelligent Agenda Caller in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.[5]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1985 The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus Commander of the Wind Demons (voice) Television film
2005 Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story Lion-O (voice) Direct-to-video

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1985–1989 ThunderCats Lion-O, Jackalman, Snarf Eggbert, Torr, Safari Joe, Wizz-Ra, Pilot (voices) Main role
125 episodes
1986 SilverHawks Lt. Colonel Bluegrass, Pokerface (voices) 65 episodes
1987 The Comic Strip Dolph, Karate Kat, Boom-Boom Burmese (voices) 2 episodes
2011–2012 ThunderCats Claudus[6] (voice) 4 episodes
2019–2020 Teen Titans Go! The Chief, Original Lion-O (voices) 2 episodes
2020 ThunderCats Roar Jaga[6] (voice) 4 episodes

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Grand Theft Auto IV The Beat 102.7 Announcer
2010 Mafia II Frank Vinci,[6] DJ
2011 L.A. Noire K.T.I. Radio Announcer
2012 Alan Wake's American Nightmare Eddie Rodman[6]
2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 JB Cripps[6] Red Dead Online only

References
  1. Larry Kenney at IMDb. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  2. "Larry Kenney". NBC News. Microsoft. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  3. Fritz, Steve (2008-05-29). "Lion-O - Behind The Fur with Larry Kenney". Newsarama.com. New York City: Imaginova Corp. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  4. http://newengland.thedelimagazine.com/17823/loom-creates-echoes-on-new-single
  5. Tanner Kenney at IMDb. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  6. "Behind the Voice Actors – Larry Kenney". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 11, 2019.

Interviews
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