Billy West was a cast member on The Howard Stern Show, during which time he was noted for his impressions of Larry Fine, Marge Schott, George Takei, and Jackie Martling.
45 Facts About Billy West
2.
Billy West is of Irish descent, and was born with ADHD and autism.
3.
Billy West grew up in Boston, in the Roslindale neighborhood.
4.
Billy West has stated that during the Vietnam War, he was subject to the draft lottery under the Nixon administration, receiving a low draft number which would have resulted in his being drafted in 1970.
5.
Billy West was ultimately classified "4-F" and excluded from enlistment on medical grounds as he had hypertension and flat feet.
6.
Billy West described his later recurring role as Richard Nixon on Futurama as his "revenge" against Nixon.
7.
In 1980, Billy West was part of an oldies band called The Shutdowns.
8.
Billy West worked at WBCN in Boston, performing daily comedic routines on The Big Mattress show, then moved to New York City in 1988, working at K-Rock Radio.
9.
Billy West became a regular on The Howard Stern Show at that time until leaving in 1995, where he gained notice for his impersonations of Three Stooges middleman Larry Fine, Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott and Stern's head writer Jackie Martling.
10.
Billy West moved to Los Angeles, where he found success as a voice actor and performer.
11.
Billy West left the radio station in 1988 to work on the short-lived revival of Beany and Cecil, which was his first voice role in television.
12.
Over his career, Billy West has been the voice talent for close to 120 different characters including some of the most iconic animated figures in television history.
13.
Billy West has become one of the few voice actors who can impersonate Mel Blanc in his prime, including characterizations of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, the voice Arthur Q Bryan used for Elmer Fudd, as well as other characters from Warner Bros.
14.
Billy West has been very outspoken over his displeasure about the influx of star actors providing voice-over for films and major shows.
15.
Billy West has stated that he did not like the Disney version of Doug and that he "couldn't watch" the show.
16.
Billy West was the voice of the show's namesake, Geeker, throughout Project Geekers 13-episode run.
17.
Billy West was the voice of Zim in the original pilot for Invader Zim.
18.
Richard Steven Horvitz was chosen for the series role because Billy West's voice was too recognizable, according to creator Jhonen Vasquez during DVD commentary.
19.
Billy West performed other characters on the series, such as Mr Horse and the announcer for the "Log" ads.
20.
However, Billy West provided Ren's laughter with Kricfalusi as Ren's speaking voice.
21.
Billy West went into the Futurama auditions and was asked to try out for, as he says, "just about every part".
22.
Billy West eventually landed the roles of Farnsworth, Zoidberg, and Brannigan.
23.
Billy West later got the main role of Fry, which originally had gone to Charlie Schlatter.
24.
The role of Zapp Brannigan was written for the late Phil Hartman, who died before the show started; Billy West was given the role.
25.
Billy West reprised his roles for these films and was signed on for two new 26-episode production seasons of Futurama which aired summers of 2010 to 2013.
26.
Billy West was the announcer of the program Screen Gems Network which ran from 1999 to 2001.
27.
Over his career, Billy West has voiced multiple characters in television commercials.
28.
Billy West voiced the Speed Racer character in a late 1990s advertisement for Volkswagen, because the commercial's producers could not locate Peter Fernandez, the original voice of Speed.
29.
Billy West appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast on January 30,2015.
30.
Billy West reprised both roles in subsequent Looney Tunes feature-length films and returned as Fudd in the theatrically released Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
31.
In 1998, Billy West starred in the direct-to-video film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island as Shaggy Rogers, becoming the second person to portray the character.
32.
Billy West was one of the top contenders to replace Kasem after his retirement in 2009 but lost the role to Matthew Lillard.
33.
In 2004, Billy West voiced the classic character Popeye in the 75th-anniversary film Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy, and made his live-action film debut in Mark Hamill's Comic Book: The Movie.
34.
Billy West appeared in a cameo in Garfield: The Movie.
35.
Billy West has toured as a guitarist for Roy Orbison and Brian Wilson.
36.
Billy West has collaborated with Deborah Harry, Lou Reed, and Los Lobos, and he has played live on several occasions with Brian Wilson, including the guitar solo on the Beach Boys tune "Do it Again" on Late Show with David Letterman, in the mid-1990s.
37.
Billy West was one-half of the award-winning WBCN Production team from 1980 to 1986.
38.
From 1989 through 1995, Billy West provided The Howard Stern Show with character voices such as Jim Backus, Lucille Ball, Raymond Burr, Johnny Carson, Johnnie Cochran, Connie Chung, Pat Cooper, Jane Curtin, Sammy Davis, Jr.
39.
Billy West was an occasional contributor to The Adam Carolla Show, a syndicated morning radio show that replaced Stern's show on CBS in LA.
40.
On June 9,2009, Billy West appeared on Jackie Martling's Jackie's Joke Hunt on Stern's satellite radio channel Howard 101.
41.
Characters voiced by Billy West include Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in numerous Looney Tunes video games.
42.
Billy West was married to Violet Benny, but they later divorced.
43.
Billy West has spoken openly about the child abuse he experienced from his father.
44.
Billy West says he developed his impressionist skills as a way to distract himself from his trauma.
45.
Billy West purchased a home in the Hollywood Hills Billy West neighborhood of Los Angeles for $480,000 in 1998, and sold it for $1.18 million in March 2016.