About this Site
Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 4:54PM 
Over the last few years I've recognized that I have, what seems to me and others, a completely random talent: the astute ability to identify voices in commercials, cartoons, voice overs, etc.
Some are born with natural gifts like a photographic memory, musical ability, or excel in athletics. Others have brilliant minds in english, science, mathematics or all of the above. I was average in most of these "usable" areas but I know voices. Sure, I'd love to try and make a living using this exceptional talent but I've gradually come to grips with the fact that voice, let's call them "recognizers," aren't really in demand these days (if they ever were). Regardless, I've decided to attempt to do something with my talent -- and maybe, just maybe, make the world a better place in the end.
So from now on, instead of just shouting to my friends, "hey, that's Stanley Tucci explaining the value of rollover minutes!" or "yep, that's James Spader in the Acura commercial" and "Jack Bauer is the voice of Bank of America!" (wow, I sound annoying), I will try to write about these moments. How this will translate to a blog, I have no idea but maybe I can share my talents with the entire interweb and stop annoying my friends.
I'm also aware that I might be overrating my "talent" and in reality just suck when it comes to the big-time voice recognition biz. But to my knowledge there aren't any websites that provide voiceover info in a way that's easy to find. Sure, you can search Nancy Giles' IMDB profile and learn that in addition to being the voice for Boniva commercials she's an award-winning correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, but would you? That's what we're here for.
Finally, as the American entrepreneur Bill Gates once said: “If you give people tools, [and they use] their natural ability and their curiosity, they will develop things in ways that will surprise you very much beyond what you might have expected.” The World Wide Web is the tool, let's see where this goes.
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Reader Comments (4)
I'm a recognizer too. I often challenge my husband to identify the voice in an ad. With a DVR, it is a lot more doable. The most recent stumper? Courtney B. Vance, doing a VO for some branch of the military during a football game. It's only fair that I do this to him--he drives me crazy with spontaneous games of "Name That Tune" at which I fail miserably. Thank you for doing this site!!
Heather
Glad you like the site! Courtney B. Vance is one of my favorites too; I love FlashForward. He also voices the commercials for the NFL spots that have started to appear towards the end of the season. Hopefully this site will help you win a few more rounds!
Glad to find another 'voice chaser' here online! We started VoiceChasers.com back in '96 for the same purpose... There just weren't any comprehensive resources online at the time to confirm if a particular actor was really 'that voice' in an animated series, commercial, or film, or if we were just 'hearing things.' It started with a stack of credit lists and listening to animated shows to cross-reference what we knew with what we were hearing to figure out who played whom. Little did we know at the time, there were tons of folks out there with the same hobby!
I, too, have been long aware of this talent. It was a particularly fun pasttime during the "Frasier" years on TV--voice cameos as call-ins to the radio station were a regular feature. I was always gratified to verify my guess from the closing credits. This knack for voices came in handy once in the days before Caller ID. I instantly identified a creep who'd been making obscene phone calls to a friend; I had met the voice just once, and only briefly. He was supremely embarrassed, and that was the last time he ever contacted my friend.