Hubert Gagnon (September 29, 1947 – June 7, 2020) was a Canadian

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. He was noted for being the

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short "G ...

and

Grampa Simpson Abraham Jebediah "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled " Grandpa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on ...

in the

Canadian French Canadian French (french: français canadien) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes Varieties of French#Canada, multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Quebec French, Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Can ...

-version of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. He also acted in television and theatre.

Career

Gagnon voiced

in the

version of ''

'' beginning in 1991. He continued in that role for 27 years until 2017, when he retired due to health reasons. He was described as having a completely differently personality than Homer, with Gagnon remembered as "charming, polite and refined" by fellow voice actor Natalie Hamel-Roy. Nonetheless, his voice became so synonymous with the character that during a week-long visit to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, he was constantly asked by children there to repeat Homer's catchphrase "

D'oh! "D'oh!" () is the most famous catchphrase used by the fictional character Homer Simpson, from the television series ''The Simpsons,'' an animated sitcom (1989–present). It is an exclamation typically used after Homer injures himself, realizes ...

" He also did the voice-over for

after the death of the previous voice-actor, Jean-Louis Millette. On the occasion of the series' 500th episode in 2012, Gagnon observed how

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

was no longer disdained by the theatre industry, given that it was now being taught in stage schools. He added that he was able to make a decent living from that line of work. Gagnon provided the voice of

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, and

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awar ...

, among others, in several English-language movies dubbed into French, as well as the character Picabo on the Québécois TV show '' Les Oraliens''. He dubbed the character

Vernon Dursley The following are supporting characters in the '' Harry Potter'' series written by J. K. Rowling. For members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, Hogwarts staff, Ministry of Magic, or for Death Eaters, see the respective articles ...

in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was also the voice of

Optimus Prime Optimus Prime, , is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Transformers'' franchise. The Transformers characters were developed for an American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were ...

in the Quebec dubbing of the original ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

'' cartoon, but for the 2007 film, he was replaced by

Guy Nadon Guy Nadon, CM (born August 28, 1952 in Montreal, Quebec) is a French-Canadian actor. Though his most notable English-language role was arguably in '' H2O'', his other works have been in his first language of French. In 2010, he was appointed a M ...

, who had coincidentally portrayed

Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...

alongside Gagnon in the Québécois dubbed version of ''The Simpsons''. His ability to communicate an action solely through his voice was dubbed a "Gagnonerie". Gagnon died on June 7, 2020, at his home in

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly acr ...

. He was 72, and had been suffering from cancer in the years leading up to his death.

Filmography

* 1968–1970: '' Les Oraliens'' (TV series): Picabo (voice) * 1970: '' Mont-Joye'' (TV series): Denis Meunier * 1971: '' Nic et Pic'' (TV series) * 1974: ''

Les Beaux dimanches ''Les Beaux Dimanches'' was a long-running Canadian television series, which aired on Télévision de Radio-Canada on Sunday nights from 1966 to 2004. An arts magazine and anthology series, ''Les Beaux Dimanches'' presented a diverse array of spec ...

'' * 1974–1975: ''

La Petite Patrie La Petite Patrie is a French Canadian television program from Quebec. It was broadcast between 1974 and 1976. This television series of Claude Jasmin told the life of a district of Montreal (Villeray) formed by the quadrilateral of the stree ...

'' (TV series): Laurent * 1982: '' Monsieur le ministre'' * 1984–1985: ''Transformers'' ('' The Transformers'') (TV series): Optimus Primus (

) ( québécoise voice) * 1991–2017: ''Les Simpson'' (''

'') (Animation):

( québécoise voice) * 1994–2001: '' 4 et demi'' * 2007: ''Les Simpson: Le Film'' (''

The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...

'') (Animated movie):

( québécois voice)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gagnon, Hubert 1946 births 2020 deaths Canadian male voice actors French Quebecers Deaths from cancer in Quebec Place of death missing Place of birth missing