Michael Leslie Winslow (born September 6, 1958) is an American

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 ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

and

beatboxer Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

billed as The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects for his ability to make realistic sounds using only his voice. He is best known for his roles in all seven ''

Police Academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or othe ...

'' films as Larvell Jones. He has also appeared in ''

Spaceballs ''Spaceballs'' is a 1987 American space opera parody film co-written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. It is primarily a parody of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, but also parodies other sci-fi films and popular franchises including ...

'', ''

Cheech and Chong's Next Movie ''Cheech and Chong's Next Movie'' is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Tommy Chong and the second feature-length project by Cheech & Chong, following '' Up in Smoke'', released by Universal Pictures. Plot Cheech & Chong are on a mission t ...

'' and ''

Nice Dreams ''Nice Dreams'' is a 1981 American action adventure comedy film directed by Tommy Chong and starring Cheech & Chong, in their third feature film. Released in 1981 by Columbia Pictures, the film focuses on the duo having gotten rich selling canna ...

'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pac ...

'', and commercials for

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...

and

GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...

Early life

Winslow was born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, the son of Verdie and Robert Winslow. He grew up at

Fairchild Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned t ...

near Spokane, and later attended the Lisa Maile School of Acting, Modeling and Imaging. According to his own account, Winslow had few friends growing up. To pass time, he would imitate the sounds of engines, animals, flatulence, anything that made noise. Following high school and college he performed in nightclubs and theaters, where his sound imitation skills won him positive appraisal and enough money to move to and perform his act in Hollywood.

Career

His first television appearance was on ''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1 ...

'' in which he squeezed in sound-alikes of

Benji Benji is a fictional character created by Joe Camp. He has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the ''Benji'' franchise. Benji is a small, lovable mixed-breed dog with an un ...

the movie dog, ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's "

Purple Haze "Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967. The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Ea ...

". He is best known for his role as Larvell Jones in the ''

'' series of movies and TV shows. He was cast in the role after he was seen opening for

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

. In 1985,

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

released a 12" of Michael Winslow entitled "I Am My Own Walkman". The song peaked at number 60 in Australia. In 1986, Winslow presented the Best Sound Effects Editing

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

Charles L. Campbell Charles L. Campbell (August 17, 1930 – June 21, 2013) was an American sound engineer who won three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing. He also served as Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) 1984-1987. Early l ...

and

Robert Rutledge Robert Rutledge (June 3, 1948 – October 15, 2001) was an American sound editor who won Best Sound Editing at the 1985 Academy Awards. He won for ''Back to the Future'', which was shared with Charles L. Campbell. He also did the sound on th ...

for their work on ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

''. In 1987, Winslow appeared as a radar operator in the movie ''

'', in which he performs all the sound effects himself during one scene. Mel Brooks (who wrote, directed, produced, and co-starred in the film), stated that by doing so, Winslow saved the film money. Winslow is also a motivational speaker. Since the fall of 2008, Winslow has hosted the motion-picture television series called "Way Back Wednesday with Winslow" on the cable

superstation ''Superstation'' (alternatively rendered as "super station" or informally as "SuperStation") is a term in North American broadcasting that has several meanings. Commonly, a "superstation" is a form of distant signal, a terrestrial television, br ...

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that was owned by the Nexstar Media Group, and was the company's only wholly owned, national cable-originated television channel. The channel in its final form under the WGN branding ran ...

, which features movies mostly released in the 1980s. He continues to perform stand-up comedy around the globe. Michael Winslow debuted his own iPhone and

iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...

apps in 2010, bringing his sound effects and comedy to a mobile platform. ThatsKungFu generates Winslow's kung fu fighting sounds when the device is swung in a fighting motion. NoizeyMan, billed as the "World's Noiziest App", contains video, ringtones, sound effects, and mini games, all created by Winslow. In 2011, Winslow worked with

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

-based game development studio Phyken Media on a

mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...

for iOS and Android platforms entitled ''Wizard Ops Chapter 1'', providing all the sound effects for the game. He also lent his voice on ''Wizard Ops Tactics'', a turn-based tactical game and spiritual successor to the previous game. He was also featured in a commercial for

GEICO Insurance The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...

during their "we hired a celebrity" ad campaign. In 2021, Winslow auditioned for the sixteenth season of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

.'' Following the airing of his audition, he had a guest appearance on the Talent Recap Show where he showed viewers how to make some of his most signature noises. Winslow was eliminated during the semi-finals. In 2022, Winslow was heavily featured in a

videogamedunkey Jason Yevgeniy Gastrow (born January 30, 1991), known online as videogamedunkey or simply dunkey, is an American YouTuber known for his YouTube skits and video essays that blend crude humor with video game criticism. As of February 2022, Gastr ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video entitled Video Game Sound. This video brought Winslow's work to a broad audience of video game fans. Videogamedunkey has talked about Winslow since the start of his channel, seemingly being a fan.

Filmography

*''

Cheech & Chong's Next Movie ''Cheech and Chong's Next Movie'' is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Tommy Chong and the second feature-length project by Cheech & Chong, following '' Up in Smoke'', released by Universal Pictures. Plot Cheech & Chong are on a mission t ...

'' (1980) as Welfare Comedian *''Underground Aces'' (1981) as Nate *''

'' (1981) as Superman Nut *''

Space Stars ''Space Stars'' is a 60-minute Saturday morning animated program block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 12, 1981, to January 8, 1982. ''Space Stars'' was narrated by Keene Curtis and featured five carto ...

'' (1981) as Plutem (voice) *'' Tag: The Assassination Game'' (1982) as Gowdy *''

Heidi's Song ''Heidi's Song'' is a 1982 American animated musical film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the 1881 novel ''Heidi'' by Johanna Spyri. The film was directed by Robert Taylor from a screenplay by Taylor, Joseph Barbera and James ...

'' (1982) as Mountain (voice) *''

'' (1984) as Cadet Larvell Jones *''

Alphabet City Alphabet City is a neighborhood located within the East Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter names. It is bounded by Houston St ...

'' (1984) as Lippy *''

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of ...

'' (1984) as Mogwai / Gremlins (voice) *''

Grandview, U.S.A. ''Grandview, U.S.A.'' is a 1984 American comedy-drama film directed by Randal Kleiser, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Carole Cook, Ramon Bieri, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, M. Emmet Walsh, Mi ...

'' (1984) as Spencer *''

Lovelines ''Lovelines'' is the posthumous thirteenth studio album by American music duo Carpenters, the second Carpenters album released after the death of Karen Carpenter. It was released in 1989 and is a compilation album assembled by Richard Carpenter ...

'' (1984) as J.D *'' Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment'' (1985) as Officer Larvell Jones *'' Starchaser: The Legend of Orin'' (1985) (voice) *'' Police Academy 3: Back in Training'' (1986) as Sgt. Larvell Jones *'' Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol'' (1987) as Sgt. Larvell Jones *''

'' (1987) as Radar Technician *' (West Germany, 1987) as Walker *'' Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach'' (1988) as Sgt. Larvell Jones *''

Starke Zeiten ''Starke Zeiten'' is a 1988 West German comedy film directed by , Rolf Olsen, Otto Retzer, Sigi Rothemund and Helmut Fischer. The film has been produced by Karl Spiehs Karl Spiehs (20 February 1931 – 27 January 2022) was an Austrian film ...

'' (West Germany, 1988) as Mike *'' Buy & Cell'' (1988) as Sly *' (West Germany, 1988) as Ronny *'' Police Academy 6: City Under Siege'' (1989) as Sgt Larvell Jones *''

Think Big In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...

'' (1989) as Hap *''

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

'' (1990, TV series) (voice) *'' Far Out Man'' (1990) as Airport Cop *''Going Under'' (1990) as Reporter *''

Extralarge ''Extralarge'' (original title: ''Detective Extralarge'', aka ''Zwei Supertypen in Miami'') is a television series starring Bud Spencer, Philip Michael Thomas, and Michael Winslow. Production The series was first announced in October 1990. The ...

'' (1993, TV series) (with

Bud Spencer Carlo Pedersoli (31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016), known professionally as Bud Spencer, was an Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player. He was known for action-comedy and Spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partn ...

) as Dumas *'' Police Academy: Mission to Moscow'' (1994) as Sgt Larvell Jones *''Be Cool about Fire Safety'' (1995, TV) *'' Police Academy: The Series'' TV Series (1997–1998) as Sgt. Larvelle Jones *''Lycanthrope'' (1999) as Lee Davis *''Michael Winslow Live'' (1999) as Michael Winslow *''The Blur of Insanity'' (1999) as Horner's Friend 2 *''He Outta Be Committed'' (2000) as Jeremy *''

The Trumpet of the Swan ''The Trumpet of the Swan'' is a children's novel by E. B. White published in 1970. It tells the story of Louis (pronounced "LOO-ee" by the author in the audiobook, a reference to trumpeter Louis Armstrong, a point that is made explicit in the ...

'' (2001) as Chief (voice) *''

The Biggest Fan ''The Biggest Fan'' is a film featuring the band Dream Street ( Chris Trousdale, Jesse McCartney, Matt Ballinger, Frankie J. Galasso and Greg Raposo). The main characters are Chris Trousdale (playing himself) and his "Biggest Fan" Debbie Wo ...

'' (2002) as Officer Man *'' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' (2004) as Pedestrian (voice) *''

Lenny the Wonder Dog ''Lenny the Wonder Dog'' is a 2005 American comedy film about the eponymous dog, Lenny, directed by Oren Goldman from a screenplay written by Michael Winslow, and filmed on locations in Florida. The cast included many prominent actors and celeb ...

'' (2005) as John Wyndham *''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...

'' (2006) as Sgt. Larvell Jones *''

The Great Buck Howard ''The Great Buck Howard'' is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by Sean McGinly that stars Colin Hanks and John Malkovich. Tom Hanks also appears as the father of his real-life son's character. The character Buck Howard is inspired by the m ...

'' (2008) as Michael Winslow *''Redirecting Eddie'' (2008) as Vaughn *''

RoboDoc ''RoboDoc'' is a 2008 American science fiction comedy film that is distributed by National Lampoon. The comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, espec ...

'' (2009) as Dr. Murphy *'' The History of the Typewriter recited by Michael Winslow'' (2010) as Himself *''

Tosh.0 ''Tosh.0'' ( ) is an American television series that aired on Comedy Central from June 4, 2009, to November 24, 2020. The series is hosted and produced by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides satirical commentary on online viral video clips, inter ...

'' (2010) as Himself *''Blunt Movie'' (2013) as Coach Al Jefferson *'' Gingerclown'' (2013) as Stomachcrumble *''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'' (July 29, 2013, Comedy Sketch: ''The Michael Winslow Car Alarm'' & Musical Sit-In Guest) as Himself *'' Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!'' (2015) as Brian Jonesy Jones *''

Lavalantula ''Lavalantula'' is an American 2015 science fiction comedy horror thriller television film that takes place after a series of volcanic eruptions in Los Angeles unleashes a swarm of gigantic, lava-breathing tarantulas from which the film draws ...

'' (2015) as Marty *''Enter the Fist and the Golden Fleece'' (2016) as The Argonaut *''

Characterz ''Characterz'' is a 2016 American comedy film produced in 2015, and released on July 12, 2016. The film stars Mitchel Musso. It was funded on Indiegogo in December 2014, and filmed in January 2015 in Celebration, Florida. Plot The story begins ...

'' (2016) as Police Detective *''2 Lava 2 Lantula'' (2016) as Marty *''

The Jack and Triumph Show ''The Jack and Triumph Show'' is a television sitcom from Universal Television for Adult Swim that premiered on February 20, 2015, and ended on April 3, 2015, with a total of 7 episodes. The live-action series was created by Robert Smigel, Michae ...

'' (2015) as Himself *''Renaissance Man'' (2016) as Mike *''Hospital Arrest'' (2016) as Judge Collaway *''

Killing Hasselhoff ''Killing Hasselhoff'' is a 2017 American action comedy film directed by Darren Grant, and starring Ken Jeong and David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and televis ...

'' (2017) as Himself *''Game Changer'' (2020) as himself (season 3) *''

'' (2021) as Himself (season 16) *''Todd'' (2021) as Jake *'' Video Game Sound'' (2022) as Himself

References

External links

*
Agency profile
*
Interview with Heeb Magazine, August 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winslow, Michael 1958 births 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century African-American people Living people American male film actors African-American male comedians American male comedians American male voice actors Male actors from Spokane, Washington African-American male actors American male television actors America's Got Talent contestants