Paul Herlinger (May 1, 1929 – February 2, 2010) was an American
voice actor
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 ...
, best known for his role as
John Avery "Whit" Whittaker on the radio drama, ''
Adventures in Odyssey
''Adventures in Odyssey'' (AIO), or simply ''Odyssey'', is an Evangelical Christian radio drama and comedy series created and produced by Focus on the Family. Aimed at families with children age 12 and younger, the series first aired in 1987 as ...
'' (1996–2008). He began in that role soon after
Hal Smith died in 1994, and has also voiced Whit on the
''Adventures in Odyssey'' video series and
Adventures in Odyssey video games. In 2008, he retired due to health conditions. Herlinger has also done voice work for dozens of
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
documentaries
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
,
commercials, and films.
He began his career in radio production via an all-city, three-day-a-week program in 1945 while attending
Stuyvesant High School in New York. After two years at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
, Paul served in the United States Marine Corps. This was followed by his completion of a Master of Arts at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
where he met Ilona Planken, whom he married on September 1, 1956. He spent 25 years in commercial television before working for public television, where he was able to produce and narrate documentaries which aired locally and nationally.
Herlinger was a voice actor for ''Adventures in Odyssey'' for 12 years. His major role on the show was the voice of John Avery Whittaker from 1996 to 2008. He died on February 2, 2010.
Herlinger also narrated a documentary which aired nationally on public television stations titled ''As Close As Your Dare-Africa.''
References
External links
*
*
Paul Herlingerat ''The Soda Fountain''
1929 births
2010 deaths
American male radio actors
American male voice actors
Male actors from New York City
Television producers from New York City
University of Michigan alumni
{{US-voice-actor-1920s-stub