Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' Rocko's Modern Life'', the

Ice King Ice King is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The character was introduced as the main antagonist and, as Simon Petrikov, develops into a supporting character in later seasons. The character is ...

in ''

Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...

'', the Narrator and Mayor in '' The Powerpuff Girls'', Carl Chryniszzswics in '' Johnny Bravo'', Dog in '' CatDog'', Hank and Jeremy in ''

Talking Tom and Friends ''Talking Tom & Friends'' (known as ''Talking Friends'' until late 2014, and ''Talking Tom and Friends'' until early 2021) is a video game franchise created and owned by Outfit7 Limited, a Slovenian video game developer. The franchise focuse ...

'', and

Spyro ''Spyro'' is a series of platform games which features the main protagonist Spyro, a dragon. Since the series' introduction in 1998 with the PlayStation game ''Spyro the Dragon'', there have been numerous sequels and a reboot trilogy. Originall ...

from the ''

'' video game series. His live action work includes the comedy variety shows '' The Edge'' and ''

Mr. Show ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'', also known as ''Mr. Show'', is an American sketch comedy series starring and hosted by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. It aired on HBO from November 3, 1995, to December 28, 1998. Cross and Odenkirk introduced m ...

''. Kenny has won two

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

s and two

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

s for his voice work as SpongeBob SquarePants and the Ice King. He often collaborates with his wife and fellow voice artist

Jill Talley Jill Talley (born December 19, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She is a main cast member on the animated series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', in which she voices Karen Plankton. Her other voice roles include Sarah Dubois on Adult Swim's ...

, who plays

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

on ''SpongeBob SquarePants''.

Biography

Early life and stand-up comedy

Kenny was born and raised in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, to Theresa Bridget (Donigan) and Paul Austin Kenny. As a young child, in the late 1960s and the 1970s, he loved drawing and collecting record albums. He met Bobcat Goldthwait in first grade and they became lifelong friends. In their mid-teens, they saw an ad for an open-mic night at Skaneateles that featured comedian Barry Crimmins with the moniker "Bear Cat". He and Goldthwait went to the event, and performed under the monikers Tomcat and Bobcat, respectively, as a tribute to Crimmins, after which Goldthwait used Bobcat as his stage name. Describing Kenny's stand-up routines, Goldthwait said, "Tom would get up there and talk about his therapist and he didn't even have a therapist, he just loved

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

." Kenny went to Bishop Grimes Junior/Senior High School, a Catholic high school. After college, he performed stand-up comedy around the country for about eight years before he moved on to other venues.

Television and film career

Kenny has acted in many films and TV shows, debuting in '' How I Got into College'' (1989) and later appeared in films such as '' Shakes the Clown'' (1991) and '' Comic Book: The Movie'' (2004). On television, he would host the "Music News" segments of ''

Friday Night Videos ''Friday Night Videos'' (later becoming ''Friday Night'' and then ''Late Friday'') is an American music video show that was broadcast on NBC from July 29, 1983 to May 24, 2002. It was the network's attempt to capitalize on the emerging popularit ...

'' in the early 1990s. He appeared in sketch comedy shows '' The Edge'' which aired on Fox from 1992 to 1993, and ''

'' which aired on HBO from 1995 to 1998, both roles in the show were as a regular cast member. He appears in the live-action segments of ''

'' as Patchy the Pirate, appeared on '' R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series'' on the season four episode, "Uncle Howee" as Uncle Howee, a high-energy kids' show host with strange powers.

Voice acting

Kenny said that he voices "a lot of sweet yellow characters for some reason." He described SpongeBob's voice as in between that of a child and an adult, stating "Think a

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

kind of child-man. Kind of like a

Munchkin A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. They first appear in the classic children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) where they welcome Dorothy Gale to their city in O ...

but not quite, kind of like a kid, but not in a Charlie Brown child's voice on the TV shows." Joe Murray auditioned Kenny for voice acting roles for '' Rocko's Modern Life'' in a casting call in Los Angeles, California.Lisa (Kiczuk) Trainor interviews Joe Murray, creator of Rocko's Modern Life
", ''The Rocko's Modern Life FAQ'' On one occasion, the producers required Kenny to fill the role of

Charlie Adler Charles Michael Adler (born October 2, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director. He is known for his roles as Buster Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Ed and Bev Bighead on ''Rocko's Modern Life'' and Ickis on ''Aaahh!!! Real Monst ...

, who was absent. He voices Cupid for the Nickelodeon show '' The Fairly OddParents''. Joe Murray chose Kenny for several roles on another of his projects, ''

Camp Lazlo ''Camp Lazlo'' is an American animated television series created by Joe Murray for Cartoon Network. The series follows Lazlo, an anthropomorphic spider monkey that goes to a camp called "Camp Kidney", a Boy Scout-like summer camp in Pimpleback M ...

'' as Scoutmaster Lumpus and Slinkman, because Murray, after seeing Kenny's previous work for ''Rocko's Modern Life'', felt that Kenny "adds writing to his roles" and "brings so much".Q & A with Joe Murray
", ''

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

Pressroom'' He voiced Dog in '' CatDog'', as well as the voice of Cliff. He voices many characters in '' The Powerpuff Girls'', including the Mayor, the Narrator, Mitch Mitchelson, Snake and Little Arturo from the Gangreen Gang, Rainbow the Clown, etc. He voiced Eduardo and various other characters in '' Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends'', Dr. Two-Brains in the

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...

show, '' WordGirl'', and the villains Knightbrace, the Common Cold and Mr. Wink in '' Codename: Kids Next Door''. Kenny is the

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

in the 2004 TV series ''

The Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman or The Batman may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Characters * Batman (Terry McGinnis) * Batman (Thomas Wayne) * Batman (Earth-Two) * Bat ...

''. He voiced the character Squanchy on ''

Rick and Morty {{Infobox television , image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png , alt = , caption = , genre = {{Plainlist, * Animated sitcom * Adult animation * Science fiction * Black comedy * ...

''.

Tom Kenny in 2014 at New York Comic Con - Photo by Peter Dzubay

He plays a number of roles in the '' Transformers Animated'' TV show. A few of the characters he voices in this series are

Starscream Starscream is a fictional character in the ''Transformers'' media franchise. He is one of the most frequently occurring characters in the franchise, appearing in almost all of its different continuities. Starscream in generally depicted as the s ...

and his clones, Isaac Sumdac and Waspinator. Kenny also voiced several characters on the animated show '' Xiaolin Showdown'', as well as the

Autobots The Autobots are the main protagonists in the fictional continuities of the Transformers multimedia franchise, and are depicted in a collection of various toys, cartoons, films, graphic novels, and paperback books first introduced in 1984. The ...

Skids __NOTOC__ Skid or Skids may refer to: * Skid, a type of pallet * Skid (aerodynamics), an outward side-slip in an aircraft turn * Skid (automobile), an automobile handling condition where one or more tires are slipping relative to the road * Skid, ...

and Wheelie in the live-action ''Transformers'' film series. On '' Dilbert'', Kenny voiced Ratbert, Asok, Dilbert's shower, and some minor characters. He played Mr. Hal Gibson in the animated kids show ''

Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force GO! (commonly known by its acronym, ''SRMTHFG'', or simply, ''Super Robot Monkey Team'') is an anime-influenced television series created by Ciro Nieli, one of the directors of ''Teen Titans'', and produced by Jetix Animation Concepts with animation ...

''. In 2009, Kenny became a regular cast voice in the Fox comedy series '' Sit Down, Shut Up''. He voices Muhammad Sabeeh "Happy" Fa-ach Nuabar, the secretive custodian who is plotting a terrorist attack, as well as Happy's interpreter. The series premiered on April 19, 2009. Kenan Thompson, Kristin Chenoweth,

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox/Netflix sitcom ''Arrested Development (TV series), Arrested Development'' and of Mart ...

, Nick Kroll, Cheri Oteri,

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series ''Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

, Will Arnett, and Will Forte are the other main cast members. He plays the

and Magic Man on ''

''. In 2011, Kenny took over the role of

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

from Ken Sansom in '' Winnie the Pooh''. From 2012 to 2014, Kenny voiced Woody Johnson on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

's '' Brickleberry''. He voiced various characters in the Cartoon Network programme ''

Mixels ''Mixels'' is a 2014-2016 comedy animated television series that aired on Cartoon Network and was co-produced by The Lego Group and Cartoon Network Studios. The series first aired on February 12, 2014, with a new episode of '' Teen Titans Go!''. ...

'', Sumo in the Cartoon Network programme '' Clarence'', Daddo in ''

Henry Hugglemonster ''Henry Hugglemonster'' is a CGI children's animated television series produced by Brown Bag Films. The show is designed for children aged 2–7. It is based on the 2005 book ''I'm a Happy Hugglewug'' written and illustrated by Niamh Sharkey. T ...

'', Dr. Otto Octavius on '' The Ultimate Spider-Man'', and Leo Callisto in '' Miles from Tomorrowland''. He has also provided voices in television advertisements for

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

(as an elf for a Christmas spot),

Experian Experian is an American–Irish multinational data analytics and consumer credit reporting company. Experian collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S. consumers and more t ...

(as a talking modem alongside DC Douglas), and Talking Hank in the

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 ...

web series ''

''. In video games, Kenny is best known as the voice of

Spyro the Dragon ''Spyro the Dragon'' is a platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation on September 9, 1998. The first game in the ''Spyro'' series, it stars the title character, a young purple dr ...

, having replaced previous voice actor Carlos Alazraqui. He first voiced Spyro in '' Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!'', and continued to voice the character up until '' Spyro: A Hero's Tail'', where he was replaced by

Jess Harnell Jess Harnell (born December 23, 1963) is an American voice actor and singer. His notable roles include Captain Hero in the animated TV series ''Drawn Together'', Wakko Warner in ''Animaniacs'', Ironhide in the first three ''Transformers'' films ...

. He also voiced another character in the series, Sgt. James Byrd, in '' Spyro: Year of the Dragon''. He reprised both roles in '' Spyro Reignited Trilogy'', a collection of modern remakes of the original Spyro trilogy. Kenny was a guest star on HarmonQuest as both himself and his "in-game character" Legnahcra the

maître d' ''Maître'' (spelled ''Maitre'' according to post-1990 spelling rules) is a commonly used honorific for lawyers, judicial officers and notaries in France, Belgium, Switzerland and French-speaking parts of Canada. It is often written in its abbrev ...

of Virtuous Harmony. He also voiced

Fethry Duck The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...

in the 2017 version of DuckTales. In 2022, he voiced

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

and other characters in Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.

''SpongeBob SquarePants''

While working on the animated series '' Rocko's Modern Life'', Kenny met marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. After the cancellation of ''Rocko's Modern Life'' in 1996, Hillenburg began developing his own concept for an ocean-themed series, building off of his background in marine science. Hillenburg said that he wanted to base the show on his favorite animal, the sea sponge, "because it's a funny animal, a strange one." To voice this character, Hillenburg approached Kenny in 1997. The series, titled ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', premiered on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

on May 1, 1999. It soon became a commercial success. Kenny plays various other characters on the show, including the live-action character Patchy the Pirate and the voices of

Gary the Snail The characters in the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' were created by artist, animator, and former marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg. The series chronicles the adventures of the title character and his various f ...

, the French Narrator (a parody of

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...

), and SpongeBob's father (Harold SquarePants). In 2010, Kenny received the

for "Voice Acting in a Television Production" for his role as SpongeBob in ''

SpongeBob's Truth or Square ''SpongeBob's Truth or Square'' (also known as ''Stuck in the Freezer'') is a 2009 made-for-television comedy special and an hour-long episode of the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' that was produced as the 123rd ...

'' (season 6, episode 23–24). He also voiced SpongeBob in the

sequel film A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

released on February 6, 2015. In 2018 and 2020, he received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program. In 2019, he was featured in the live recording of the Broadway musical ''

'' playing the role of Patchy the Pirate.

Personal life

Kenny first met his wife

in 1992 while working on ''The Edge''. The two have collaborated on many productions together, including ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (in which Talley voices

Karen Plankton Sheldon J. Plankton and Karen Plankton are the main antagonists in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', the Nickelodeon animated television series. They are respectively voiced by Mr. Lawrence and Jill Talley. Their first appearance was in the episode " ...

). They also both appeared in the music video for " Tonight, Tonight" by

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

. They have two children, Mack (born 1997) and Nora (born 2003). The Kennys live in Studio City, California.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Interview with Tom Kenny
on '' Fresh Air'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Tom 1962 births Living people 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors Actual play performers American impressionists (entertainers) American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American sketch comedians American stand-up comedians Annie Award winners Comedians from New York (state) Daytime Emmy Award winners Male actors from Syracuse, New York Nickelodeon people SpongeBob SquarePants