Thomas Edward Bodett ( ; born February 23, 1955) is an American author, voice actor, and radio personality, primarily as a host, correspondent and panelist for a number of shows that air on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

(NPR). Since 1986, he has been the spokesman for the motel chain

Motel 6 Motel 6 is a privately owned hospitality company with a chain of budget motels in the United States and Canada. Motel 6 also operates Studio 6, a chain of Apartment hotel, extended-stay hotels. The hotel brand is owned by The Blackstone Group's ...

, ending commercials with the phrase, "I'm Tom Bodett for Motel 6, and we'll leave the light on for you."

Personal background

Thomas Edward Bodett was born on February 23, 1955, in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

, and raised in Sturgis, Michigan. , he resided in

Dummerston, Vermont Dummerston is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,865 at the 2020 census. It is home to the longest covered bridge still in use in Vermont. Its borders include three main villages: Dummerston Center, West Dumme ...

, where he is a member of the town's board of selectmen.

Career

Spokesperson

Motel 6

In 1986, Bodett was building houses in

Homer, Alaska Homer ( Dena'ina: ''Tuggeght'') is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is southwest of Anchorage. According to the 2020 Census, the population is 5,522, up from 5,003 in 2010. Long known as the " Halibut Fishing ...

, and contributing to NPR's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''. A creative director at the Richards Group ad agency heard him on NPR and hired him to record a commercial for

. Bodett ad-libbed the famous line "We'll leave the light on for you" and has been the chain's spokesperson ever since. The director David Fowler hired him because Bodett "sound dlike the kind of person who stays there."Williams, Kimberly D. "Actually, you can get the light", ''Advertising Age'' 78, no. 35 (September 3, 2007): 8–8. Fowler said he thought, "Gosh, if I only had an account for a national budget motel brand with a sense of humor and humility, I could make a heck of an advertising campaign with this guy." In 2005, Motel 6 began using Bodett for their wake-up calls. The chain hoped to bring a more personal touch to people's day by using their spokesperson's voice. Bodett was also featured on the first Motel 6

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

, released for the holidays. In November 2015, a new marketing campaign featuring Bodett's voice premiered, highlighted by TV and radio commercials touting the investment in and renovation of Motel 6 properties nationwide.

Jamesway

From 1993 to 1994, Bodett was also the spokesperson for

Jamesway Jamesway Corporation, more commonly known as Jamesway, was a chain of Discount store, discount department stores based in Secaucus, New Jersey. It was founded in 1961 with a single store in Jamestown, New York, ultimately growing into a chain tha ...

department stores in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, New Jersey, New York, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and recorded radio commercials for it. A discount chain, Jamesway filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the fall of 1995 and closed at the end of the year.

Media appearances

Radio

As a broadcaster, Bodett hosted two radio programs: ''The End of the Road'' (1988–1990) and ''Bodett & Company'' (1993). In 1999, Bodett started ''The Loose Leaf Book Company'', a radio program that centered on author and book interviews, discussions, and dramatizations. , he is a contributor to '' The Bob Edwards Show'' on XMPR and a member of the stable of panelists on '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'', a

news quiz show. In 2015, he was interviewed as a guest on Episode 301 of Public Radio International's ''

Live Wire Radio ''Live Wire Radio'' is a radio variety show that was launched in 2004 in Portland, Oregon, United States. ''Live Wire'' was initially hosted by Rob Sample, followed by Courtenay Hameister, with current hosting duties covered by Luke Burbank.Hud ...

''.

Television

Bodett hosted the

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

program ''Travels on America's Historic Trails'' (1997). He also appeared on the ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, unti ...

'' cartoon series, doing the voice-over for "Mime Time" and the "Good Idea/Bad Idea" segments featuring Mr. Skullhead, had a brief cameo in ''

Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and the fourth col ...

'', and narrated the direct-to-video ''Animaniacs'' movie ''

Wakko's Wish ''Wakko's Wish'' (originally titled as ''Wakko's Wakko Wish'') is a 1999 American animated musical comedy-adventure fantasy film based on the 1993–98 animated series ''Animaniacs'', serving as the series finale until the announcement of the ...

'' (1999).

Webzine

Bodett was a regular columnist for the

webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

''Mr. Showbiz''.

Podcasts

Bodett's name was used humorously for various non-playable characters in the

Dungeons and Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). ...

series ''

The Adventure Zone ''The Adventure Zone'' is a weekly comedy and adventure actual play podcast based loosely upon the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game series, along with other role-playing games. The show is distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brother ...

'', though these were voiced by dungeon master

Griffin McElroy Griffin Andrew McElroy ( , born April 17, 1987) is an American podcaster, actor, writer, composer, and former video game journalist. He is known for his work on podcasts such as ''My Brother, My Brother and Me'' and '' The Adventure Zone'', as ...

, not Bodett himself. In the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

under the same name, an uncanny likeness of Bodett can be seen interacting with the series' main characters.

Writing

In 1999, Bodett published his first children's book, ''Williwaw!''Maughan, Shannon. "Bodett Brings Kids' Books to the Airwaves", ''Publishers Weekly'' 246, no. 51 (December 20, 1999): 29.

Published works

* ''As Far As You Can Go Without a Passport'' (1986), * ''Small Comforts'' (1987), * ''The End of the Road'' (1989), * ''The Big Garage on Clear Shot'' (1990), * ''The Free Fall of Webster Cummings'' (1996), * ''America's Historic Trails'' (1997), * ''Williwaw!'' (2000), * ''Norman Tuttle on the Last Frontier'' (2004), * "Alaska A to Z: The Most Comprehensive Book of Facts and Figures Ever Compiled About Alaska" (1993), * "The Free Fall of Webster Cummings: Volume One of "Tom Bodett's American Odyssey" (1960) * "America's Historic Trails: With Tom Bodett" (1997), * "Growing Up, Growing Old & Going Fishing at the End of the Road" * "Those Grand Occasions at the end of the Road" * "As Far as You Can Go Without a Passport: Views from the End of the Road" (1985) * "First Words" * "Old Fools & Young Hearts" * "No Place Like Home" * * "(The) Last Decent Parking Place in North America", Audio Cassette - 1991 by Random House Audio "The Free Fall of Webster Cummings: Volume One of "Tom Bodett's American Odyssey" (1960) Audio Cassette * "The Great Divide, Volume Two (Tom Bodett's American Odyssey)" (1995), Audio Cassette * "Peach Picking Time, Volume Three (Tom Bodett's American Odyssey)" (1995), Audio Cassette * "No Place Like Home, Volume Four (Tom Bodett's American Odyssey)" (1996), Audio Cassette * "Ed's Fruits and Vegetables, Volume 5 (Tom Bodett's American Odyssey)" (1996), Audio Cassette Song, Tom Bodett by Mark David Manders * "Better Part of the Road"(1992), Audio Cassette

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodett, Tom American children's writers American humorists American radio personalities American male voice actors Audiobook narrators Writers from Michigan Writers from Vermont Writers from Alaska Writers from Washington (state) Writers from Illinois People from Sturgis, Michigan People from Homer, Alaska People from Champaign, Illinois People from Dummerston, Vermont 1955 births Living people