Wes Johnson (born June 6, 1961) is an American actor,
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
,
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
voice artist
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 ...
, who has appeared in such films as ''
A Dirty Shame
''A Dirty Shame'' is a 2004 American satirical sex comedy film written and directed by John Waters and starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville, Selma Blair, Chris Isaak, Suzanne Shepherd and Mink Stole.
''A Dirty Shame'' is currently the last ...
'', ''
Head of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
'', ''
The Invasion'', ''
For Richer or Poorer
''For Richer or Poorer'' is a 1997 American slapstick comedy film directed by Bryan Spicer starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley as a New York socialite couple who decide to end their spoiled relationship. The supporting cast includes Jay O. Sande ...
'' and ''
Hearts in Atlantis''. He has appeared on television in ''
Homicide: Life on the Streets'', ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...
'', and ''
Veep
''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom ''The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep'' ...
''. Wes is married to his childhood sweetheart Kim Barrett Johnson. They are the parents of three sons.
Career
Wes co-presented with the legendary
Wolfman Jack
Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active from 1960 till his death in 1995. Famous for his gravelly voice, he credited it for his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes ...
for two years on his last nationally syndicated radio show, writing comedy sketches and performing them with the Wolfman live on a weekly basis. Wes has written for and appeared in various comedy
troupe
Troupe may refer to:
General
*Comedy troupe, a group of comedians
*Dance troupe, a group of dancers
**Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers
*Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games
*Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers
...
s including Fresh Victims, Gross National Product, and The Loyal Opposition. He also created the comic strips ''Martini 'N Clyde'' and ''Joe Fan'', which have been published in ''
The Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' and ''Sports Fan Magazine'', respectively.
Wes is the P.A. announcer for the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...
.
Wes was the series announcer for ''
America's Most Wanted
''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...
'' on FOX until December 2009, replacing the late
Don LaFontaine
Donald Leroy LaFontaine (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008) was an American voice actor who recorded more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers over four ...
in September 2008.
Wes filmed the pilot "Bennie's" with
Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...
in summer 2016. He portrayed a character named "Walter".
Wes' voice has appeared in cartoons, commercials and video games.
He provided
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 ...
for three installments of ''
The Elder Scrolls
''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of Action role-playing game, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...
'': ''
Morrowind
''The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'' is an open world, open-world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the third installment in the ''The Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls'' ser ...
'', ''
Oblivion
Oblivion may refer to:
Film
* ''Oblivion'' (1994 film), an American space Western
* ''Oblivion'' (2013 film), an American post-apocalyptic science fiction film
Literature
* ''Oblivion'' (''Power of Five''), a 2012 novel by Anthony Horowitz
* ...
'', and ''
Skyrim
''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in ''The Elder Scrolls'' series, following 2006's '' The Elder Scrol ...
''.
He voiced Lucien Lachance, the Gray Fox, the Arena Announcer, Sheogorath, Hermaeus Mora, Emperor Titus Mede II and was the default voice for Imperial males in ''Oblivion''. In 2014, Johnson reprised the role of Sheogorath for 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 ...
series ''Elder Scrolls Lore'' by the channel ''ShoddyCast''. Later in 2015 he voiced the super mutant King Ludd as well as Scribe Bigsley in ''ShoddyCast's'' ''The storyteller: A Fallout Lore Series''.
He also lent his voice to ''
Star Trek: Legacy'', which features the voices of all five original TV Captains, and the video game ''
Star Trek: Conquest''.
He appeared in ''
Fallout 3
''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...
'' as the nefarious Mister Burke as well as the Super Mutants Fawkes and Uncle Leo, the Protectrons, Sentry Bots, and Scribe Bigsley. In ''
Fallout 4
''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the Fallout (series), ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for P ...
'' he reprised the Protectrons, as well as playing The Silver Shroud and Moe Cronin.
He plays Z'aanta in Square Enix's Octopath Traveller.
Wes has appeared on ''The
Shari Elliker
Shari Elliker is an American voice actress and radio host who has worked on a number of radio stations, primarily in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan areas.
Biography Career
Elliker hosted her own morning radio show on WBAL in Ba ...
Show'' on
WBAL in Baltimore, Maryland, ''
Broadminded'' on XM 155, and reviewed movies weekly for ''The
Chip Franklin Show'' on
KOGO in San Diego, California.
He appeared as a guest narrator for symphonic black metal band Epicland on the album ''Bound for Greatness''.
He appeared in the short films ''Oblivion in Real Life'' and ''Oblivion in Real Life II'' on the LaFave Bros
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 ...
channel. Johnson declined payment for his appearances, instead asking viewers to consider donating to the
Alzheimer's Association
The Alzheimer's Association was founded by Jerome H. Stone with the help of several family members in Chicago, Illinois, and incorporated on April 10, 1980, as the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. It is a non-profit Ame ...
.
He also has a YouTube channel.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Short film
References
External links
Official site*
Article in San Francisco Chronicle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Wes
1961 births
American male comedians
21st-century American comedians
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Living people
National Hockey League public address announcers
The Washington Times people
America's Most Wanted
Comedians from Virginia