William Duffy (February 1, 1958 – March 24, 2020) known professionally as William Dufris or Bill Dufris, was an American voice actor and audiobook narrator.
Career
Dufris began his audio career in London, where he appeared in several BBC Radio plays with Kathleen Turner, Sharon Gless, Stockard Channing, and Helena Bonham-Carter. Moreover, he worked with director Dirk Maggs on his audio drama productions of ''
Spider-Man'' (where he voiced the title role of Peter Parker), ''
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running ...
'', ''
Voyage
Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to:
Literature
*''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden
* ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter
*''The Voyage'', Murray Bail
* "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by ...
'' and ''
An American Werewolf in London''.
These experiences led Dufris to co-found the audio production company The Story Circle, Ltd in the UK. Upon returning to the United States, Dufris founded Mind's Eye Productions and co-founded Rocky Coast Radio Theatre and The AudioComics Company, for which he has been producer, director, actor, and engineer. For AudioComics he directed ''
Starstruck'', the first season of Horrorscopes,
Titanium Rain,
Honey West
Honey West is a fictional character created by the husband and wife writing team Gloria and Forest Fickling under the pseudonym "G.G. Fickling", and appearing in eleven mystery novels by the duo.
The character is notable as being one of the firs ...
, and The Batson's for the AudioComics Kids line. He also directed
Arigon Starr’s audio comedy ''Super Indian'' for Native Voices at the Autry in Los Angeles.
He was best known for voicing the title character in the American English dub of the British children's animated series ''
Bob the Builder
''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...
'' until its ninth season. Dufris also voiced Elvis and Dougan in the stop motion TV series ''
Rocky and the Dodos'' for
Cosgrove Hall
Cosgrove Hall Films (also known as Cosgrove Hall Productions) was an English animation studio founded by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall; its headquarters was in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Cosgrove Hall was once a major producer of childre ...
and dubbed several anime films such as ''
X'', ''
Appleseed'' and two of the ''
Lupin III
, also written as ''Lupin the Third'', ''Lupin the 3rd'', or ''Lupin the IIIrd'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It follows the endeavors of master thief Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsèn ...
'' films. He is also well known for his narration of the Pendragon books, written by D.J.McHale.
Dufris was on the Advisory Board of the National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc. in addition to being a Norman Corwin Award Committee member. He was a guest instructor and performer at the 2005–2007 Audio Theatre Workshops, appearing in the world premiere works ''The Best Place to Grow Pumpkins'', ''Rewind'', ''Extra-Ordinary'', and ''Histories''.
In 2018, Dufris and Jack Bowman co-founded the audiobook company Dagaz Media.
Dufris died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
on March 24, 2020 at the age of 62.
Awards
Dufris was nominated twelve times as an audiobook finalist for the
Audio Publishers Association The Audio Publishers Association (APA) is the first and only not-for-profit trade organization of the audiobook industry in the United States. Its mission is to "advocate the common, collective business interests of audio publishers." Membership is ...
's
Audie Award
The Audie Awards (, rhymes with "gaudy"; abbreviated from ''audiobook''), or simply the Audies, are awards for achievement in spoken word, particularly audiobook narration and audiodrama performance, published in the United States of America. They ...
s, winning in 2012 for Best Non-Fiction. He also garnered 24 Golden Earphones Awards through AudioFile Magazine, and was named by AudioFile as "One Of The Best Voices At The End Of The Century." ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' called his performance of
Neal Stephenson's novel ''
Anathem
''Anathem'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson, published in 2008. Major themes include the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and the philosophical debate between Platonic realism and nominalism.
Plot sum ...
'' "a delight for the ears".
Partial list of works
As voice actor
*''
Angel Cop
is a six-part original video animation created and directed by Ichirō Itano. A manga adaptation written and illustrated by Taku Kitazaki was serialized in '' Newtype'' in 1989 and collected into a ''Newtype 100%'' collection released in Apri ...
''
*''
Appleseed''
*''
Bob the Builder
''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...
'' - Bob, Farmer Pickles, Mr. Beasley, Mr. Sabatini, Skip (US dub)
*''
Judge''
*''
Lupin III
, also written as ''Lupin the Third'', ''Lupin the 3rd'', or ''Lupin the IIIrd'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It follows the endeavors of master thief Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsèn ...
'' (
The Secret of Mamo and
Goodbye Lady Liberty) -
Arsène Lupin III
is a fictional character created by Kazuhiko Kato aka Monkey Punch as the protagonist for his manga series ''Lupin III'', which debuted in '' Weekly Manga Action'' on August 10, 1967. According to his creator, Lupin is the grandson of Maurice ...
*''
New Dominion Tank Police''
*''
Patlabor: The Movie''
*''
Patlabor 2: The Movie''
*''
Rocky and the Dodos'' - Elvis, Dougan
*''
X''
*''
Venus Wars''
As audiobook reader
Playaway reader
*Humphrey Audio Collection Books 8-11
Tantor Media
*''
Destroyermen'' series: ''
Into the Storm'', ''
Crusade'', ''
Maelstrom
Maelstrom may refer to:
* Maelstrom (whirlpool), a powerful whirlpool
** originally the Moskstraumen in English
Amusement rides
* Maelstrom (ride), a former log flume dark ride attraction in the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort ...
'', ''
Distant Thunders'', ''
Rising Tides'', ''
Firestorm
A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...
'', ''
Iron Gray Sea''
*''The Enduring Flame'' series: ''The Phoenix Unchained'', ''The Phoenix Endangered'', ''The Phoenix Transformed''
*''Holmes on the Range'' series: ''Holmes on the Range'', ''On the Wrong Track'', ''The Black Dove'', ''The Crack in the Lens'', ''World's Greatest Sleuth!''
*''
The Imager Portfolio'' series: ''Imager'', ''Imager's Challenge'', ''Imager's Intrigue'', ''Scholar'', ''Princeps'', ''Untitled''
*
Isaac Asimov's ''
Robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may ...
'' series: ''The Caves of Steel'', ''The Naked Sun'', ''The Robots of Dawn'';
*''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court''
*''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn''
*''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer''
*''All Other Nights''
*''Ask a Mexican''
*''Books''
*''The California Roll''
*''The Call''
*''Chariots of the Gods''
*''The Christmas Chronicles''
*''Company''
*''Containment''
*''Controlled Burn''
*''Dali & I''
*''Digging for the Truth''
*''The Disagreement''
*''The Dream of Perpetual Motion''
*''The Duel and Other Stories''
*''The End of Food''
*''Fever''
*''Fieldwork''
*''Fletch Won''
*''Flying Through Midnight''
*''Frozen''
*''The Futurist''
*''Golf My Own Damn Way''
*''The Good Psychologist''
*''Haze''
*''Herland''
*''Holy Water''
*''I'm Dying Up Here''
*''Ignore Everybody''
*''Ilustrado''
*''Johnny Got His Gun''
*''Killing Che''
*''The Last Days of Krypton''
*''Lord Vishnu's Love Handles''
*''Mad Dogs''
*''The Man with the Iron Heart''
*''The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers''
*''Me and a Guy Named Elvis''
*''Odyssey of the Gods''
*''Pandora's Legion''
*''Percival's Planet''
*''The Red Badge of Courage''
*''Replay''
*''Saint Patrick's Battalion''
*''The Shadowkiller''
*''The Sheriff of Yrnameer''
*''Snark''
*''Soul Catcher''
*''Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain!''
*''The Third Brother''
*''Time Bandit''
*''The Way to Win''
*''White Flag Down''
*''White Shadow''
*''The World to Come''
*''You Call the Shots''
Other titles
*''
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United S ...
'' by Mark Twain
*
A Journey With Strange Bedfellows' by Jan C J Jones
*''
Anathem
''Anathem'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Neal Stephenson, published in 2008. Major themes include the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and the philosophical debate between Platonic realism and nominalism.
Plot sum ...
'' by Neal Stephenson
*''
Cryptonomicon
''Cryptonomicon'' is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson, set in two different time periods. One group of characters are World War II-era Allied codebreakers and tactical-deception operatives affiliated with the Government Code an ...
'' by Neal Stephenson
*''
The Ethical Assassin''
*''
Shadowland''
*''
The Pendragon Adventure'' series
*''
Flappers and Philosophers'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald
*''
Danse Macabre
The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death.
The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of ...
'' by Stephen King
*''Woken Furies'' by Richard K. Morgan
*''
Replay'' by Ken Grimwood
*''
Old Man's War'' by John Scalzi
*''Awaken Your Strongest Self'' by Neil Fiore
*''
The Maltese Falcon by
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...
References
External links
*
Profile at AudioFile Magazinehttp://www.tantor.com/NarratorDetail.asp?Narrator=Dufris_W
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dufris, William
1958 births
2020 deaths
American male voice actors
Audiobook narrators
Male actors from Maine
People from Houlton, Maine
Deaths from cancer in Maine