Mike Henry (voice actor)
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Michael Robert Henry (born November 7, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his work on the animated sitcom ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'', where he was a writer and producer, as well as the voice of Cleveland Brown (until 2021),
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,
Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...
, Consuela, The Greased-Up Deaf Guy, among others. Henry is also known for co-creating and starring in the spin-off ''
The Cleveland Show ''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A spin-off of ''Family Guy'', the series centers on Cleveland Brown, his new wife Donna Tubbs, a ...
'' (2009–2013), for which he voiced Cleveland Brown and
Rallo Tubbs ''Family Guy (franchise), Family Guy'' is an American animated comedy multimedia franchise originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company, primarily based on the animated series ''Family Guy'' (1999–presen ...
, among others. He is also known for his recurring role as Dann in the television series ''
The Orville ''The Orville'' is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as series protagonist Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union's line of exploratory space vessels in the 25th century ...
''.


Early life and education

Henry was born in
Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...
, on November 7, 1965, to artist parents and raised in
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
, with his younger brother Patrick. Their parents divorced when Henry was eight years old and the boys were primarily raised by their mother. He was awarded a scholarship and attended the nearby preparatory Collegiate School. Henry graduated from
Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...
(1988) where he earned his B.A. in history and served as class president his sophomore-senior years. Although interested in comedy, Henry never believed he could make a career of it so instead opted for more “business stuff.”


Career


Early career

At 24, after a brief career in advertising, Henry moved to
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to pursue acting. There he began taking classes at the Groundlings Theater and performing stand-up comedy. After three years in Los Angeles, Henry returned to Virginia to shoot short comedy films that he wrote and acted in. During that time, Henry often acted in his brother Patrick's student films at the
Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
, where he was introduced to his brother's college roommate,
Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creator ...
. Henry recalled in 2018, "We immediately hit it off and cracked each other up and kept in touch." Henry later moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where he acted in commercials, studied improvisation at the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (shorter UCB Theatre) is an American improvisational theatre company and training center founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. Prior t ...
and wrote, produced, starred-in and co-directed (with his brother Patrick) comedy shorts for Lorne Michaels’
Burly Bear Network The Burly Bear Network was an American cable TV channel targeted at 18- to 24-year-old college students founded in 1994. The company was created by four friends from Connecticut, Danny Stein, Brian Nurenberg, Danny Ameri and James Mairs and led b ...
.


''Family Guy''

Henry’s break came in 1998, when MacFarlane contacted him about being part of a new show called ''Family Guy.'' Mike agreed and joined the project as a writer and voice actor. Henry has stated that the inspiration for Cleveland's voice was based on "this guy that ehad once played basketball with". During the show's first four seasons, he was credited as a guest star, but beginning with season five's "
Prick Up Your Ears ''Prick Up Your Ears'' is a 1987 British film, directed by Stephen Frears, about the playwright Joe Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell. The screenplay was written by Alan Bennett, based on the 1978 biography by John Lahr. The film stars Gar ...
" he has been credited as a main cast member. Two episodes into the second season, ''Family Guy'' was taken off the network's permanent schedule and shown irregularly thereafter. The show returned in March 2000 to finish airing the second season which contained 21 episodes; all the cast came back for the series return. During its second season, Fox publicly announced that the show had been cancelled. Despite the announced cancellation, in 2001 Fox decided to make the third season. During the third season, Fox announced that the show was canceled for good. Soon after ''Family Guy'' was cancelled, Henry and his brother created the popular web series ''Kicked in the Nuts!'', a spoof of hidden camera shows. ''Family Guy'' was renewed again in 2005 for its fourth season due to strong DVD sales and its
syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...
on basic cable networks. Once again Henry and the rest of the cast came back for their voice works. In October 2017, ''Family Guy'' was renewed for its 16th season. On June 26, 2020, after twenty-one years of voicing the character, Henry announced on
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that he was stepping down from voicing Cleveland, stating "persons of color should play characters of color." On September 25, 2020, it was announced that
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personality
Arif Zahir Arif Zahir Lopes-Thrower (born April 15, 1994) is an American actor, musician, and internet personality. His YouTube channel, Azerrz, has over 7 million subscribers and features voice impressions of a plethora of celebrities and cartoon characte ...
, who is African-American, would replace Henry as Cleveland, but some episodes produced before Henry's departure from the role will still see Henry voicing the character. Speaking to Henry, who would continue to do other voices for the show, Zahir, who is a longtime fan of both the character and the show said, "you created something truly special, and I promise I will do my absolute best to honor your legacy." To the fans he said, "I promise not to let you down." Currently, there has been no word on a potential recasting of Consuela and Rallo Tubbs, two characters of color voiced by Henry on the series, leaving the future of their portrayals unclear.


''The Cleveland Show''

On September 27, 2009, ''
The Cleveland Show ''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A spin-off of ''Family Guy'', the series centers on Cleveland Brown, his new wife Donna Tubbs, a ...
'' premiered on Fox. The project was created and executive-produced by Henry,
Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creator ...
and ''
American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...
''
show runner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...
Rich Appel Richard James Appel (born May 21, 1963) is an American writer, producer and former attorney. Since 2012, he has served as an executive producer and co-showrunner of ''Family Guy'' on Fox. He attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School. As ...
. The show focused on the ''Family Guy'' character Cleveland Brown, who referenced the spin-off at the end of the ''Family Guy'' episode "
Baby Not on Board "Baby Not on Board" is the fourth episode in the Family Guy (season 7), seventh season of the American animated series, animated television series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United State ...
". The first season consisted of 22 episodes and was picked up by Fox for a second 13-episode season. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered. Due to strong ratings, Fox picked up two additional nine-episode seasons, bringing the total episode count of the show to 44. The show was renewed for a third and fourth season on May 9, 2011. The series was canceled after its fourth season on May 19, 2013, but reruns continue to air on
FXX FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and fe ...
in the United States and on Much in Canada. The series ran for a total of 4 seasons and 88 episodes.


Personal life

Henry married Linda Murray in 2002, they divorced in 2005 after three years of marriage. Together they have a son, named Jack. Henry has been married to his second wife Sara Voelker since 2007. Together they have a daughter, named Josie. Henry and Voelker currently reside in
Henrico, Virginia Henrico is the name used by the U.S. Postal Service for several ZIP code areas in unincorporated parts of Henrico County, Virginia, surrounding the city of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond. "Other acceptable cities" listed by the USPS for parts of Henr ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


Web


Video games


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Mike 1965 births Living people American male comedians American male film actors American male screenwriters American male television actors American male voice actors American male writers American stand-up comedians American television producers Male actors from Richmond, Virginia Primetime Emmy Award winners Washington and Lee University alumni 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American writers