# Val Bettin

Valentine John Bettin (July 8, 1923 – January 7, 2021) was an American actor, known for using an English accent in all of his roles. He is perhaps best known for voicing Dr. David Q. Dawson in the 1986 Disney animated film The Great Mouse Detective and the Sultan in The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves, the two direct-to-video sequels to Disney's Aladdin as well as the TV show, taking over for Douglas Seale. Bettin also hosted The Storyteller, a children's show on Chicago television in the late 1950s.

## Early life and career

He was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin on July 8, 1923. In 1948, he went to England to enroll in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and graduated in 1950. There he met his wife Hildy in 1950, and the two married that same year. They returned to the United States in order for him to become a drama teacher in Iowa.
Bettin's first film role was in 1980's Somewhere in Time. He later became a voice actor, with his first role as Dr. David Q. Dawson in the 1986 Disney film The Great Mouse Detective. His credits included Shrek, Gargoyles, Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series and W.I.T.C.H..

## Personal life

He married Hildy Pender, from Manchester, England, in 1950. She died in Ventura, California on August 16, 2007, at the age of 82.
Bettin died of natural causes in Ventura on January 7, 2021, at the age of 97. He was buried at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park on 3 March.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1980 | Somewhere in Time | Director, in 1912 | |
| 1983 | The Man Who Wasn't There | Monocle | |
| 1983 | The Young Landlords | Mr. Bender | TV film |
| 1986 | Triplecross | Winslow | TV film |
| 1986 | The Great Mouse Detective | Dr. David Q. Dawson/Thug Guard | Voice role |
| 1990 | Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase | Playwright | TV film |
| 1994 | Aladdin: The Return of Jafar | The Sultan | Voice role, direct-to-video |
| 1995 | The Greatest Treasure | The Sultan | Voice role, direct-to-video |
| 1995 | Jasmine's Wish | The Sultan | Voice role, direct-to-video |
| 1996 | True Hearts | The Sultan | Voice role, direct-to-video |
| 1996 | Magic and Mystery | The Sultan | Voice role, direct-to-video |
| 1996 | Aladdin and the King of Thieves | The Sultan | Voice role, direct-to-video |
| 1996 | Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story | Mr. Breen | |
| 2001 | Shrek | Bishop | Voice role; final film role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour | Additional voices | Episode: "Who's Minding the Brat?", voice role |
| 1987 | Disneyland | Dr. Allworth | Episode: "Young Harry Houdini" |
| 1988 | Webster | Edwin | Episode: "Nerds Are People Too" |
| 1992 | Great Scott! | Pythagorean | Episode: "Hair Scare" |
| 1994-1995 | Aladdin | Sultan | Series regular, voice role |
| 1995 | American Masters | John Latrobe | Episode: "Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul" |
| 1996 | Mighty Ducks | Sarks | Episode: "Mondo-Man", voice role |
| 1996 | Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles | Egon Pax | Episode: "To Serve Mankind", voice role |
| 1997 | Pepper Ann | Sanford I. Paper | Episode: "The Big Pencil/Sani-Paper", voice role |
| 1998 | Hercules | King Tivius | Episode: "Hercules and the Jilt Trip", voice role |
| 2005 | W.I.T.C.H. | Herbert Olsen | Episode: "The Mogriffs", voice role |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1997 | Zork: Grand Inquisitor | Sneffle / Flickering Torch |
| 1999 | Tarzan | Professor Porter |
| 1999 | Disney's Activity Center: Tarzan | Professor Porter |
| 2000 | Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge | Sultan |

### Audiobooks

* Quest for Camelot Audio Action-Adventure (1998) - Narrator