Tony Jay

Tony Jay (1933-2006) was a voice actor known for his native British accent and baritone tones, most often used for ominous or villainous roles, authoritative narrators, or elder advisors. Often heard in trailers and promos (sometimes sans accent but still with stentorian tones), Jay supplied the voice-over in the original theatrical teaser trailer for Muppet Treasure Island, setting up a dramatic story of pillaging pirates, hidden treasure, and one "whose mere presence struck fear into the blackest of hearts": Kermit the Frog. He also announced the promo for the 1999 VHS release of The Dark Crystal.
While raised in London and serving in the RAF, Jay began his acting career proper in South Africa, acting, directing, and narrating radio dramas, including an adaptation of the British series The Avengers. Returning to England, he appeared, often in dialect roles, on The Agatha Christie Hour, The Professionals, and Dempsey and Makepeace, in films including Love and Death (with Woody Allen) and Little Dorrit (with Derek Jacobi), and as the voice of the Supreme Being in Time Bandits. After appearing on Broadway in 1987's The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby as the theatrical Mr. Crummles, Jay remained in the US, continuing to do voice work from the late 1980s onward, seen in guest roles on The Golden Girls, Matlock, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, and a supporting role in Twins (with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger). 
In the 1990s, Jay began lending his sinister delivery to Disney projects, taking over as the voice of the Magic Mirror in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs tie-ins and as Shere Khan on TaleSpin, Monsieur D'Arque in Beauty and the Beast, Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Anubis on an episode of Gargoyles. Cartoon villains for other studios included Megabyte on ReBoot, Chairface Chippendale on The Tick, Galactus on Fantastic Four, Baron Mordo on the 1990s Spider-Man, and Lord Dregg on later seasons of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His two recurring on-camera TV roles were in the same vein, as Paracelsus on Beauty and the Beast and Lex Luthor associate Nigel on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. 
Occasional sympathetic voice roles included Kal-El's Kryptonian grandfather in the Superman pilot movie and Dr. Lipschitz on Rugrats. He was a frequent documentary narrator and video games included Fallout, the Legacy of Kain series, and The Bard's Tale.
==External links==
*IMDb 
*VoiceOver LA - Icons of Voice Over profile
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Commercials Actors