Bill Farmer

American voice actor and comedian (born 1952)Template:SHORTDESC:American voice actor and comedian (born 1952)[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

Template:Other people

**William Farmer** (born November 14, 1952) is an American voice actor and comedian. He has performed the voice of the Disney character Goofy since 1987, and is also the current voice of Pluto and Horace Horsecollar.

## Early life

Template:BLP sources section
Farmer was born on November 14, 1952 in Pratt, Kansas, as the second child in his family. His parents were of English and Welsh descent.

Farmer's first job, at the age of 15, involved doing voices, especially those of Western stars like John Wayne or Walter Brennan. He and his friends would sometimes go through fast food drive-thrus and order foods in his character voices. Bill graduated from the University of Kansas in 1975 and is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. In college, he found work in radio and TV and then moved on to stand-up comedy as an impressionist until he moved out to Hollywood, where he began voicing Goofy in January 1987. In 1982, while he was still doing stand-up comedy, Farmer worked at a comedy club called the Comedy Corner in Dallas, Texas. He continued to work there until his move to Hollywood in 1986.

His decision to move to California came from a Dallas commercial agent who suggested that, given his talent for voices, he should try his luck in California. He was recently married, but he and his wife talked it over and came to an arrangement. She stayed back in Dallas while he commuted for a year after he got an apartment. Then four months after his moving out to Hollywood, his agent asked him if he could do any Disney characters.

He asserts that voice acting is not about funny voices, but about acting. His mentor was the versatile voice actor Daws Butler, the man behind many of Hanna-Barbera's characters. He taught Farmer that when doing cartoon voices, you're not merely doing a funny voice, you're an actor and the acting is premier and you have to think like the character you're doing.

## Career

Template:BLP sources section
In 1987, Farmer had a small part as reporter Justin Ballard-Watkins in the film *RoboCop*.

His very first voice over audition was for Goofy. When he auditioned for the voice, he studied the way the original actor Pinto Colvig performed as Goofy in the classic cartoons. He studied the hilarious laugh and the distinctive "gawrsh". He inherited the voice of Goofy (and also Pluto) around the same time Tony Anselmo inherited Donald Duck and Russi Taylor inherited Minnie Mouse.

He originated the voice of Horace Horsecollar in Disney's version of *The Prince and the Pauper* and has played him ever since as well. Farmer also performed additional voices on *The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse* (1987) and *Astro Boy* (2004).

Other significant characters he has played include Yosemite Sam, Sylvester and Foghorn Leghorn in the movie *Space Jam* (1996). He has also done several guest voices, both on TV, including *The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy* and in video games, including the *Destroy All Humans!* series, Namco's *Tales of Symphonia*, where he voiced Governor-General Dorr, in Square Enix's *Kingdom Hearts* series reprising the role of Goofy, Detective Date in the SEGA game *Yakuza*, Captain Wedgewood and Frill Lizard in *Ty the Tasmanian Tiger*, many voices on *EverQuest II*, Cletus Samson, Floyd Sanders, Jeff Meyers and Ryan LaRosa in the video game *Dead Rising* and Sam and others in the cult classic adventure game *Sam & Max Hit the Road*.

Farmer has also played Secret Squirrel on *Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law* in both the animated series and its spin-off video game, Stinkie in *Casper: A Spirited Beginning* and *Casper Meets Wendy*, Willie Bear in *Horton Hears a Who!*, and Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in *Robot Chicken*.

From 2014 to 2016, he played Doc, the leader of the title characters in Disney's animated television series *The 7D*.

He also voiced Blackhoof Boar Clan Leader in the 2008 video game *Kung Fu Panda*.

Bill Farmer still regularly performs comedy routines at the Laugh Factory.

He has been voicing the character “Hop-Pop” on Disney’s *Amphibia*.

## Recognition

In September 2009, Farmer was named a Disney Legend. In 2011, the International Family Film Festival awarded Bill Farmer the 'Friz Award' for Animation.

He won the Annie Award for Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production for his work as Goofy and Grandma Goofy in *Mickey Mouse*.

## Personal life

Farmer has been married to his wife Jennifer Farmer since 1985; together they have a son.

### Television

List of live-action roles in television shows

### Production credits

 2015 | *With Lee in Virginia* | Cinematographer

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Stahl, Scarlett (February 24, 2012). "A Visit with a Goofy Guy Named Bill Farmer". LaughingPlace.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120307111604/http://www.laughingplace.com/News-ID514130.asp. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "About Toonhouse". Toonhouse Inc.. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120423195851/http://www.toonhouseinc.com/about. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
3. ↑ "Disney Legends - Bill Farmer". D23. Archived from the original on August 30, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150830093555/https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/bill-farmer/. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Bill Farmer is 'Goofy' for fun and profit", *The Baltimore Sun* (May 4, 1995). Retrieved on August 24, 2019.
5. ↑ "It's Goofy, but it's a job", *Vancouver Sun* (September 7, 1995), p. C3. Retrieved on August 26, 2019.  Template:Free access
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "042 – Bill Farmer on Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen – Weekly Voice Acting and Voice Over Tips - Tech Jives Network". http://techjives.net/2012/05/25/042-bill-farmer-on-talkin-toons-with-rob-paulsen-weekly-voice-acting-and-voice-over-tips/.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Disney Legend, Bill Farmer talks about voicing Goofy and new Disney Junior series "The 7D"". *mediamikes.com*. http://www.mediamikes.com/2014/02/disney-legend-bill-farmer-talks-about-voicing-goofy-and-new-series-the-7d/. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
8. ↑ "Bill Farmer". *Voice Chasers*. http://voicechasers.com/database/showactor.php?actorid=1139. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
9. ↑ Erik Pedersen. "Annie Award Winners 2015: Full List Of Animation Award Winners - Deadline". *Deadline*. http://deadline.com/2015/01/annie-award-winners-2015-awards-winner-list-1201363829/. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
10. ↑ "2011 Disneyana Fan Club Convention Highlight: Voice Panel" (Video). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhpr84WzJLg. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
11. ↑ "The Voices of Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald (1998, Live-Action/Animated Series (Direct-to-Video)) - Voice Cast Listing at Voice Chasers". *Voice Chasers*. http://voicechasers.com/database/showprod.php?prodid=3876. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
12. ↑ "RoboCop (1987) - Paul Verhoeven - Cast and Crew". *AllMovie*. All Media Guide. http://www.allmovie.com/movie/robocop-v41702/cast-crew. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
13. ↑ "Archived copy". http://movieweb.com/movie/pumpkin-man/cast/.
14. ↑ "Bring Home this Fast Paced Fun of Mickey and the Roadster Racers on Disney DVD" (in en-US) (2016-12-17).
15. ↑ "Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor (2008) Nintendo DS credits". https://www.mobygames.com/game/nintendo-ds/looney-tunes-cartoon-conductor/credits.

## External links

Template:Commons category

* Template:Official website
* Template:IMDb name

Template:Authority control