Voicing an animal is never easy

As a kid growing up in an advertising family I got the chance, at age 9, to be the voice of a canary for one of my father's accounts. I had one line. When I got in the studio I choked. Did I mention that I was 9? Using analog editing techniques the engineer made me sound like Alvin the Chipmunk. That passed client muster, the client said ok and I got paid a large fee ... $1. Again, did I mention I was 9? I'm posting that painful childhood memory because my iTunes radio is playing Hakuna Matata (adults singing and acting as animals) while I read about the conclusion of the Aflac voice over search. A talking duck. Here's what was reported on CNN.com:

"Aflac! Aflaaac!," cried Dan McKeague, a 36-year-old father of three from suburban Minneapolis.
McKeague, a sales manager at a local radio station with some experience doing voice overs, was one of the many hopeful celebrities, voice over artists and average Joes that submitted over 12,500 live and online auditions to provide the distinctive voice of the Aflac Duck.

No, I didn't try out. Three decades are not enough to erase the memory. Hope Mr. McKeague got his $1. And thanks to the Lion King, I have no worries.

An earnest "Ernie"

I grew up a Detroit Tigers fan. For most of my life that meant listening to Tigers games on the radio brought to vivid "theater of the mind" life by the great Ernie Harwell, the voice of baseball.

On Saturday evening my wife and I had the pleasure to see a preview of Mitch Albom's new play entitled, "Ernie" about the life and times of broadcaster Ernie Harwell. Not theater of the mind. Just great theater. This two man show made me laugh, made me cry, and made me feel like a kid again. I encourage any Tigers fan, any baseball fan, any human being to get down to the intimate City Theatre on Woodward behind the Hockeytown Cafe for a wonderful show. Make it Tuesdays with Morrie. And then Friday night with Ernie.