ArkaEvren
Frank Welker

ACTOR · BORN 1946

Frank Welker

Born
12 March 1946, Denver, Colorado, USA
Known for
DuckTales (1987), Pinky and the Brain (1995), Animaniacs (1993), The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2002)

12 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

Frank Welker (born 12 March 1946) is an actor best known for DuckTales, Pinky and the Brain and Animaniacs.

Frank Welker over the years

Frank Welker in 2015 (age 69)
2015 · age 69paunchstevenson, CC BY 3.0
Frank Welker in 2023 (age 77)
2023 · age 77Tim Blackmon for Galaxy Con, CC BY 2.0

12 Interesting Facts About Frank Welker

Interesting Facts (10)

  1. #001

    Frank Welker voiced eight of the original 14 Decepticons in the 'Transformers' (1984) cartoon, Megatron, Soundwave, Skywarp, Laserbeak, Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage and Buzzsaw, along with the original Autobots Trailbreaker and Mirage and Sludge, one of the first-season Dinobots, a record that shows the astonishing range of his voice.

    Frank Welker — a scene
    Frank Welker: a sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Super Festivals from Ft. Lauderdale, USA, CC BY 2.0

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  2. #002

    In 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' (1988), Frank Welker provided many animal sound effects, including Dumbo's, adding realism to the film's magical blend of animation and live action and proving that voice acting isn't just about human characters.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  3. #003

    Frank Welker's 'Doctor Claw' voice came out of an attempt to imitate Barry White, a happy accident that became an unforgettable part of the 'Inspector Gadget' (1983) villain.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  4. #004

    Frank Welker's 'Doctor Claw' voice is undoubtedly his most famous, and he has used it far beyond 'Inspector Gadget' (1983): for Darkseid in 'Super Friends' (1973), Emperor Krulos in 'Dino-Riders' (1988) and Soundwave in 'Transformers' (1984), heavily processed through a vocoder for a flat, robotic tone, as well as the Cave of Wonders in 'Aladdin' (1992), Shao Kahn in 'Mortal Kombat' (1995) and Soundwave again in 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' and 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon.'

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  5. #005

    Frank Welker has shared two roles with Leonard Nimoy: in the third season of 'Transformers' (1984), he took over Galvatron, whom Nimoy had voiced in 'The Transformers: The Movie' (1986), and he provided the screams of Nimoy's most famous character, Spock, in 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock' (1984).

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  6. #006

    Although Frank Welker never met the producers or director Michael Bay of the 'Transformers' films, Bay decided his G1 Megatron voice wasn't right for the movie and went with a new interpretation; ironically, Welker recreated the G1 voice for the tie-in 'Transformers: The Game' (2007), reuniting with Peter Cullen, voice of his old enemy Optimus Prime.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  7. #007

    Frank Welker based the Cave of Wonders' voice in 'Aladdin' (1992) on Sir Sean Connery, giving the character a mysterious, commanding air in one of the film's most memorable moments.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  8. #008

    Frank Welker voiced Grimace in numerous McDonald's TV commercials from 1986 to 2003, and also worked on the 1995 Halloween-themed Kid Rhino cassettes 'Ronald Makes It Magic,' 'Travel Tunes,' 'Silly Sing Along' and 'Scary Sound Effects.'

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  9. #009

    Frank Welker has long been close friends with his 'Transformers' co-star Peter Cullen, Optimus Prime to his Megatron, sworn enemies on screen but good friends in real life.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  10. #010

    Thanks to Spock's screams, Frank Welker is one of six 'Star Trek' actors who have also lent their voices to 'Star Wars,' along with George Takei, Brent Spiner, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and Jason Isaacs.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    ShareReport

Behind the Scenes (1)

  1. #011

    Frank Welker voiced the character Fred Jones in nearly all of the Scooby-Doo animated series; the only exception was the 1988 production 'A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'. He maintained this role with the same consistency even in parody and cameo appearances in various television series. The continuity he brought to this character made him an indispensable part of the Scooby-Doo universe.

    BEHIND THE SCENES · SOURCED

    ShareReport

Career & Awards (1)

  1. #012

    Frank Welker was born on the very same day as singer and actress Liza Minnelli.

    CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

    ShareReport

Related pages

  • James Stewart — Frank Welker comes up in the facts on that page
  • Transformers — Frank Welker comes up in the facts on that page

Continue through the archive

Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
  • IMDb IMDb name page (biography and trivia)

Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work