Frank Welker – The Voice You Didn’t Know You Knew

Hi, my name is Ryan, and I. Love. Cartoons. Everything from classic Looney Tunes, to newer, more adult-oriented 'toons like Family Guy, Futurama, and Archer. Heck, I even get excited when I see a promo on Disney Channel for a new episode of Phineas & Ferb or Gravity Falls. I'm also addicted to knowing the people behind the voices that bring me such joy. As I search the casts for these shows, and other, one name kept popping up, Frank Welker. The man responsible for hundreds, if not thousands of your favorite cartoon characters.

(Scooby-Doo Official Facebook)

Welker has been in the voice acting business since 1969 as the man behind the voice of Fred Jones, the orange ascot wearing, pretty boy leader of the Mystery Inc. gang on the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You? TV series. Fred wasn't the only role Welker played in that series, he also provided every, "Rut-Roh" of the series central character, Scooby Doo himself. Roles he continues to play to this day in the various Scooby re-boots, video games, etc.

Since then, it seems that Welker has appeared in nearly every cartoon I watched as kid along with those I watch as a 36-year old, cartoon lovin' big kid.

He's been the voice of Megatron, leader of the Decepticons since the original Transformers series in the '80's. A role he's reprised numerous times in non-Transformers series including Adult Swim's Robot Chicken, and Family Guy on Fox. Welker has also been the voice for other "Robots in Disguise" for not only the cartoons, but the live-action films. Shockwave? Welker. Soundwave? Welker. Barricade? Someone named Michael Jones — just kidding, it's Frank Welker (just making sure you were still paying attention).

Impressive, right? That's just the beginning. See how many other characters you recognize from Welker's impressive list of credits.