Billy West

William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor, musician and former radio personality.

William Richard Werstine was born in Detroit, Michigan, on April 16, 1952.

He is of Irish descent, and was born with ADHD and autism.

He grew up in Boston, in the Roslindale neighborhood.

After a semester at Berklee College of Music, West found himself in various bands, gigging the Boston scene by night, and selling guitars in a Harvard Square shop during the day.

West has stated that during the Vietnam War, he was subject to the draft lottery under the Nixon administration, receiving a low draft number which would have resulted in his being drafted in 1970.

West was ultimately classified "4-F" and excluded from enlistment on medical grounds as he had hypertension and flat feet.

West described his later recurring role as Richard Nixon on Futurama as his "revenge" against Nixon.

In 1980, West was part of an oldies band called The Shutdowns.

West worked at WBCN in Boston, performing daily comedic routines on The Big Mattress show, then moved to New York City in 1988, working at K-Rock Radio (92.3 FM WXRK).

He left the radio station in 1988 to work on the short-lived revival of Beany and Cecil, which was his first voice role in television.

West's first major roles were on Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show, which were two of the first three Nicktoons on Nickelodeon (the other being Rugrats).

Over his career, West has been the voice talent for close to 120 different characters including some of the most iconic animated figures in television history.

He has become one of the few voice actors who can impersonate Mel Blanc in his prime, including characterizations of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, the voice Arthur Q. Bryan used for Elmer Fudd, as well as other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons.

West provided the voice of Stimpson J. Cat in Nickelodeon's The Ren & Stimpy Show from 1991 until 1996, and he later provided the voice of Ren Höek from 1993 to 1996 when Ren's original voice and series creator John Kricfalusi was fired by Nickelodeon (then a division of the original Viacom) for delivering late and objectionable episodes.

He performed other characters on the series, such as Mr. Horse (another role he took over after Kricfalusi's departure) and the announcer for the "Log" ads (a voice West would use years later as the narrator for The Weird Al Show).

According to West, he was originally supposed to do the voice of both Ren and Stimpy (and performed both characters on the tape that was used to sell the show to Nickelodeon), but then Kricfalusi decided to do the voice of Ren himself once the show was sold and he had West on board as part of the selling point.

However, West provided Ren's laughter with Kricfalusi as Ren's speaking voice.

West's roles in Futurama include Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Zapp Brannigan, and Dr. Zoidberg, among others.

As he and other Futurama cast and crew point out in DVD commentaries, he voiced so many characters throughout the series that conversations are often held entirely between characters he is voicing.

West went into the Futurama auditions and was asked to try out for, as he says, "just about every part".

He eventually landed the roles of Farnsworth, Zoidberg, and Brannigan.

West became a regular on The Howard Stern Show at that time until leaving in 1995, where he gained notice for his impersonations of Three Stooges middleman Larry Fine, Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott and Stern's head writer Jackie Martling.

West moved to Los Angeles, where he found success as a voice actor and performer.

His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film Space Jam and several subsequent projects, the title characters of Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show, as well as the Futurama characters Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, and many more.

In commercials, he voices the Red M&M and formerly voiced Buzz for Honey Nut Cheerios.

West also voices other such established characters such as Elmer Fudd, Popeye, Shaggy Rogers, Skeets, Muttley, and Woody Woodpecker.

He was a cast member on The Howard Stern Show, during which time he was noted for his impressions of Larry Fine, Marge Schott, George Takei, and Jackie Martling.

In 1998, Entertainment Weekly described West as "the new Mel Blanc" and noted his ability to mimic well-known voices, though he would rather develop original voices.

West's favorite characters are Philip J. Fry and Stimpy, both of which he originated.

West has been very outspoken over his displeasure about the influx of star actors providing voice-over for films and major shows.

West has stated that he did not like the Disney version of Doug and that he "couldn't watch" the show.

West was the voice of the show's namesake, Geeker, throughout Project Geeker's 13-episode run.

West was the voice of Zim in the original pilot for Invader Zim.

Richard Steven Horvitz was chosen for the series role because West's voice was too recognizable, according to creator Jhonen Vasquez during DVD commentary.

West was the voice of "Red" in numerous M&M commercials, as well as the 3D film I Lost my M in Vegas, currently playing at M&M's World in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He also voices a number of minor characters in the series Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World.

He voiced the character Moobeard in Moobeard the Cow Pirate, a short animation featured on Random! Cartoons and reprises his role as Elmer Fudd in Cartoon Network's series The Looney Tunes Show.

In 1999, he also had a cameo in the Emmy Award-winning cartoon Dilbert.

In a 2019 video post, West opined that the "biggest joke" about his experience was the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum subsequently including images and footage of the Futurama Nixon character as part of its "Nixon in Popular Culture" exhibit.