Christopher Collins | |
---|---|
Born |
Christopher Lawrence Latta August 30, 1949 Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
Died | June 12, 1994 Ventura, California, U.S. |
(aged 44)
Other names | Chris Latta |
Occupation | Actor, voice artist, comedian |
Years active | 1979—1994 |
Spouse(s) | Judith Ryan (m. ?—1994; his death) |
Christopher Charles Collins (August 30, 1949 – June 12, 1994), also known as Chris Latta, was an American actor, voice artist and comedian, perhaps best known as the voice of Cobra Commander on the G.I. Joe animated series and Starscream in the first Transformers animated series. He is also noted among Star Trek fans for his guest roles on The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, along with many other television series and a number of films. In addition, he had a successful stand-up comedy career.
Collins was born Christopher Lawrence Latta in Orange, New Jersey, and grew up in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan, New York City. His legal name became Christopher Charles Collins when his stepfather adopted him. Collins' biological father, Robert Latta, was a New York stage actor. His mother, Jane Morin, worked as an advertising executive. In his stand-up routine, he claimed to have grown up in Harlem and said his ultra-liberal parents had moved the family there "so he could meet some Negroes". (Morningside Heights is sometimes called "West Harlem".)
After a year at New York University, he studied acting, dance, voice and mime. In the mid-1970s, he acted on the New York and Boston stage and did voice-over work for Boston radio station WBCN. He made his animation voice acting debut as one of the English dubbers of the 1979 anime series Space Battleship Yamato (also called Star Blazers). He was most recognizable in that series as the voice of space marine Sgt. Knox during the Comet Empire installment.