Will Ryan
| Will Ryan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
William Z. Ryan November 13, 1939 |
| Occupation | Voice actor, singer, comedian |
| Years active | 1966–present |
William Z. "Will" Ryan (born November 13, 1939) is an American voice actor, singer and comedian, probably best known for his voice work in the Christian radio drama Adventures in Odyssey and Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin.
After growing up in Cleveland, Ryan is well known for singing about the American West. In summer 1966, Will's earlier band, Wead, played a gig in Wellington, Ohio.
In late 1970s he teamed up with Phil Baron as Willio and Phillio. They had regular gigs on television, radio and comedy clubs and universities throughout the U.S.. They later paired up again voicing characters of best friends Teddy Ruxpin (Baron) and Grubby the Octopede (Ryan) in the Teddy Ruxpin book and tape series as well as the 1987 television show The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin. In August 2002, Willio and Phillio returned to Cleveland for two performances, at historic Cain Park and two days later at the famed Beachland Ballroom. At the Cain Park show, friend Alec Nordstrom of Hudson was invited onstage. Cleveland's revered rock critic and "world's oldest teenager," Jane Scott, attended and reviewed the Beachland performance for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Willio and Phillio act brought Ryan back into music and after moving to California, he began to write and record songs for The Walt Disney Company.
Willio and Phillio performed "I Wish it Could Be Christmas All Year Long" on a Disney Christmas album in a voice similar to Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.
He provided the voices of Rabbit and Tigger, and the singing voice of Eeyore in the Disney Channel's long-running series Welcome to Pooh Corner and in many other Pooh cartoons. He also provided the voice of Barnaby the Dog on the popular series Dumbo's Circus.
...
Wikipedia