American actor (1935?2011)
Kenneth Mars
|
---|
Mars in 1967
|
Born
| (
1935-04-04
)
April 4, 1935
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Died
| February 12, 2011
(2011-02-12)
(aged 75)
|
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Other names
| Ken Mars
|
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Alma mater
| Northwestern University
[1]
|
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Occupation
| |
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Years active
| 1962?2008
|
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Spouse
|
Barbara Newborn
(
m.
1977)
|
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Children
| 2
|
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Kenneth Mars
(April 4, 1935 ? February 12, 2011)
[1]
was an American actor. He appeared in two
Mel Brooks
films: as the deranged
Nazi
playwright
Franz Liebkind
in
The Producers
(1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in
Young Frankenstein
(1974).
[2]
He also appeared in
Peter Bogdanovich
's
What's Up Doc?
(1972) as well as
Woody Allen
's
Radio Days
(1987) and
Shadows and Fog
(1991).
Mars appeared in two seasons of
Malcolm in the Middle
as Otto Mannkusser, Francis's well-meaning but dimwitted boss and a German immigrant who owns a
dude ranch
. He voiced
King Triton
, Ariel's father, in the 1989
Disney
animated film
The Little Mermaid
and its
sequel
, as well as its companion
television series
, and the
Kingdom Hearts
series. He also did several other animated voice-over film roles such as Littlefoot's grandfather in the
Land Before Time
series
(1994?2008) and that of Professor Screweyes in
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
(1993), and King Colbert (Prince Cornelius's father) in
Thumbelina
(1994). He was also the voice of Tuskernini from
Darkwing Duck
(1991?1992).
Early life
[
edit
]
Mars was born in
Chicago
. His father, Bernard "Sonny" Mars, was a radio and television personality.
[3]
Kenneth studied fine arts and acting at
Northwestern University
.
[1]
Career
[
edit
]
Mars made his acting debut in 1962 as a book publisher on
Car 54, Where Are You?
He later appeared on such television series as
Gunsmoke
,
Get Smart
,
McMillan & Wife
,
Columbo
,
Harry O
,
The Bob Crane Show
, and
Police Woman
.
[4]
He also appeared in dramatic roles such as Will Turner, a former FBI agent, in
Warren Beatty
's
The Parallax View
.
Mars played Harry Zarakartos on the
Richard Benjamin
-
Paula Prentiss
1967
CBS-TV
sitcom
He & She
.
[4]
He was featured in a number of small roles in broadcasts such as the
Misfits of Science
pilot episode and the
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
episode "
Shadowplay
". He was cast opposite
Bette Davis
in
Hello Mother, Goodbye!
, a 1973 television pilot aired by
NBC
but never picked up as a series. From 1970 to 1974, Mars guest starred in five episodes of
Love, American Style
, playing various characters.
[4]
In 1977, Mars became a series regular on both the
Sha Na Na
variety series and on
Norman Lear
's talk show parody
Fernwood 2-Night
in the recurring role of eccentric William W.D. 'Bud' Prize, from the Fernwood Chamber of Commerce. He continued the role on the revamped
America 2-Night
in 1978. In 2001, Mars portrayed a comedic famous but washed-up photographer on
Just Shoot Me
. Before his death, his final television roles were Otto, the German dude ranch owner on
Fox
's
Malcolm in the Middle
, an appearance on
Disney Channel
's
Hannah Montana
, and a reprise of his role as Grandpa Longneck in
The Land Before Time
television series.
[4]
In 1969, Mars portrayed a marshal trying to raise a posse to pursue
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
, only to have his address to the townsfolk hijacked by a friendly bicycle salesman. Mars frequently played characters with exaggerated accents. He portrayed
German
characters in
The Producers
(1967) and
Young Frankenstein
(1974), and played a
Croatian
musicologist, Hugh Simon, in
What's Up, Doc?
(1972). His first broadly accented character was that of Sir Evelyn Oakleigh in the 1962
Off-Broadway
revival of the
Cole Porter
musical
Anything Goes
. He also appeared in the 1962 Broadway play
The Affair
.
[
citation needed
]
In 1975, ABC/Dunhill released a comedy LP produced by
Earl Doud
,
Henry the First
, featuring Mars in a number of comedy bits as
Henry Kissinger
, including a cover version of the
Bachman?Turner Overdrive
song, "
Takin' Care of Business
".
[5]
Mars cultivated a lengthy voice acting career, launching it by voicing several characters on
Uncle Croc's Block
. He voiced the roles of
Ariel
's father
King Triton
in
The Little Mermaid
and in the video games
Kingdom Hearts
and
Kingdom Hearts II
.
He voiced Littlefoot's Grandpa Longneck in
The
Land Before Time
series of films
and the spin-off television series, and the villainous Professor Screweyes in
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
.
He played some minor roles on the popular radio show,
Adventures in Odyssey
. He played Sweet William in
Fievel's American Tails
, which took place after
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
. He voiced characters on many animated television series, such as
The Smurfs
,
The Biskitts
,
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
,
TaleSpin
, and
Animaniacs
, as well as video games such as
Fallout
and
Kingdom Hearts
.
In 2008, Mars retired from acting after being diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer
two years prior.
[1]
His final performance was as Grandpa Longneck in the animated television series
The Land Before Time
.
[1]
Personal life
[
edit
]
In 1977, Mars married Barbara Newborn. They had two daughters, Susannah and Rebecca. The marriage lasted until his death in 2011.
[1]
Illness and death
[
edit
]
In 2006, Mars was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer
that had already spread beyond his pancreas.
[1]
His cancer made him so ill that he could not reprise his role as King Triton for
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
, so
Jim Cummings
took over the role. As well as being unable to voice Triton, he also could not voice Grandpa Longneck in
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends
. (Littlefoot's Grandpa does appear in the film, but has no lines.) He died on February 12, 2011, at the age of 75.
[1]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
1967
|
Gunsmoke
|
Clyde Hayes
|
Episode: "The Returning"
|
1967?68
|
He & She
|
Harry Zarakartos
|
21 episodes
|
1968?70
|
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
|
Joshua T. Albertson / Ellsworth Gordon
|
2 episodes
|
1973
|
Hawkins
|
Lester De Ville
|
Episode: "Murder in Movieland"
|
Guess Who's Sleeping in My Bed?
|
Mitchell Bernard
|
Television film
|
1974
|
Hello Mother, Goodbye!
|
|
Television pilot
|
1975
|
Wonder Woman
|
Colonel Von Blasko
|
Episode: "The New Original Wonder Woman"
|
It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman
|
Max Mencken
|
Television special
|
1977
|
Columbo
|
Mike
|
Episode: "The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case"
|
Fernwood 2 Night
|
William W.D. "Bud" Prize
|
8 episodes
|
Baa Baa Black Sheep
|
Harold French
|
Episode: "Five the Hard Way"
|
1978
|
America 2-Night
|
William W.D. "Bud" Prize
|
3 episodes
|
1979
|
Carol Burnett & Company
|
Various
|
|
1980
|
Hart to Hart
|
Dr. Cobb
|
Episode: "Murder Is a Man's Best Friend"
|
1981
|
The Facts of Life
|
Mr. Harris
|
Episode: "Gossip"
|
1981?89
|
The Smurfs
|
King Bullrush, additional voices
|
Voice, 21 episodes
|
1983
|
The Biskitts
|
Max, Fetch, Snarl
|
Voice
|
The New Scooby Doo Mysteries
|
Orson Kane
|
Voice, episode: "The Hand of Horror"
|
1985
|
Misfits of Science
|
Sen. Donner
|
Episode: "Deep Freeze"
|
1987?90
|
DuckTales
|
Vulcan
|
Voice, 2 episodes
|
1988?91
|
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
|
Mr. Trixenstuff, Ghost of McMuttmauler, additional voices
|
Voice, 14 episodes
|
1989
|
Get Smart, Again!
|
Cmdr. Drury
|
Television film
|
1990?91
|
TaleSpin
|
Heimlich Menudo / Buzz
|
Voice, 3 episodes
|
1990
|
Tiny Toon Adventures
|
Flavio
|
Voice, episode: "Hollywood Plucky"
[6]
|
Timeless Tales from Hallmark
|
Mr. Budgeknot
|
Episode: "
Thumbelina
"
|
1991?92
|
Darkwing Duck
|
Tuskernini
|
Voice, 5 episodes
|
1992
|
A Different World
|
Homeless Man
|
Episode: "Honeymoon in L.A.: Part 2"
|
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
|
Moisha Lowkowitz
|
Voice, episode: "If It's Doomsday, This Must Be Belfast"
Credited as Ken Mars
|
1992?94
|
The Little Mermaid
|
King Triton
|
Voice, 25 episodes
|
1992
|
Fievel's American Tails
|
Sweet William
|
Voice, 6 episodes
|
1993
|
The Pink Panther
|
The Commissioner
|
Voice, 5 episodes
|
Bonkers
|
Gloomy
|
Voice, episode: "The Toon That Ate Hollywood"
|
Animaniacs
|
Beethoven
|
Voice, episode: "Roll Over, Beethoven"
[6]
|
1994
|
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
|
Colyus
|
Episode: "Shadowplay"
|
1994?95
|
Batman: The Animated Series
|
M2, Richard
|
Voice, 2 episodes
[6]
|
1995
|
Diagnosis: Murder
|
Walter Carstairs
|
Episode: "How to Murder Your Lawyer"
|
Freakazoid!
|
Dr. Gunter Hunterhanker
|
Voice, episode: "Candle Jack"
[6]
|
1996
|
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
|
Grant Gendell
|
Episode : "Bob and Carol and Lois and Clark"
|
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
|
Faust
|
Voice, episode: "The Alchemist"
[6]
|
1997
|
The Drew Carey Show
|
Mr. Tinsley
|
Episode: "Hello/Goodbye"
|
The Naked Truth
|
Judge
|
Episode: "The Truth"
|
1997?98
|
Life with Louie
|
The Mayor / Priest / Rabbi / Doctor
|
Voice, 4 episodes
|
1997
|
Police Academy: The Series
|
Dr. Otis P. Quackenbush
|
Episode: "Les Is More"
|
1998
|
Godzilla: The Series
|
Dr. Alexander Preloran
|
Voice, episode: "Leviathan"
|
2001
|
Becker
|
Melvin Golar
|
3 episodes
|
Just Shoot Me!
|
Horst
|
Episode: "Fanny Finch"
|
2002?04
|
Malcolm in the Middle
|
Otto Mannkusser
|
25 episodes
|
2004
|
Oliver Beene
|
Carl the Super
|
Episode: "Fallout"
|
2007
|
Hannah Montana
|
Gunter the Innkeeper
|
Episode: "School Bully"
|
2007?08
|
The Land Before Time
|
Grandpa Longneck
|
Voice, 9 episodes
[6]
|
Video games
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Kenneth Mars, veteran screen and voice actor, dies at 75"
.
Los Angeles Times
. February 15, 2011
. Retrieved
2011-02-23
.
- ^
"Kenneth Mars obituary"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. London, UK. February 15, 2011.
- ^
Profile
, chicagotribune.com; accessed June 27, 2015.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Kenneth Mars"
.
TVGuide.com
.
TV Guide
. Retrieved
April 24,
2019
.
- ^
"Henry the First - Kenneth Mars | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic"
.
AllMusic
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
"Kenneth Mars (visual voices guide)"
. Behind The Voice Actors
. Retrieved
September 10,
2023
.
A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
External links
[
edit
]
|
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International
| |
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National
| |
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Artists
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Other
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