Tuesday, September 11, 2007


Phillip "Phil" LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and prolific voice actor as well as one of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv.

Biography

Career
LaMarr, unlike most of the other original nine cast members of MADtv, had extensive television and film jobs under his belt. His experience served him well throughout his tenure and was crucial to the show's success.
The versatile LaMarr specialized in outrageous characters, including Jaq the UBS Guy, the "sexy player" Rick, Funky Walker Dirty Talker Desperation Lee, the talentless R&B singer Savante or Rocket Revengers star Lt. Abraham Jefferson (a.k.a Lincoln Willis).
LaMarr also proved a gifted celebrity impressionist, lampooning political figures like Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan and Louis Farrakhan, and impersonating Sidney Poitier, Michael Jackson, Spike Lee, Prince, Sammy Davis Jr., Tommy Davidson and Martin Lawrence. LaMarr's most celebrated impersonation was that of Chris Rock for the MADtv spoof video "Ain't No Blacks on the TV Screen," where he and Aries Spears humorously criticize major network television for not having enough positive African-Americans role models on prime time shows. LaMarr has since received numerous requests to impersonate Rock's voice for various comedy projects.
LaMarr decided not to renew his contract in 2000, and left at the end of the fifth season.

MADtv

Bill (Al Casdy)
Chance Cumulus (News at Six)
Crazy-Fingered Freddy (Shaunda)
Desperation Lee (Funky Walker, Dirty Talker)
Jaq (UBS Guy)
Justin Thomas (Susan Whitfield)
Lincoln Willis/Lt. Abraham Jefferson (Rocket Revengers)
Rick
Robert (That's My White Mama)
Savante
Steve (The Eracists) MADtv characters
LaMarr impersonated these celebrities for MADtv:

Jason Alexander
Bobby Brown
Jim Brown
Brian Burke
LeVar Burton
Ray Charles
Johnny Cochran
Nat King Cole
Lee Cornwall
Billy Crystal
Tommy Davidson
Sammy Davis Jr.
Louis Farrakhan
Morgan Freeman
Sherman Hemsley
Charlton Heston
Moe Howard
Ice-T
Michael Jackson
Rick James
Vernon Jordan
Montell Jordan
DeForest Kelley
Lenny Kravitz
Ted Lange
Martin Lawrence
Spike Lee
Bill Maher
Nelson Mandela
Howard McNear
Sidney Poitier
Colin Powell
Prince
Chris Rock
Tupac Shakur
Bernard Shaw
Sammy Sosa
Chris Tucker
Ben Vereen
Barry White
Michael Winslow MADtv impersonations
Aside from MADtv, LaMarr has had many television, theatrical and movie roles. His television credits include a semi-regular role as the Jamaican bureaucrat Hermes Conrad and various other characters in Futurama, and guest starring roles on Cold Case, Eve, Reno 911!, the British version of Whose Line is it Anyway?, Without A Trace, The Bernie Mac Show, NYPD Blue, Living Single, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Murphy Brown, and Family Guy.
Lamarr will reprise his role as Hermes Conrad in the forthcoming Futurama movie.

Phil LaMarr Other television projects
Phil LaMarr is an accomplished thespian, whose many stage credits include The Tempest, As You Like It, Guys and Dolls, Asylum, South Coast Repertory's Make the Break and Sacred Fools Theatre's inaugural production of The Fatty Arbuckle Spookhouse Revue.
On the big screen, LaMarr has appeared in the comedies Kill the Man, Free Enterprise, Cherish and Manna from Heaven. He also had featured roles in Speaking of Sex with Bill Murray and Catherine O'Hara and Back by Midnight with Randy Quaid, Kirstie Alley and Rodney Dangerfield. LaMarr had a brief cameo in Spider Man 2, he was the train passenger who caught Spider Man before he fell. .
LaMarr most recent film appearances include Fronterz (2004) and Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman (2005). As of April 2006, LaMarr is filming Cook-Off!, in which he will appear as Rev. Thaddeus Briggs, Esq.

Film and theatre projects
LaMarr is also a prominent voice actor in animated shows such as:
He has also voiced for the following video games:

Green Lantern / John Stewart (Justice League and Justice League Unlimited)
Steel (John Henry Irons) (Justice League Unlimited)
Static / Virgil Hawkins (Static Shock)
Ozzy (Ozzy & Drix)
Maxie Zeus (The Batman)
Marcus Conner (The Life and Times of Juniper Lee)
Hermes Conrad on Futurama
Title character of Samurai Jack
Carver (The Weekenders)
Black Vulcan (Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law)
Poop Dogg, The Letter M, Shnooky (Invader Zim)
Ollie Williams the Blaccuweather Forecaster and other various voices on Family Guy
Hector Con Carne (Evil Con Carne)
Wilt, Jackie Khones, additional voices (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)
Virgil "Bull" Sharkwowski (My Gym Partner's a Monkey)
Dracula, Judge Roy Spleen, Irwin's Dad, Irwin's Grandmama, additional voices (The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy)
Various voices on Robot Chicken
Philly Phil (Class of 3000)
The Earth King (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Afro (teen) (Afro Samurai)
Samurai Jack (Samurai Jack)
Oscar the Fish (Shark Tale (game adaptation))
Sig, Count Veger, and G.T Blitz (Jak and Daxter series: Jak II, Jak 3, Jak X)
Vamp (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty) and ("Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots")
Gadon Thek (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic)
Chris Jacobs (Mercenaries)
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Uatu the Watcher and The Black Panther (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance)
Reddas (Final Fantasy XII)
Marine (Quake 4)
Donald, and others (Samurai Western)
Dracula (The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (game)) Trivia

Television

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