The Magic Behind the Voices

The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors (ISBN 1-578-06696-4) is a 367-page book by Tim Lawson and Alisa Persons,[1] chronicling the artistic achievements and history of cartoon voice actors from the past and the present.

[2] It was published by the University Press of Mississippi in December 2004.

[3] Drawn from dozens of personal interviews, the book features various biographies, anecdotes, credit listings, and photographs pertaining to thirty-nine of the hidden artists of show business.

The featured biographies span many animation studios and production companies, and discuss many details about well-known and distinguished voice actors, such as Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill creator and lead voice artist Mike Judge, who got his start as an engineer for a weapons contractor); Bart Simpson's voice actress Nancy Cartwright, an Ohio native who became the star protégé of Daws Butler (voice artist for Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and Quick Draw McGraw); and Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor, the real-life husband-and-wife duo who, at the time of this book's publication, were the current voice actors for Mickey and Minnie Mouse, respectively.

Now, Oscar-winning celebrities clamor to guest star on animated television shows and features (often to the displeasure of dedicated voice actors such as Billy West); however, despite the crushing turnouts at signings for such television series as Animaniacs, The Simpsons, and SpongeBob SquarePants, most voice actors, even in 21st-century animation, continue to work in relative anonymity.