In the business of Hollywood, there are lots of stars. Big names that get all the credit, that make the big bucks, and get the fanciest office. The same holds true in the world of animation.
The DCAU is strung together by Bruce Timm, and we all know who he is. We recognize names of those who’ve made these series what they are, from Paul Dini to Stan Berkowitz to Alan Burnett, Dwayne McDuffie, James Tucker, Andrea Romano, Shirley Walker, Kevin Conroy, Phil Lamarr, Michael Rosenbaum; it goes on and on.
But there are other people working hard behind the scenes over the years to bring you quality television. And without these people, they would’ve had to find different people.
Today, we shine a brilliant spotlight upon these people.
People you don’t know.
First up to bat is voice actor Michael David Donovan III.
(photo provided by IMDb)
He appeared in not one, not two, not three, but four episodes of Superman. He provided “Additional Voices” for Unity and Absolute Power. In Apokolips…Now! Part 2 he played the role of “Male Anchor” and in Warrior Queen he played “Male Announcer.”
In addition to those, he even crossed over to TNBA, and voiced “Gun Runner #3” in You Scratch My Back.
It must be annoying to come into a studio, say 5 words, get your paycheck and go home. It’s either annoying or incredibly satisfying.
From voice acting, the natural place to head is the sound department. And the unsung heroes: Tom Maydek and Jeff O. Collins.
(photo provided by IMDb)
Tom Maydeck worked on several DCAU shows included Justice League, Batman, and Batman Beyond. His title on Justice League?
“sound re-recording engineer”
I have no fucking clue what that means.
But he did win some awards! For his work on Return of the Joker he received a Video Premiere Award for Best Sound, that was shared with like a million other people, and for his work on Batman:TAS he won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing, which he shared with like a million other people.
(photo provided by IMDb)
Jeff O. Collins is recording machine operator. And goddammit, he’s the best in the business.
But enough about sound.
During Batman, Ana Durand’s official job was “copying & shipping.”
And I thought my job was boring.
The best thing with some of these jobs are the people who apparently worked on 1 episode and that’s it. Take for instance, Steve Walby.
(photo provided by IMDb)
He worked as a production assistant which seems like an odd job to hold for only one episode. That episode was Feat of Clay Part 1, so it seems even odder that he worked on one episode of a two-parter. It makes me ponder, was he a production assistant who was just never actually credited in…in the credits? I imagine everyone sitting around one day and thinking
“Ya know Steve has a birthday coming up, maybe we should do something nice for him.”
“Like what?”
“How about we put his name in the credits?”
“That sounds cheap.”
“Well we’re working on Feat of Clay right now.”
“Ok stick his name in there. Just part one though, let’s not get carried away.”
Writing seems like an area where you feel a part of the show, like a real contributer and not someone who just copies and ships, copies and ships all day long. Prepare to have your world view drastically thrown a-kilter.
I submit to you readers one Mike W. Barr.
(photo provided by IMDb)
During B:TAS, Mike penned one episode. One episode.
And then never did anything again.
Ever.
Mike W. Barr, where are you? Did you die? Did you leave the country? Did you give up writing to follow your dream of owning a quaint bed and breakfast in New Hampshire with your lovely wife?
Mike W. Barr, are you aware that your STARmeter is down 72%?
Mike W. Barr, how does it feel to know that you have thusly thrown entire fields of research into chaos, after proving that one can in fact get lower than absolute zero?
Mike W. Barr, was that too harsh of me?
Enough about Mike something something, Another unique character exists in the form of Diane Duane.
(photo provided by IMDb)
My immediate observation here is that her first name differs from her last name by one letter. However I have a hard time narrowing in on just how annoying that would be. For while it’s certainly there, and certainly something she herself has noticed, I’m inclined to think that most people don’t notice it very quickly and probably hardly ever if they don’t see it in writing.
The more interesting thing about Diane (besides the fact that she helped write Fairytopia!) is that, despite doing hardly anything, she manages to have an IMDb mini biography up. So I went to look at it.
The first thing I noticed as I started reading it was “wow, sentence fragments, also this is boring.”
But then I noticed something else.
What.
Does that…does that mean she wrote it herself?
Please tell me that isn’t what that means. I have a terrible feeling that that is what that means.
Diane Duane, for a writer, I would think you could a better job of tooting your own horn in your IMDb mini biography.
Last, but certainly not least, let us not forget the one without whom the DCAU would never be what it is today:
Lil’ Romeo.
(photo provided by IMDb)
TUNE IN FRIDAY FOR A HORRIBLE MESS!
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