By Jennifer Asencio
| Revealed
The 1991 animated Disney movie The Little Mermaid was half romance and half madcap journey as Ariel’s buddies, a set of literal fish out of water, have misadventures with human society. One of the vital memorable scenes within the film finds Sebastian, the musical sea crab, within the kitchen of Chef Louis, who is just not solely a connoisseur however makes a speciality of “the fish”: seafood. He even sings about it.
The voice behind that track was actor René Auberjonois, the celebrated actor who performed safety chief Odo on Star Trek: Deep House 9.
On condition that Odo is often the straight man for Ferengi businessman Quark’s comedian escapades, Auberjonois’s resume shouldn’t be surprising. Along with his seven seasons on DS9he additionally performed the snobby Clayton Endicott III on the sitcom Benson for six of its seven-season run. He was nominated for an Emmy for that function.
Nonetheless, the austere look of the actor and his propensity for enjoying the comedian foil belie the truth that the artistic expertise behind Odo was additionally a voice actor in a variety of kids’s leisure.
The Different Voices Of René Auberjonois
His first voice function was because the skeletal guardian of the cave the place the Crimson Bull lived in The Final Unicorn. This character terrified kids within the Nineteen Eighties along with his piercing wail of “Unicorn!” after getting drunk on imaginary wine. Auberjonois performs him to his sniveling, sinister finest via the ability of his voice alone.
Additionally in the course of the Nineteen Eighties, whereas he was filming Benson in individual, he was voicing characters for the Saturday morning cartoon The Snorks. These undersea creatures had been like Smurfs, however with snorkels on their heads that enabled them to dwell within the ocean. Auberjonois participated in 42 episodes, taking part in the voice of Dr. Strangesnork and different minor characters.
On the identical time, two episodes of the 1987 model of the cartoon Pound Puppies probably set the stage for him to be solid when the property was revived in 2010. Over three years, Auberjonois performed McLeish, who ran the pound and was begrudgingly answerable for the puppies. The depiction of McLeish seems a little bit like Auberjonois. At the same time as a voice actor, he was an important comedian foil.
René Auberjonois Was One Of The All Time Nice Character Actors
René Auberjonois was additionally an completed actor on the display. His different main tv credit embrace 4 seasons on Boston Authorizedthe function of Father Mulcahey within the extra severe film model of M*A*S*H*, and Dr. Burton in Batman Without end. He even acted in one other Star Trek basic, The Undiscovered Nationas Colonel West.
Off-screen, he tried his hand at directing, taking the helm for eight episodes of DS9. These included “Household Enterprise,” the episode by which Quark returns to the Ferengi dwelling world, and “Hippocratic Oath,” which offers with the Jem’Hadar dependancy to Ketracel-white. That this episode was apparently ignored in creating the Jem’Hadar character for Starfleet Academy is nearly extra insulting when its behind-the-scenes historical past is acknowledged.
René Auberjonois Died Of Most cancers In 2019
Sadly, the world misplaced each Rene Auberjonois’s appearing skills and his distinctive voice in December 2019. The actor was 79 when his well being was decimated by lung most cancers that had invaded his mind. He selected to finish his personal life underneath the California Finish of Life Possibility Act and spent his closing days at dwelling along with his spouse of 56 years and their two kids. This in itself is a exceptional Hollywood story of loyalty and household that enhances the roles he spent so a few years taking part in on-screen.
Whereas he could be remembered finest as Odo, his distinguished and assorted profession speaks for itself. By each Star Trek and his function as Chef Louis in The Little Mermaidhe cemented his place as a cultural icon. However the stodgy, seemingly uptight characters he usually performed are solely the inspiration of a legacy of voice appearing work that many followers aren’t even conscious of.