William Dufris
Description
William Dufris was an American voice actor and audiobook narrator, born on February 1, 1958, in Houlton, Maine. He passed away on March 24, 2020. His career in audio began in London during his early twenties, where he appeared in BBC Radio plays and collaborated with director Dirk Maggs on audio drama productions such as Spider-Man, in which he voiced the title role. These experiences led him to co-found an audio production company in the United Kingdom before returning to the United States, where he founded Mind's Eye Productions and co-founded Rocky Coast Radio Theatre and The AudioComics Company, working as a producer, director, and actor.
In the field of anime voice acting, Dufris was active in providing English dubs for numerous titles, often credited under the names William Dufris or Bill Dufries. He notably voiced the character Cobra in the film Space Adventure Cobra - The Movie. He also voiced the character Four Eyes in the English version of the original video animation series New Dominion Tank Police, taking over the role from William Armstrong.
His other anime voice credits include roles in Patlabor: The Movie, Patlabor 2: The Movie, Venus Wars, Appleseed, Angel Cop, X, and Judge. He provided voices for two Lupin III films, including Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo, where he voiced the character Wolf, and the special Lupin the 3rd: Bye Bye, Lady Liberty.
Beyond his anime work, Dufris was widely recognized for voicing the title character in the American and Canadian versions of the children's series Bob the Builder for its first nine seasons. He also voiced characters in the stop-motion series Rocky and the Dodos. Alongside his voice acting for animation, Dufris had an extensive career as an audiobook narrator, recording over four hundred titles. He was a twelve-time finalist for the Audie Awards presented by the Audio Publishers Association, winning in the Best Non-Fiction category in 2012, and he received twenty-four Earphones Awards from AudioFile Magazine, which also named him one of the best voices of the century's end.
In the field of anime voice acting, Dufris was active in providing English dubs for numerous titles, often credited under the names William Dufris or Bill Dufries. He notably voiced the character Cobra in the film Space Adventure Cobra - The Movie. He also voiced the character Four Eyes in the English version of the original video animation series New Dominion Tank Police, taking over the role from William Armstrong.
His other anime voice credits include roles in Patlabor: The Movie, Patlabor 2: The Movie, Venus Wars, Appleseed, Angel Cop, X, and Judge. He provided voices for two Lupin III films, including Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo, where he voiced the character Wolf, and the special Lupin the 3rd: Bye Bye, Lady Liberty.
Beyond his anime work, Dufris was widely recognized for voicing the title character in the American and Canadian versions of the children's series Bob the Builder for its first nine seasons. He also voiced characters in the stop-motion series Rocky and the Dodos. Alongside his voice acting for animation, Dufris had an extensive career as an audiobook narrator, recording over four hundred titles. He was a twelve-time finalist for the Audie Awards presented by the Audio Publishers Association, winning in the Best Non-Fiction category in 2012, and he received twenty-four Earphones Awards from AudioFile Magazine, which also named him one of the best voices of the century's end.
All Characters
- EnglishAnime overview: Space Adventure Cobra - The Movie
- EnglishAnime overview: New Dominion Tank Police