Your top favorite voices of all time (dead or alive)

Arnieh · Post by **Arnieh** » March 26th, 2013, 1:53 pm

Hello. I'm wondering what are people's top favorite voices of actors/actresses/celebrities and such. People who have distinctive or otherwise unforgettable voices that you consider pleasing to listen to. They can be deceased or living persons. What famous people would you love to do an audiobook, because you love their voices?

Here's my favorites:

1. Donald Pleasence (I love his voice)
2. Leonard Nimoy (best known as Spock. Any In Search of fan's?)
3. Yul Brynner (what a deep commanding voice)
4. Charlton Heston (who can do Moses or even the Bible better than he?)
5. Vincent Price (gotta read a horror novel

)
6. Casey Kasem (he did the voice of Shaggy in the Scooby Doo cartoons)
7. Morgan Freeman (he is so talented)
8. Christopher Lee (another horror movie legend)
9. Maya Angelou (a dignified and superb voice)
10. George Page (from PBS's Nature series, a most melodious voice)
11. Burgess Meredith (what an excellent voice)
12. Adam West (Batman)
13. Max von Sydow (The Exorcist, Dune, Conan the Barbarian, and many more films)
14. José Ferrer (also in Dune)
15. Donald Sutherland (a very distinctive voice)
16. Anthony Hopkins (great voice)
17. James Earl Jones (the voice of Darth Vader)
18. Eartha Kitt (what a voice! meow!)
19. Orson Welles (a great narrating voice)
20. John-Rhys Davies (he's got a very nice, rather deep voice)
21. Henry Cele (most famous for his role as Shaka, king of the Zulu's, also very deep voice)
22. Ricardo Montalbán (an unforgettable voice)
23. Sam Elliot (a very nice western/cowboy type voice)

Other LibriVoxer's Favorites:

1. Patrick Stewart (wildemoose)
2, Alan Rickman (mhhbook)
3. James Mason (Darvinia)
4. Colleen Dewhurst (libraryanne)
5. Kate Winslet (fiddlesticks)
6. Paige O' Hara (fiddlesticks)
7. Alessandra Nevola (fiddlesticks)
8. Johnny Depp (fiddlesticks)
9. Anika Noni Rose (fiddlesticks)
10. Meryl Streep (mhhbook)
11. Susan Sarandon (mhhbook)
12. Mae West (mhhbook) no children's books though

13. Mandy Patinkin (Hobbit)
14. Julie Andrews (miss stav)
15. Emma Kirkby (Mike001)
16. Paul Scofield (LitWit)
17. Adrian Pasdar (Sharpandpointless)
18. Keith Szarabajka (Sharpandpointless)
19. Benjamin Netanyahu (thestorygirl)
20. Geoffrey Rush (thestorygirl)
21. Dan Stevens (thestorygirl)
22. John McDonough (thestorygirl)
23. Gwynn Beech (thestorygirl)
24. Stewart Granger (Mike001)
25. Sean Connery (jmansius)
26. Margaret Throsby (barbara2)
27. Charles Southwood (barbara2)
28. Stephen Fry (catrose)
29. Hugh Laurie (catrose)
30. Sir Ian McKellen (Hobbit)

catrose · Post by **catrose** » March 26th, 2013, 1:57 pm

I must admit that my Top 10 are all here at LV, so I don't really want to name them, in case I upset anyone by not including them in the list

ETA: Miscounted. My top 8 are here at LV. Joint 9th is Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie

wildemoose · Post by **wildemoose** » March 26th, 2013, 3:50 pm

Patrick Stewart.

MaryinArkansas · Post by **MaryinArkansas** » March 26th, 2013, 4:21 pm

I would add Alan Rickman to the list. He definitely has a unique, unforgettable voice.

It's hard to come up with a favorite female voice, though I can think of several actresses who would be excellent readers: Meryl Streep and Susan Sarandon, to name a couple. Some of the female stars from the early Hollywood days could certainly add something, though listening to Mae West read "Alice in Wonderland" could be disconcerting.

Hobbit · Post by **Hobbit** » March 26th, 2013, 7:08 pm

I second Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones! Not sure who my other 8 would be...

fiddlesticks · Post by **fiddlesticks** » March 26th, 2013, 8:43 pm

I can only think of 5 right now, and like catrose, I love listening to many people on LV

1. Kate Winslet
2. Paige O' Hara
3. Alessandra Nevola
4. Johnny Depp
5. Anika Noni Rose

YouTube · Post by **Darvinia** » March 26th, 2013, 10:30 pm

James Mason

WoollyBee · Post by **WoollyBee** » March 27th, 2013, 4:43 am

I second Alan Rickman!!

Arnieh · Post by **Arnieh** » March 27th, 2013, 5:45 am

Yes, James Mason and Patrick Stewart. Great voices. I think I favor Mason more though.

I've added another female voice to my list:

18. Eartha Kitt

Now she had a very distinctive voice.

libraryanne · Post by **libraryanne** » March 27th, 2013, 12:54 pm

Eartha Kitt reminded me of another woman who has since passed away who had a great voice:
Colleen Dewhurst.(who played Marilla in "Anne of Green Gables" back in the 1980s I think).

I echo Patrick Stewart. More names when I can think of them lol

wildemoose · Post by **wildemoose** » March 27th, 2013, 1:00 pm

libraryanne wrote:Eartha Kitt reminded me of another woman who has since passed away who had a great voice:
Colleen Dewhurst.(who played Marilla in "Anne of Green Gables" back in the 1980s I think).

I echo Patrick Stewart. More names when I can think of them lol

Colleen Dewhurst had an amazing voice. Elizabeth channeled her a bit in our dramatic reading of 'Anne of Green Gables.'

Arnieh · Post by **Arnieh** » March 27th, 2013, 4:59 pm

I am editing the opening post to include the great suggestions from other LibriVoxers.

As an aside, was wondering whether any of these great living voice personalities has ever recorded anything for LibriVox?

Let us fantasize for a moment

and say Mr. Jones, or Mr. Rickman, or Mr. Freeman, or Dr. Angelou where to stop by and say they wished to volunteer? Is there anything in LibriVox's policy that would prevent them from doing so?

Also would it be breaking LibriVox policy if we were able somehow (and this is wishful thinking) to contact, petition, importune, or prevail upon the ones who are still living if they would grace us by doing a chapter of a book, a short dramatic reading, or a poem, pro bono publico as it were? Wouldn't it be a great thing?

I'm adding another great voice to my list:

19 - Orson Welles

Arnieh · Post by **Arnieh** » March 30th, 2013, 6:22 pm

Added Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, and Mae West to the opening post.

Hobbit · Post by **Hobbit** » March 30th, 2013, 6:59 pm

One more for me: Mandy Patinkin.

Arnieh · Post by **Arnieh** » March 31st, 2013, 4:14 pm

Hobbit wrote:One more for me: Mandy Patinkin.

Ok, done. I've also added Mel Blanc (who did the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, the Tasmanian Devil and many of the other characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons)

And Sam Elliot (great western/cowboy type voice).