American actor, comedian and beatboxer
Michael Leslie Winslow (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, comedian and beatboxer billed as The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects for his ability to make realistic sounds using only his voice. He is best known for his roles in all seven "Police Academy" films as Larvell Jones. He has also appeared in "Spaceballs", "Cheech and Chong's Next Movie" and "Nice Dreams", "The Love Boat", and commercials for Cadbury and GEICO.
Early life.
Winslow was born in Spokane, Washington, the son of Verdie and Robert Winslow. He grew up at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, and later attended the Lisa Maile School of Acting, Modeling and Imaging.
According to his own account, Winslow had few friends growing up. To pass time, he would imitate the sounds of engines, animals, flatulence, anything that made noise. Following high school and college he performed in nightclubs and theaters, where his sound imitation skills won him positive appraisal and enough money to move to and perform his act in Hollywood.
Career.
His first television appearance was on "The Gong Show" in which he squeezed in sound-alikes of Benji the movie dog, "Star Trek", and Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze". He is best known for his role as Larvell Jones in the "Police Academy" series of movies and TV shows. He was cast in the role after he was seen opening for Count Basie. In 1985, Island Records released a 12" of Michael Winslow entitled "I Am My Own Walkman". The song peaked at number 60 in Australia.
In 1986, Winslow presented the Best Sound Effects Editing Oscar to Charles L. Campbell and Robert Rutledge for their work on "Back to the Future". During 1986 he played the role of Spencer, the Assistant Cruise Director on the ninth and final season of "The Love Boat".
In 1987, Winslow appeared as a radar operator in the movie "Spaceballs", in which he performs all the sound effects himself during one scene. Mel Brooks (who wrote, directed, produced, and co-starred in the film) stated that, by doing so, Winslow saved the film money. Winslow is also a motivational speaker. Since the fall of 2008, Winslow has hosted a motion-picture television series called "Way Back Wednesday with Winslow" on the cable superstation WGN America, which features movies mostly released in the 1980s. He continues to perform stand-up comedy around the globe.
Michael Winslow debuted his own iPhone and iPod Touch apps in 2010, bringing his sound effects and comedy to a mobile platform. ThatsKungFu generates Winslow's kung fu fighting sounds when the device is swung in a fighting motion. NoizeyMan, billed as the "World's Noiziest App", contains video, ringtones, sound effects, and mini games, all created by Winslow.
In 2011, Winslow worked with Orlando, Florida-based game development studio Phyken Media on a mobile game for iOS and Android platforms entitled "Wizard Ops Chapter 1", providing all the sound effects for the game. He also lent his voice on "Wizard Ops Tactics", a turn-based tactical game and spiritual successor to the previous game.
He was also featured in a commercial for GEICO Insurance during their "we hired a celebrity" ad campaign.
In 2020, Winslow guest starred on the Dropout.tv show "Game Changer" as a substitute for Zac Oyama. He won Episode 10 of Season 3, and the episode aired on January 22, 2021.
In 2021, Winslow auditioned for the sixteenth season of "America's Got Talent". Following the airing of his audition, he had a guest appearance on the Talent Recap Show where he showed viewers how to make some of his most signature noises. Winslow was eliminated during the semi-finals.
In 2022, Winslow was heavily featured in a videogamedunkey YouTube video entitled Video Game Sound. This video brought Winslow's work to a broad audience of video game fans. Videogamedunkey has talked about Winslow since the start of his channel, seemingly being a fan.
References.
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