William Gerald Ratner (born February 25, 1947) is an American voice actor, author and solo performance artist. He is best known as the voice of Flint in Hasbro's syndicated TV cartoon G.I. Joe.
Bill Ratner | |
|---|---|
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| Born | William Gerald Ratner February 25, 1947 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Voice actor, author, performance artist |
| Years active | 1982–present |
Career
editRatner is best known as the voice of Flint in Hasbro's syndicated TV cartoon G.I. Joe.[1] His voice was used in numerous movie trailers, including Inside Out, Will Ferrell's Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory, Kung Fu Panda, Mike Myers's The Love Guru, Monsters vs. Aliens, and many more.[2] He narrates documentaries on Discovery Channel, A&E, The Weather Channel, History, and others. His voice is on Kings Quest, Grand Theft Auto IV, Mass Effect, and others, and he is the narrator in episodes of Ben 10 for the Cartoon Network. Ratner is also a voice-over announcer for television stations across the US.[3]
His book, Parenting for the Digital Age: The Truth behind Media's Effect on Children and What To Do About It, winner of the National Indie Excellence Award[4] and a Next Generation Indie Book Award[5] and Eric Hoffer Award[6] finalist, is published by Familius.[7] His personal essays are published in the Baltimore Review,[8] Blue Lake Review[9] and The Missouri Review.[10]
Ratner's performances of his personal essays are featured on KCRW's Strangers[11] and National Public Radio's The Business.[12] and Good Food.[13] He tours nationally for storytelling conferences,[14] and festivals,[15] is a regular competitor in The Moth[16] Story Slams in Los Angeles, is a nine-time Moth StorySLAM Winner, a National Storytelling Festival Story Slam teller-Jonesborough TN, a National Storytelling Network storyteller.[17]
He is a contributing author of the book Secrets of Voiceover Success.[18] He is a two-time winner of "Best of the Hollywood Fringe Festival Extension" – Solo Category for "Bobbywood: Whatever Happened to Bobby the Bellboy?"[19] in 2013 and Voices in my Head: A Life.[20][21] He is a member of Actors Equity Association, and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of TV & Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) where he teaches voiceover.[22]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | G.I. Joe: The Movie | Flint | Direct-to-video |
| 1989 | Lobster Man from Mars | Additional voices | |
| 2004 | Fat Albert | Announcer |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Meatballs & Spaghetti | Additional voices | Unknown episodes |
| 1985–86 | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero | Flint, Strato-Viper, Chuck, Cobra Officer, Cobra Trooper, Driver | 45 episodes |
| 1986 | The Transformers | Dashiell R. Faireborn / Flint | Ep. "The Killing Jar" |
| 1997 | Ah! Real Monsters | Stu Simmons | Ep. "Clockwise/Gromble Soup" |
| 2005 | Family Guy | Flint | Ep. "North by North Quahog" |
| 2006, 2008 | Ben 10 | Narrator, Baddie #2 | 2 episodes |
| 2006, 2009, 2019 | Robot Chicken | Flint, Gomez Addams, Thing's Boss, Game Host, Crime Boss, George Henderson | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Back to You | Announcer | 2 episodes |
| 2008–present | Air Emergency | Narrator | Documentary 9 episodes |
| 2010–16 | I (Almost) Got Away with It | Narrator | Documentary 93 episodes |
| 2011–13 | Behind Mansion Walls | Narrator | Documentary 39 episodes |
| 2011–16 | Air Disasters | Narrator | 150 episodes |
| 2014 | Community | Flint (voice) | Ep. "G.I. Jeff" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | King's Quest VI | Narrator |
| 2004 | Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 | Additional voices |
| 2007 | Mass Effect | Ambassador Donnel Udina, Hollis Blake, Krogan Patron |
| 2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | The Men's Room Announcer, Republican Space Rangers Announcer, Split Sides Announcer, Commercial |
| 2009 | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned | The Men's Room Announcer, Republican Space Rangers Announcer |
| 2009 | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony | The Men's Room Announcer, Republican Space Rangers Announcer |
| 2010 | Mass Effect 2 | Donnel Udina, Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner |
| 2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Donnel Udina, Angry Krogan Vet |
| 2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | Republican Space Rangers Announcer |
| 2016 | Final Fantasy XV | Additional voices |
References
edit- ^ "International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention – GIJoeCon 2012!". Gijoecon.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ Heyman, Stephen (April 10, 2009). "In a World of Trailers, Unseen Stars". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Bill Ratner". IMDb.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Winners of the NIEA 2016 Awards!". Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ Awards, Next Generation Indie Book. "Next Generation Indie Book Awards". Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ "Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalists". Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ "Parenting in the Digital Age". Familius. November 4, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- ^ "Bill Ratner: Of This Earth". Baltimorereview.org. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Primal Screaming – Blue Lake Review". Bluelakereview.weebly.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "2011 Audio Contest Runner-up: Bill Ratner". Missourireview.com. December 17, 2011. Archived from the original on November 7, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Bill Ratner: Screaming with Professionals – Strangers on KCRW 89.9 FM | Internet Public Radio Station Streaming Live Independent Music & NPR News Online from Los Angeles, CA". Kcrw.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "The Drama of the TV Drama 'Damages;' The Business@The Moth 4 – The Business on KCRW 89.9 FM | Internet Public Radio Station Streaming Live Independent Music & NPR News Online from Los Angeles, CA". Kcrw.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Crack Pie, Mark Bittman, Good Food at The Moth – Good Food on KCRW 89.9 FM | Internet Public Radio Station Streaming Live Independent Music & NPR News Online from Los Angeles, CA". Kcrw.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Utah Local News – Salt Lake City News, Sports, Archive – The Salt Lake Tribune". Sltrib.com. February 9, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Art of the Story Festival: Bill Ratner | Washington County Cooperative Library Services". Wccls.org. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ [1] Archived March 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Boy Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was | National Storytelling Network Blog". Blog.storynet.org. September 20, 2011. Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Secrets of Voice-Over Success". Sentient Publications. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Hollywood Fringe – bobbywood: whatever happened to bobby the bellboy?". Hff13.org. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "The Voiceover Actor Finds His Own Voice". La Stage Times. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "voices in my head: a life***". Hollywood Fringe. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ "Event Details". SAG Foundation. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.