Celebrities With CLEAR and DISTINCT Voices

I do think Jessica Lange has a unique voice.

Amy Sedaris has a unique voice.

I'm not saying either are particularly nice or soothing, just that they are unique.

Morgan Freeman

Bea Arthur

Jeff Goldblum.

I would say both Reba and Dolly have voices that are so recognizable they would have to disguise it on WML.

I wonder if Harvey Fierstein could disguise his voice even if he tried?

R6 he would have to do like some of the WML contestants did and like snap fingers or something, instead of talking.

Jennifer Coolidge would last two seconds on "What's My Line."

Meryl. And we've heard so many variations, it would even more difficult to disguise.

[quote] "and a lot of the mystery guest disguise their voices"

Also: oh, dear. I mention this because lately, I've seen an uptick in people leaving the "s" off of plurals that require them. Why? I don't know.

David Hyde Pierce

One of the best fake voices in WML history.

LL Cool J

Sigourney Weaver.

Fran Drescher

Dr. Ruth Westheimer..

Brenda Vaccaro

Alec Baldwin

Julie Andrews

Every person mentioned here so far is over 50. I can’t think of any younger celebrity with a distinct voice - or personality for that matter. When did this happen? Whatever the talent level of old stars, they were all distinct.

R20 it may reflect the age of people posting and the celebs they have in their heads. I actually tend to agree with you, and it is a puzzle, but this is also maybe a factor. Regional accents are also much weaker among millennial and Gen Z.

I would say Miley Cyrus is a younger star with a distinctive voice.

Natasha Lyonne

Kristen Stewart has a clear and distinct voice. It may have a lot of ummms.... and vocal fry but you know it's her.

the short guy from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Charlie Day.

Scarlett Johansson has quite a distinctive voice… although not necessarily a beautiful one.

The sisters Kardashian have distinctively high-pitched voices mixed with vocal fry.

Tommy Lee Jones

r12

It was good, a sort of toned downed Betty Boop. Julie London doing a fake "hipster style" voice was also good on WML, though you can tell it irritated the hell out of Dorothy.

i can't believe no one has mentioned James Earl Jones.

R29, Dorothy was irritated because she thought Mystery Guest was a black artist being impudent.

R30, Well, OP did say modern celebrity after 1980, and Mr. Jones has been around forever.

Cyndi Lauper.

Robert Downey Jr. - and he always had that distinctive voice even when he was in his teens.

I felt Alan Rickman had a very recognizable voice. He could disguise it with an accent, however. The same is somewhat true for Benedict Cumberbatch.

Stevie Knicks.

Wallace Shawn.

Jodie Foster.

Woody Allen.

David Lynch

Jack Nicholson

Marlee Matlin

Kristin Chenoweth

Patti LuPone

Skip Bittman

Sofia Vergara

Jane Fonda

Linda Lavin

Ish shomeone ashking whisch shelebrities have dishtinct voisches?

Yeah, that's a long list of older folks for the most part, with a few vocal fry-having exceptions.

Carol Channing

Jeremy Brett.

Rosie O'Donnell

Thinking of younger prominent political figures: I think Pete Buttigieg is very bland-sounding. AOC sounds like lots of young women. It's only because women her age are rare in politics that she's recognizable. Seems like a lot of homogenization has occurred.

Jason Beghe

Jim Parsons

Niecy Nash

Jenifer Lewis

Keith David

Martin Sheen

Gary Sinese

Donald Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland

Anthony Anderson

Lily Lamont.

Kate Hepburn has the most recognizable voice in the history of Hollywood.

Ben Shapiro is one, albeit a very distinct, annoying, obnoxious voice.

Sebastian Croft has a very clear and distinct voice. Albeit it could also be the accent.

Jim Parsons and Natasha Lyonne are great younger examples, but I can’t think of a single young star or starlet who sounds distinct. It’s depressing how interchangeable movie stars are.

Kathleen Turner.

I would argue that Carrie Fisher had a very distinctive way of speaking and a very pleasant voice. She lost that tone as an older woman though.

Steve Martin, including his few serious roles.

Jane Fonda.

Most of the Golden Age greats had or cultivated distinctive voices: Bette Davis, Hepburn, Garland, Bacall, Bogart, Monroe, Bankhead, de Haviland, Taylor, Burton, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Olivier, Omar Sharif, Lena Horne, John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, James Cagney, etc. It's actually probably easer to try to think of stars back then who wouldn't be immediately recognizable the minute they opened their yap. Joan Crawford had a pleasant speaking voice but I wouldn't say it was otherwise memorable. I can't off the top of my head remember what Rita Heyworth or Ava Gardner sounded like. Gregory Peck? Jean Seberg? Veronica Lake? Who? What? Where?

I actually think Joan Crawford had a very distinct voice, plummy and with some put-on high class “airs”, especially in films like The Women.

Same with Gregory Peck - deep and comforting - the deepness of his voice had a less dangerous flavor to it than other famous deep voices like Robert Mitchum - which was obvious when played against each other in Cape Fear.

The others on your list I agree with.

Zoey Deschanel has a distinct voice.

R50, LINA.

I think Kat Demmings (sp?) has a pretty distinctive voice.

Has the Tilly woman been mentioned yet?

Christian Slater and Christopher Walken and Shatner and Nemoy

Steve Buscemi.

Peter Coyote.

It wasn't so long ago that every other commercial voiceover seemed to be his.

WHET him?

R53 I heard Gaby Roslin interviewing Sebastian on BBC 4 and was struck by how articulated he was. Most young people just mumble.

Whoopi

Joy Behar

Clooney

Julia Roberts

Kathy Griffin

Gabor ray Sib bidet.

Jason Beghe, mentioned above. His voice is so distinctive because his throat was crushed in a car wreck. His doctors told him he would never speak again and his basic reaction was fuck that shit, I'm an actor. He had to spend years working with doctors, vocal therapists and vocal coaches but he succeeded.

Despite that admirable drive and determination, though, he's such an asshole in real life it almost got him fired from Chicago PD. Sophia Bush quit the show before her contract was up and NBC requires him to have an anger management control expert on set with him at all times. Dick Wolf let Bush out of her contract early in exchange for her not suing over what she went through.

R65 ex clam Jason Beghe? Monkey Bites dude? Damn. I really always liked him.

[quote]Lily Lamont.

Oh, dear.

Jackée, the actress.

Chicago PD had such a notoriously toxic set that NBC had to step in to force Dick Wolf to clean it up.

Tony Todd. Even if you didn't know his name, you'd know it was Candy Man speaking

Well, she's over 50, but young people recognize her. Wanda Sykes.

[quote] Lily Lamont.

Oh, [italic]DEAR.[/italic]

The name's Lina! And I make more money than Calvin Coolidge... PUT TOGETHER!

R70 - wow. Good call. And what a voice.

Actually, I thought he was amazingly beautiful.

No idea why he didn't have a bigger career, but I suppose, having thought about it for five seconds, it's not that hard to figure out.

My gawd, almost 75 replies and no one's mentioned JOHN LITHGOW?

He OWNS this thread.

All the actors playing members of the BRF on "The Crown," when they're using their posh voices for their characters.

r73, I may be his biggest fan. Well, his most embarrassing one anyway. It doesn't matter where I am, who I am with, any time he shows up in something I (loudly) exclaim 'holy shit it's Tony Todd! I love him- he's candyman!'

James Mason

Susan Powter

I wish there was another Rochester, I love that man’s voice.

Jim Nabors, a.k.a. Gomer Pyle

Joey Lauren Adams

Sam Reid

Samuel West

James Spader

Bill Cosby

Gwen Paltrow

Cherry Jones

Most of these are not in the league of Shirley Booth-ish recognizable.

People like Rochester or Barry White are recognizable not because of being distinct but because they were deep and there was simply a lack of many other performers with such a deep voice.

I think Jon Hamm has a distinct voice.

Dax Shepard.

Ron What's-His-Name from Parks & Recreation.

Jack McBrayer

Before she decided she was English, Madonna had a distinctive speaking voice.

Stephen Wright

David Eigenberg has a very distinct voice.

The late comedian Gilbert Gottfried had a very singular voice.

Drew Barrymore has a distinctive voice. Also, Kelsey Grammar, Julie Kavner. I would say Scarlett Johansson, as well, but Rashida Jones' voice sounds almost identical. I seriously thought it was Jones' voice in 'Her' until I saw the credits.

R85 Rochester's unique voice wasn't the deepness, it was a gravelness of his voice that made it unique.

Bette Midler.

Janis Joplin.

Billie Holiday.

Cher has a very distinctive voice.

Actress Carrie Nye had a unique accent - the Old South Mississippi accent that almost sounds British but isn't.

Mama Cass had a wonderful voice.

Divine had actually a rather pleasant voice, surprisingly. I suppose it was a Baltimore accent.

Demi Moore.

Phil Hartman

Tammy Grimes

Betsy von Furstenberg

Glynis Johns

Aunt Bee- Frances Bavier

100th reply! James Earl Jones.

R86 I was just coming here to post that. I was watching A Single Man & the main character gets a phone call, it’s just a disembodied voice, but I immediately knew it was Jon Hamm.

Same thing happened in an old episode of Twilight Zone, “The Hitchhiker.” The voice was the actress who did Malefivent in Sleeping Beauty. It was very eerie, her voice was just that distinctive.

r98, Tammy Grimes was the runner up for Desiree in A Little Night Music. When Glynis Johns repeatedly called in sick late in previews and then had herself hospitalized right before the New York opening night for exhaustion, she made a miraculous recovery and showed up at the theater again when she found out Hal Prince had Grimes back to watch the show.

Orson Wells!

Jimmy Stewart

Woody Harrelson

Matthew Mcconaughey

R96, CARRIE NYE?

Bwahahahahahaha!

R105, yes. Carrie Nye. Your point being?

Not many seem to have bothered to read the OP. You are mostly naming old Hollywood celebrities. Although I suppose that kind of proves the point, that very few from the current generation have specific vocal cadences.

Ralph Bellamy

Larry David

James Earl Jones is still performing, or at least he has been until very recently, so I don't see any problem with calling him "modern."

I think I’d recognize Tim O’Tay’s voice. Also Matthew Goode’s. Plus a number who have already been mentioned.

R12 And the worst WML voice disguise was undoubtedly by Hayley Mills.

Bump

[quote]Mama Cass had a wonderful voice.

No, it was only distinctive because she always ended each sentence with "...and another ham sandwich please."

Lauren Bacall. Still not sure what made it so memorable. But it was.

George Clooney. So much he should be a voice actor for 1950s dads.

Scarlett Johansson, very raspy but commanding voice.

Vanessa Williams, smooth and clear vocals even while singing.

Ian McKellen Eric Idle Benedict Cumberbatch James Brown Carl Sagan

R23 Lyonne has a distinctive voice, that's for certain, but I don't know about 'clear'. It's rather smoke-roughened, and often garbled.

Then there's her broad Yankii accent.

Natalie Wood, Jane Fonda.

And fuck you, bitches! How dare you overlook me?

You generally always know what Jack Grealish is saying, it just sounds awful and never makes any sense (to him or his audience). INT 0 CHA 100, honestly.