Mike Henry (voice actor)

Early life and education

Henry was born in Pontiac, Michigan, on November 7, 1965, to artist parents and raised in Richmond, Virginia, with his younger brother Patrick. Their parents divorced when Henry was eight years old and the boys were primarily raised by their mother. He was awarded a scholarship and attended the nearby preparatory Collegiate School. Henry graduated from Washington and Lee University (1988), where he earned his B.A. in history and served as class president his sophomore to senior years. Although interested in comedy, Henry never believed he could make a career of it so instead opted for more "business stuff".

Career

Early career

At 24, after a brief career in advertising, Henry moved to California to pursue acting. There he began taking classes at the Groundlings Theater and performing stand-up comedy. After three years in Los Angeles, Henry returned to Virginia to shoot short comedy films that he wrote and acted in. During that time, Henry often acted in his brother Patrick's student films at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he was introduced to his brother's college roommate, Seth MacFarlane. Henry recalled in 2018, "We immediately hit it off and cracked each other up and kept in touch."

Henry later moved to New York City, where he acted in commercials, studied improvisation at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and wrote, produced, starred in and co-directed (with his brother Patrick) comedy shorts for Lorne Michaels' Burly Bear Network.

''Family Guy''

Henry’s break came in 1998, when MacFarlane contacted him about being part of a new show called Family Guy. Mike agreed and joined the project as a writer and voice actor. Henry has stated that the inspiration for Cleveland's voice was based on "this guy that [he] had once played basketball with". During the show's first four seasons, he was credited as a guest star, but beginning with season five's "Prick Up Your Ears" he has been credited as a main cast member.

Two episodes into the second season, Family Guy was taken off the network's permanent schedule and shown irregularly thereafter. The show returned in March 2000 to finish airing the second season which contained 21 episodes; all the cast came back for the series return. During its second season, Fox publicly announced that the show had been cancelled. Despite the announced cancellation, in 2001 Fox decided to make the third season. During the third season, Fox announced that the show was canceled for good. Soon after Family Guy was cancelled, Henry and his brother created the popular web series Kicked in the Nuts!, a spoof of hidden camera shows. Family Guy was renewed again in 2005 for its fourth season due to strong DVD sales and its syndication on basic cable networks. Once again Henry and the rest of the cast came back for their voice works. In October 2017, Family Guy was renewed for its 16th season.

''The Cleveland Show''

On September 27, 2009, The Cleveland Show premiered on Fox. The project was created and executive-produced by Henry, Seth MacFarlane and American Dad! showrunner Rich Appel. The show focused on the Family Guy character Cleveland Brown, who referenced the spin-off at the end of the Family Guy episode "Baby Not on Board". The first season consisted of 22 episodes and was picked up by Fox for a second 13-episode season. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered. Due to strong ratings, Fox picked up two additional nine-episode seasons, bringing the total episode count of the show to 44. The show was renewed for a third and fourth season on May 9, 2011. The series was canceled after its fourth season on May 19, 2013, but reruns aired until 2024. The series ran for a total of four seasons and 88 episodes.

Departure from voicing Cleveland

On June 26, 2020, after twenty-one years of voicing the character, Henry announced on Twitter that he was stepping down from voicing Cleveland, stating "persons of color should play characters of color" due to heightening of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of that year following the police murder of George Floyd. On September 25, 2020, it was announced that YouTube personality Arif Zahir, who is African American, would replace Henry as Cleveland, but some episodes produced before Henry's departure from the role will still see Henry voicing the character. Speaking to Henry, who would continue to do other voices for the show, Zahir, who is a longtime fan of both the character and the show said, "you created something truly special, and I promise I will do my absolute best to honor your legacy." To the fans he said, "I promise not to let you down."

Personal life

Henry married Linda Murray in 2002. They divorced in 2005 after three years of marriage. They have a son together. Henry has been married to his second wife, Sara Voelker, since 2007. They have a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Video games

References

References

1. "Michael R. Henry". [[Writers Guild of America West]].
2. Itzkoff, Dave. (August 27, 2009). "Spinning Off Into Uncharted Cartoon Territory". [[The New York Times]].
3. Chung, Gabrielle. (June 26, 2020). "Family Guy's Mike Henry Says He'll No Longer Voice Cleveland Brown Character".
4. (2008-09-11). "Mike Henry of "Family Guy" talks voices, gags and instinct - Campus Times". Campus Times.
5. "About". Mike Henry official website.
6. Itzkoff, Dave. (2009-08-27). "With 'The Cleveland Show,' Mike Henry Spins Off Into Uncharted Cartoon Territory". The New York Times.
7. (2014-10-24). "'Family Guy' voice actor visits University". PantherNOW.
8. "Playing in 'Cleveland'". Backstage.com.
9. "Welcome Back, Cleveland".
10. "Mike Henry (VI)". [[Metacritic]].
11. Burruss, Mary. "Voice of the People".
12. "Mike Henry: The Origins of Cleveland and Herbert".
13. (September 11, 2008). "Mike Henry of "Family Guy" talks voices, gags and instinct". [[Campus Times]].
14. Gilbert, Matthew. (April 30, 2005). "''Family Guy'' Returns, Just As Funny As Ever". Boston.com.
15. Levin, Gary. (November 18, 2003). "''Family Guy'' may return". USAtoday.com.
16. (May 16, 2002). "Family Guy has finally been officially canceled by Fox". TKtv.
17. McKinley, Jesse. (May 2, 2005). "Canceled and Resurrected, on the Air and Onstage". [[The New York Times]].
18. James, Meg. (April 13, 2005). "Fox Reuniting Itself with ''Family Guy''". [[Los Angeles Times]].
19. Rosenthal, Phil. (November 20, 2003). "Yet another ''Family'' reunion". Chicago Sun-Times.
20. Levine, Daniel S.. (2017-05-22). "'Family Guy' Renewed or Cancelled: Is it Coming Back for Season 16?". Heavy.com.
21. (June 15, 2009). "FOX Announces Fall Premiere Dates For The 2009–2010 Season". The Futon Critic.
22. "Baby Not On Board".
23. "'Cleveland' rocks at Fox".
24. "Breaking News - FOX Picks Up Third Season of "The Cleveland Show"". Fox Broadcasting.
25. Hinckley, David. "Fox announces 2013-14 fall schedule, which includes return of Kiefer Sutherland's '24'". [[New York Daily News.
26. "Fox Primetime – 'The Cleveland Show' – Fact Sheet". Fox Broadcasting.
27. Haring, Bruce. (June 26, 2020). "'Family Guy' Voice Actor Mike Henry Stepping Down From 'Cleveland Brown' Role".
28. Otterson, Joe. (June 26, 2020). "'Family Guy' Star Mike Henry Will No Longer Play Cleveland Brown".
29. Swift, Andy. (September 25, 2020). "''Family Guy'' Reveals New Actor Voicing Cleveland Brown in Season 19". TVLine.
30. Rose, Michelle. "Stars out: Liv Tyler leaves '9-1-1: Lone Star'".