Patrick Warburton

Early life

Warburton was born in Paterson, New Jersey, on November 14, 1964. He is the son of orthopedic surgeon John Charles Warburton, Jr., and Barbara Jeanne Gratz (an actress credited as Barbara Lord). Warburton and his three sisters, Mary, Lara, and Megan, were raised in a "very religious" and "conservative" Catholic family in Huntington Beach, California, where he attended Saints Simon and Jude Catholic School. Warburton later attended Servite High School (in Anaheim, California), then transferred to Newport Harbor High School (in Newport Beach, California). He studied marine biology at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, but dropped out to pursue modeling and acting at 19.

Career

In the 1990s, Warburton was known for his recurring role in Seinfeld as David Puddy, an unflappable auto mechanic who was the on-again, off-again boyfriend of Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). He played Eric in the sitcom Dave's World, and had a small role in the 2002 film Men in Black II as J's new partner, T.

Warburton played the title role in Fox's short-lived series The Tick. He has repeatedly criticized FOX's mismanagement of the series after its cancellation, stating that the network "apparently didn't have a clue". In 2016, he was a producer for the Amazon streaming version of the series.

He played Nick Sharp in 8 Simple Rules and in 2003, joined the cast of Less than Perfect as anchorman Jeb Denton. He also played Jeff Bingham in Rules of Engagement and Rip Riley in the FX series Archer.

Warburton has provided voices for several animated films and TV programs, including a lead character in Game Over, Buzz Lightyear and the Little Green Men in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and Kronk in The Emperor's New Groove, with David Spade, Eartha Kitt, and John Goodman. Spade and Warburton reunited for the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement, which aired from 2007 to 2013, and Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser in 2015. Warburton reprised his role as Kronk for the direct-to-video sequel Kronk's New Groove and the subsequent TV series The Emperor's New School. He voiced Steve Barkin in the Disney Channel show Kim Possible.

Warburton was also cast in The Venture Bros., where he voices Brock Samson and voices Joe Swanson on Fox's Family Guy and Detective Cash in The Batman. He recorded voices for the animated feature films Hoodwinked!, Chicken Little, Open Season, as well as the DreamWorks animated films Bee Movie and Mr. Peabody & Sherman. In video games, he voiced Lok in the Tak and the Power of Juju video game series and has also reprised the role again in the television series of the same name, as well as Flynn in the Skylanders series. He was also the voice of Commander Blaine H. Tate on the Comedy Central animated series Moonbeam City in October 2015.

Warburton appeared on GSN's Poker Royale Celebrities vs. the Pros tournament in 2005, winning the tournament and the $50,000 grand prize. On November 8, 2009, he appeared as Wild West character Cal Johnson on Seth & Alex's (Almost Live) Comedy Show, hosted by Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein on Fox. He was also cast as Sheriff Bronson Stone in the Cartoon Network series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and appeared as Bowser in a video by CollegeHumor, "The Roast of Mario".

He appeared on the American version of Top Gear on February 21, 2012, where he set the "Big Star, Small Car" lap record, beating previous record holder Arlene Tur.

On February 1, 2014, Warburton hosted the 41st Annie Awards.

Warburton starred in the 2016 NBC sitcom Crowded, where Carrie Preston and he played parents who were about to enjoy their empty-nest years, only to find their daughters and his parents moving back in with them. It ran for one season of 13 episodes.

He is featured as a flight attendant in the "preboarding" video shown to guests at Soarin' Around the World in Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California, and Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, where he explains the ride's requirements, reprising his role from the preboarding video of the predecessor ride, Soarin' Over California. He lent his voice to the droid G2-4T in the queue of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim.

He starred as Lemony Snicket in the Netflix comedy drama series A Series of Unfortunate Events.

In 2019, he appeared as Lt. Tharl in The Orville. He also played Rick Stoner in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Despite being a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, Warburton has appeared at multiple New Jersey Devils games with his face (and chest) painted similar to that of his Devils-crazed role in an episode of Seinfeld, exhorting the crowd in a manner like that of his David Puddy character. His real-life relationship with the Devils began when the team invited him to drop the ceremonial first puck of the 1995 season, and he showed up with his face painted. After dropping the puck, he slipped and fell, but rescued the moment by regaining his balance and ripping off his shirt to reveal his chest was painted with the letter "D", which came to be regarded as an iconic moment in Devils history. The Devils gave out a Puddy bobblehead doll to fans at a 2019 game.

In the commercial and advertising world, Warburton is the voice in the Carrier Corporation commercials for their air-conditioning and HVAC units, and was the voice of Superman in The Adventures of Seinfeld and Superman for American Express. He is the voice of Lewis in the "Clark and Lewis Expedition" radio commercials for Horizon Air. In August 2009, he played a high-end computer in a "Get a Mac" advertisement for Apple Inc. He became the spokesman for Japanese automaker Honda's "Good Reasons" advertising campaign in September 2011. He is the voice in NAPA's "Can of Know How" commercial. In 2015, he appeared in National Car Rental's "Be the Boss of You" commercials. He is the voice of the current "Discover Fresh" radio ad campaign by Souplantation, a California-based buffet-style restaurant chain (known as Sweet Tomatoes in other markets).

Warburton is also the voice of Ranger, a forest ranger, in a series of radio spots for the national Smokey Bear campaign sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service and the Ad Council. In 2003, he appeared in the M&M's commercial "You Don't Eat Your Own Kind". More recently, Warburton has begun a career in stand-up comedy, and has actively toured the U.S. In December of 2025, he released his first comedy special, Still Catholic.

Personal life

In 1991, Warburton married Cathy Jennings, whom he met in college. The couple have three sons named Talon, Gabriel, and Shane, and one daughter named Alexandra. They live in Santa Rosa Valley, California. In his free time, Warburton enjoys birdwatching and playing golf.

Warburton is a Catholic and has said that he is willing to turn off Family Guy "when it takes its religious humor too far", perceiving such moments "as diminished returns". His mother, Barbara Warburton, is a member of the Parents Television Council, which is severely critical of Family Guy, on which he voices Joe Swanson. Politically, Warburton is a centrist, describing himself as a "lifelong conservative" with "very liberal views" on some issues.

Warburton has been involved in charitable acts. His wife and he have visited patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He also hosts an annual celebrity golf tournament, The Warburton, in Palm Desert to raise money for the hospital. The event combines golf, music, and the local community; in total, he has raised over $30 million since the event's inception in 2005.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theme parks

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

References

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