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Brian Cummings

Brian Cummings is an American voice actor whose career stretches across radio, animated television, home entertainment promotions and video games. Born on March 4, 1948, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he began pursuing broadcasting while still in high school, working at local radio station KSDN in Aberdeen during his senior year. That early start proved fitting for a performer whose voice would eventually become familiar in several different corners of popular entertainment. Cummings was mentored in voiceover by Daws Butler, and from the 1980s onward he built an extensive body of work in animated series. His roles include Dimmy in The Snorks, Morton Fizzback and Professor Funt in Denver, the Last Dinosaur, Mr. Hollywood in 2 Stupid Dogs and Doctor Mindbender in G.I. Joe. He also voiced Clyde Cat in Tom & Jerry Kids, Papa Q. Bear in The Berenstain Bears and Doofus Drake in DuckTales. It is a varied collection of characters, ranging from comic personalities to more imposing figures, and it reflects the breadth required of a working voice actor. His work was not limited to playing characters. Cummings served as the closing announcer for ALF in syndication and, alongside Mark Elliott, became one of the long-time voices heard in Buena Vista Home Entertainment trailers and promotions. He also narrated some Sony Pictures Home Entertainment trailers and worked extensively for Paramount Home Entertainment. Those assignments placed his voice around the movies themselves, helping shape how releases were introduced to audiences at home. Cummings has also worked in video games, voicing Dr. Sokolov in the Metal Gear franchise. Across these roles, his career shows the many forms voice performance can take: animation, announcing, promotion, narration and interactive storytelling. He is a performer defined not by a single screen appearance, but by decades spent making characters and presentations heard.