Michael Winslow (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, beatboxer and comedian billed as the "Man of 10,000 Sound Effects" for his ability to make realistic sounds using only his voice. He is best known for his roles in all seven Police Academy films as Larvelle Jones. He has also appeared in Spaceballs and a Cadbury commercial. Winslow voiced Gremlins and Mogwai in the 1984 dark comedy, Gremlins.
Early life[]
Winslow was born in Spokane, Washington, the son of Robert and Verdie Winslow. He attended the Lisa Maile School of Acting, Modeling and Imaging. He also studied architecture.
Winslow grew up at Fairchild Air Force Base where, according to Winslow, he had few constant friends to call on. In order to pass his time, he would imitate the sounds of engines, animals, anything that made noise. Following his high school and college periods, he performed in nightclubs and theaters, where his sound imitation skills won him positive appraisal and enough money to move to and perform his act in Hollywood.
Career[]
His first television appearance was on The Gong Show in which he squeezed in sound-alikes of Benji the movie dog, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". He is best known for his role as Sgt. Larvelle "Motor Mouth" Jones in the Police Academy series of movies and TV shows. In 1985, Island released a 12" of Michael Winslow titled "I Am My Own Walkman". He also appeared as a radar operator in the movie Spaceballs, in which he performs all the sound effects during his scene himself. Mel Brooks (who wrote, directed, produced, and co-starred in the film), stated that by doing so, Winslow saved the film money. Winslow is also a motivational speaker. Since the fall of 2008, Winslow has hosted the motion picture television series called "Way Back Wednesday with Winslow" on the cable superstation WGN America, which features movies mostly released in the 1980s. Michael continues to perform stand-up comedy around the globe.
Michael Winslow debuted his own iPhone and iPod Touch apps in 2010, bringing his sound effects and comedy to a mobile platform. ThatsKungFu generates Winslow's kung fu fighting sounds when the device is swung in a fighting motion. NoizeyMan, billed as the "World's Noiziest App", contains video, ringtones, sound effects, and mini games, all created by Michael Winslow.
In 2011 Michael worked with Orlando, Florida based game development studio Phyken Media on a mobile game for iOS and Android platforms entitled Wizard Ops Chapter 1, providing all the sound effects for the game. He also lent his voice on Wizard Ops Tactics, a turn based tactical game and spiritual successor to the previous game.