Maurice LaMarche is known primarily as a voice actor, working on animated shows such as the movie-reviewer send-up “The Critic” and the environmental children’s series “Captain Planet.” Discovering his talent for mimicry in high school, LaMarche moved to Los Angeles and began as a comedian.
Over the next five years, he played comedy clubs all over the country, making appearances on “Merv Griffin” and “An Evening At The Improv.” During his stand-up career, LaMarche opened for acts such as Rodney Dangerfield, George Carlin, and Howie Mandel.
LaMarche’s first work in the voiceover industry was in 1980 on “Easter Fever” and “Take Me Up to the Ball Game,” two Canadian films. After gaining success in stand-up LaMarche returned to voice acting, working extensively in animated shows. LaMarche began on “Inspector Gadget” and went on to “Dennis the Menace,” and “Tiny Toon Adventures.”
But he landed his most recognized role, in 1993, as the maniacal laboratory mouse The Brain on “Animaniacs,” and later its spin-off, “Pinky and the Brain.” Following this, LaMarche worked on “The Critic” and the superhero spoof “The Tick” before landing another steady role on the whimsical sci-fi series “Futurama” in 1999, voicing multiple characters. LaMarche has worked on feature films as well, voicing director Orson Welles’s in Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood.”
