| Series: | Alvin and the Chipmunks |
| David Seville | |
| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Male |
| Portrayer: | Jason Lee |
| Voice: | Ross Bagdasarian (1958–72) Ross Bagdasarian Jr. (1979–present) |
| Creator: | Ross Bagdasarian |
| Occupation: | Record producer, band manager, songwriter |
| Family: | Toby Seville (nephew) |
| Relatives: | Jackie Seville (aunt) |
| Nationality: | American |
| Lbl31: | Official website |
David "Dave" Seville is a fictional character, the adoptive father and producer and manager of the fictional singing group Alvin and the Chipmunks. The character was created by Ross Bagdasarian, who had used the name "David Seville" as his stage name prior to the creation of the Chipmunks, while writing and recording novelty records in the 1950s.[1] One of the records, recorded in 1958 under the David Seville stage name, was "Witch Doctor", featuring a sped-up high-pitched vocal technique. Bagdasarian would later use that technique in "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)", which would introduce both Alvin and the Chipmunks as a singing group and Bagdasarian's music producer "Dave". Bagdasarian would go on to create The Alvin Show, based on the Alvin and the Chipmunks group, where he voiced the semi-fictional character David Seville,[2] based largely on himself, with Alvin based on Ross's sometimes rebellious son Adam.[1]
Ross Bagdasarian Jr. took over ownership Bagdasarian Productions when his father died in 1972. He reprised the David Seville character, first in a series of novelty albums beginning with 1980's Chipmunk Punk.[3] Bagdasarian Jr. subsequently assumed the role on the TV series Alvin and the Chipmunks, which ran in original episodes from 1983–1990. Bagdasarian Jr. has voiced David Seville in all official animated and recorded incarnations of David Seville since taking over for his father in the 1970s, including TV series, animated specials, and direct-to-video productions. He most recently voiced the character in the 2015 TV show version of the Alvin and the Chipmunks television series.
Actor Jason Lee also portrays David Seville in the live-action films, Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), (2009), (2011) and (2015) which use a combination of live-action acting and computer animation.[4] While Ross Bagdasarian Jr. does not do any voices for the film series, the films are all produced in association with Bagdasarian Productions, which owns the rights to all of the characters.
| Portrayed by | TV Series | Film Series | Air Date | Year | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Alvin Show | rowspan="3" | 1961–1962 | 1958–1972 | Creator | ||
| Alvin and the Chipmunks | 1983–1990 | 1979–present | Producer and voice | |||
| ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks | 2015–present | |||||
| 2007–2015 | live action/CGI films | |||||
See main article: Alvin and the Chipmunks in film.
| Year | Title | Role | Portrayed By | Production | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Chipmunk Adventure | Main | Ross Bagdasarian Jr. | ||
| 1999 | Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein | Kathi Castillo | |||
| 2000 | Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman | ||||
| 2003 | Little Alvin and the Mini-Munks | Ross Bagdasarian Jr. | |||
| 2007 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | Janice Karman Ross Bagdasarian Jr. | |||
| 2009 | |||||
| 2011 | |||||
| 2015 | |||||
| Year | Title | Role | Voice by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961–1962 | The Alvin Show | Main | October 1961 | |
| 1983–1990 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | Original Series | ||
| 2015–2023 | ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks | Started August 2015 |