| William E. Martin | |
| Birth Date: | 8 October 1945 |
| Birth Place: | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Death Place: | Camden, London, England |
| Occupation: | Musician, screenwriter, songwriter, voice actor |
| Years Active: | 1969–2006 |
William E. Martin (October 8, 1945 - January 27, 2016),[1] also credited as Bill E. Martin and Bill Martin, was an American musician, screenwriter, songwriter and voice actor.
A friend of Monkee Michael Nesmith, Martin wrote the first song ("All of Your Toys") to be recorded with all four Monkees singing and playing. However, the song's copyright was owned by Tickson Music, for whom Martin worked; Screen Gems, who supervised music selection for the Monkees, had a rule that only Screen Gems-owned material could be released, and Tickson Music refused to sell the copyright. Martin took the setback in stride, signed a new contract with Screen Gems, and the band recorded his "The Door into Summer" (with title inspired by Robert A. Heinlein's novel).
A later teaming with singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson resulted in the song "Rainmaker", released in two different versions by Nilsson (on single and on LP) in 1969. Nilsson also covered some of Martin's songs, including "Fairfax Rag" and "City Life". Martin released a concept album in 1970, titled Bill Martin's Concerto for Head Phones and Contra-Buffoon in Asia Minor.[2] It failed to sell. Shortly after their initial collaboration, Nilsson's film The Point would feature Martin's voice talent in the character of the Rockman.
Martin also wrote the song "Evergreen (Earth Anthem)", recorded by Cyrus Faryar, The Turtles, Dan Fogelberg and others.[3]
Martin co-starred with Nesmith in his Grammy-winning Elephant Parts in 1981, and Nesmith also produced An Evening with Sir William Martin, with Martin delivering a half-hour monologue dressed in a smoking jacket and parodying Orson Welles, interspersed with different character voices.
Among Martin's screenwriting credits was the 1987 movie Harry and the Hendersons. Martin's first movie voice role came in the 1971 animated movie The Point as the Rock Man and later in the 1989 animated movie as the villainous Nightmare King. He also had a cameo role in Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees, the 1997 television movie which reunited the full band. He was the model for Bigfoot in Harry and the Hendersons.
His voice skills also earned him roles in numerous animated series, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (taking over the character of The Shredder after James Avery's departure from the role), Transformers, Challenge of the GoBots, and several Star Wars video games.
He died on January 27, 2016,[4] aged 70.[5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Point | Rock Man (voice) | Television film |
| 1981 | Elephant Parts | Writer | |
| 1987 | Harry and the Hendersons | Writer | |
| 1989 | Asterix and the Big Fight | Prolix, Fulliautomatix (voice) | American Dub |
| 1992 | Nightmare King (voice) | Credited as William E. Martin | |
| 1997 | Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees | Tour Guide | Television film |
| 1999 | Dash and Lilly | Croupier |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Mighty Orbots | Tor / Umbra (voice) | Episode: "Magnetic Menace" | |
| 1985 | Amazing Stories | Guard | Episode: "Mummy Daddy" | |
| 1986 | The Transformers | Broadside (voice) | 4 Episodes | |
| The Centurions | (voice) | 64 Episodes | ||
| Karate Kommandos | Claw (voice) | 5 Episodes | ||
| 1986—1990 | The Real Ghostbusters | Samhain (voice) | 3 Episodes | |
| 1994—1996 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Shredder (voice) | 7 Episodes | |
| 1996 | Aaahh!!! Real Monsters | Race Announcer / Commanding Voice (voice) | Episode: "The Master Monster/Slumber Scare" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Conquest of the New World | Introduction Voice | Credited as Bill E. Martin | |
| 1995 | Stonekeep | Wahooka (voice) | ||
| 1996 | Chess Mates | Voice of Wigby | Credited as Bill Martin | |
| 1996 | Red Group Leader (voice) | Credited as Bill E. Martin | ||
| 1998 | Star Wars: Rebellion | Red Group Leader (voice) | ||
| 1999 | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | Bith Merchant / Fisherman / Lizard boy / others (voice) | Credited as Bill E. Martin | |
| Fake Durlag Doppelganger / Dwarwen Characters (voice) | ||||
| Cmdr. Devers / Imperial Officer (voice) | ||||
| 2000 | Korgan Bloodaxe / Bregg (voice) | Credited as Bill E. Martin | ||
| A-Wing Pilot #2 / Abridon Refugee #3 (voice) | ||||
| 2001 | Korgan Bloodaxe (voice) | |||
| Torgier (voice) | ||||
| 2002 | Male Civilian #3 / Smootie / Beast Handler (voice) | |||
| 2003 | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | Nurik Sandral / Davin Kotras / Garouk / others (voice) | Credited as Bill E Martin | |
| 2004 | Champions of Norrath | (voice) | ||
| 2005 | (voice) | |||
| 2006 | SiN Episodes | Garrison / Dock Workers (voice) |