South Dakotan is making his voice heard in Hollywood

SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) – He began his career about 40 years ago at KELO Radio in Sioux Falls.

Today, Wally Wingert may be the most successful South Dakota actor in Hollywood that you may not know. Wingert has entertained people all over the world with his voice. Wingert is perhaps best known as the voice of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

“That's today's show with Jay Leno!” And it was live every day, Wingert said.

He auditioned for the job on a whim and says the gig was one of his favorites. He calls Jay Leno a great person to work with and a nice guy.

“I’m the announcer for today’s show? Yes, if you want to do it. I think I would like to do it. “So I ended up being only the seventh full-time announcer in the history of tonight's show to do it, and the only one so far to do the announcing exclusively as a voice actor where you never see it,” Wingert said.

South Dakotans react to the death of Tim Johnson

“I loved the show tonight, but I also loved the Garfield show. We did a Garfield show on Cartoon Network for six or seven seasons. And I was cast as John Arbuckle. “Hey Garfield, where's Odie, it's time for lasagna. 'Garfield, you ate all the lasagna!' So I did that for seven years and I loved that character because he’s an idiot like me.”

Wingert will occasionally work in front of the camera. For example, the role of a glam rocker in a commercial for Dell Computers. But this former radio man tells us he prefers being a voice actor.
From Nickelodeon to Cartoon Network, Wally has brought life to dozens of characters.

“If you’re an anime fan, you know me as Renji Abarai from the 13th Court Guard Squad, that’s the anime,” Wingert said. “If you play video games, you know me as The Riddler. Riddle me this Batman you have a hood, Clod Ha ha ha! Which is great. If you watch cartoons from the early 90s, late 90s and early 2000s, you know me as the Almighty Supreme Red from Invader Zim or any other number of characters.”

He is also an accomplished puppeteer. Kermit the Frog accompanied him to South Dakota. He wanted to bring a doll and Kermit fit in his luggage

“I've been very fortunate in that I've been able to work with some degree of success in virtually all aspects of voiceover. “That’s really great,” said Wingert.

A kid from South Dakota with a dream that made him come true and continues to make his voice heard in Hollywood.

Wingert comes to South Dakota about once a year to see his family and support a local nonprofit he helped found. Voices Against Cancer raises funds for pediatric cancer research and awareness.

Wally on the web https://www.wallyontheweb.com/

Voices Against Cancer https://voicesagainstcancer.org/

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports and streaming videos, visit KELOLAND.com.