Originally posted: July 9, 2006 @ 5:22am PST
This one’s a little (read a LOT) late, but once I found out that he’d passed away, I knew I had to write a memorial. Bob Papenbrook was a voice actor (VA) whose voice you’d probably recognize, even if you didn’t actually know his name. He passed away on March 17, 2006 at the age of 50. He voiced, or acted, in 143 TV shows, movies and video games, though he was better known as a VA. I’d like to share some of my favorite memories of his work.
The first show that I remember his voice from was Power Rangers
. He was the voice of Rito Revolto, Rita Repulsa’s brother. His character appeared at the beginning of the third season, bringing belated wedding gifts to Rita and "Ed" (as he constantly referred to Lord Zedd). His character was prominent throughout the season and in the finale of the season, he and Goldar snuck into the Command Center to plant the bomb which destroyed it, paving the way for the new Power Chamber in the Zeo season.
Over the years of the series he voiced several of the different Monsters-of-the-Day until Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, where he once again stepped into the spotlight as Deviot. In this role, the character lived up to his name as a devious, conniving backstabber who looked out for his own interests above others. He was obsessed with gaining power over the villains and to that end, entering the cocoon that Scorpius had created for his daughter, Trakeena. In the end, Deviot and Trakeena merged into an insane being that looked like Trakeena, but had elements of Deviot in her, as well. Mr. Papenbrook did an excellent job with Deviot’s voice.
In 2002, he voiced Zhang Fei in Kessen II. The next year, he voiced the same character for Dynasty Warriors 4 and it’s add-on games, Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends and DW4: Empires. In 2005, he reprised the role in Dynasty Warriors 5 and its same spin-offs. He also voiced Goemon Ishikawa in 2004’s Samurai Warriors and Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends. I tried to locate a picture of Zhang Fei at the Chang Ban Bridge from DW5, but it seems to be hard to locate. I must say, it’s just amazing, and his voice definitely adds to the character’s stand.
"No one gets by here! Absolutely no one! Come on! This bridge belongs to me and the toll for passage is death!"
Also in 2005, he leant his voice to the character Parsec in the game Radiata Stories. Again letting his comedic talents show, Parsec was a character who appeared a couple of times during Jack’s quest, always with a lit match in his teeth. When Jack demands that Parsec pay him for helping him, Parsec gives him a stack of bills… with Parsec’s own face on them! Sadly, Parsec’s fate doesn’t see him to the end of the game.
The last role I want to bring up is a more sinister one, the voice of Copperfield in Ties that Bind, the second Suffering game. Here, he played the role of a ghostly slave hunter whose dogs were reborn as the Maulers that you fight periodically in the game. Throughout the game, he appears, making choice comments about the past and your plight. In the end, you have a possibility of fighting him, depending on your actions during the game.
I hope that you enjoyed this retrospective on a great voice actor. His son, Bryce, has followed in his footsteps, as well. While not as prolific as his father yet, he has been in a handful of shows, and had the starring role in Radiata Stories as Jack Russell. Well, this is about all from my side of the computer. I apologize for the drought of new articles coming out, I’ve just hit a little bit of a slump, but I have some things planned for the coming weeks. So, take care of yourself! Until next time, this is Red Hawk signing out!
from the first season of the series (in Japan, she was known as Bandora), passed away May 7th, 2006.
