Mike Henry (television writer/producer)
Encyclopedia
Mike Henry is an American
voice actor
, writer
, producer
, singer
and comedian
. He is best known for his work on Family Guy
, where he is a writer, producer and voice actor. He provides the voices for many characters including Cleveland Brown
, Herbert
, Bruce, Greased Up Deaf Guy, and Consuela]. Starting with the show's fifth season, Henry had received billing as a main cast member. Having earned the nickname “The Man of a Thousand Characters and One Voice”, Henry is regarded as one of the most influential people in the voice-acting industry. In 2009, Henry, Seth MacFarlane
and Richard Appel
created a spin-off of Family Guy called The Cleveland Show
to focus on Cleveland and his new family.
, Virginia
. Henry's parents divorced when he was eight years old and he was primarily raised by his mother. He attended Collegiate School (Richmond, Virginia)
where he liked to imitate pitcher Walter Johnson during varsity baseball game warm-ups. He later attended Washington and Lee University
. While his brother Patrick was attending the Rhode Island School of Design
, Henry acted in Patrick's short films and met Seth MacFarlane
.
; he agreed and came on as both a writer and voice actor. During the show's first four seasons, he was credited as a guest star, but beginning with season five
's "Prick Up Your Ears
" he has been credited as a main cast member. Henry has stated that Cleveland's voice was based on a person who used to play basketball
with him. His friend went to the University of Maryland
, but his accent made it sound like "Merlin".
After two episodes of the second season, Family Guy was taken off the network's permanent schedule and shown irregularly thereafter. The show returned in March 2000 to finish airing the second season which contained 21 episodes, all the cast came back for the series return. The third season contained 21 episodes and began airing from July 11, 2001 to February 14, 2002. During its second and third-season runs, Fox publicly announced that the show had been cancelled at the end of the second season in 2002. In spite of the announced cancellation, in 2003 Fox decided to make the third season. During the third season, Fox announced that the show was canceled for good. Soon after Family Guy was cancelled, Henry and brother Patrick created Kicked in the Nuts
, a spoof of hidden camera shows. Family Guy was renewed in 2005 for its fourth season due to strong DVD sales and its syndication on basic-cable networks. Once again Henry and the rest of the cast came back for their voice works.
premiered on Fox. The project was created by MacFarlane, Henry and American Dad!
show runner Rich Appel. Cleveland references this at the end of the episode "Baby Not on Board
". The series had its premiere on September 27, 2009. Due to the cancellation of Mike Judge's King of the Hill
, the American adaptation of Sit Down, Shut Up being moved to Saturday nights, and the renewal of American Dad!
, for some time The Simpsons
was the only cartoon on Fox's "Animation Domination" line-up that was not created by Seth MacFarlane
until Loren Bouchard
's Bob's Burgers
entered the lineup in January 2011. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes, was picked up by Fox
for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered. Due to strong ratings FOX picked up the back 9 episodes of season 2 which would make a 22 episode season and bring the total episode count of the show to 44.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
voice actor
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. He is best known for his work on Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, where he is a writer, producer and voice actor. He provides the voices for many characters including Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,...
, Herbert
Herbert (Family Guy)
Herbert is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by writer and voice actor Mike Henry, who created and designed the character...
, Bruce, Greased Up Deaf Guy, and Consuela]. Starting with the show's fifth season, Henry had received billing as a main cast member. Having earned the nickname “The Man of a Thousand Characters and One Voice”, Henry is regarded as one of the most influential people in the voice-acting industry. In 2009, Henry, Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
and Richard Appel
Richard Appel
Richard "Rich" Appel is an American writer, producer and former attorney. Growing up in Wilmette, Illinois, Appel developed a love of comedy and dreamt of a career as a comedy writer; he attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. Following in his mother's footsteps Appel...
created a spin-off of Family Guy called The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
to focus on Cleveland and his new family.
Early life and education
Mike Henry and his younger brother Patrick were born to artist parents and raised in RichmondRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Henry's parents divorced when he was eight years old and he was primarily raised by his mother. He attended Collegiate School (Richmond, Virginia)
Collegiate School (Richmond, Virginia)
Collegiate School is a preparatory school for boys and girls located in Richmond, Virginia. The student body of Collegiate comprises about 1,500 total students from Kindergarten through 12th Grade...
where he liked to imitate pitcher Walter Johnson during varsity baseball game warm-ups. He later attended Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
. While his brother Patrick was attending the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
, Henry acted in Patrick's short films and met Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
.
Family Guy
Henry met MacFarlane at the Rhode Island School of Design and kept in touch with him after they graduated. A few years later, MacFarlane contacted him about being part of a show called Family GuyFamily Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
; he agreed and came on as both a writer and voice actor. During the show's first four seasons, he was credited as a guest star, but beginning with season five
Family Guy (season 5)
Family Guy fifth season first aired on the Fox network in eighteen episodes from September 10, 2006 to May 20, 2007 before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It premiered with the episode "Stewie Loves Lois" and finished with "Meet the Quagmires"...
's "Prick Up Your Ears
Prick Up Your Ears (Family Guy)
"Prick Up Your Ears" is the sixth episode of season five of Family Guy. The episode was originally broadcast on November 19, 2006. In this episode Lois discovers that Chris’ school has removed the sex education program and decides to bring the class back by becoming the teacher. Unfortunately,...
" he has been credited as a main cast member. Henry has stated that Cleveland's voice was based on a person who used to play basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
with him. His friend went to the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
, but his accent made it sound like "Merlin".
After two episodes of the second season, Family Guy was taken off the network's permanent schedule and shown irregularly thereafter. The show returned in March 2000 to finish airing the second season which contained 21 episodes, all the cast came back for the series return. The third season contained 21 episodes and began airing from July 11, 2001 to February 14, 2002. During its second and third-season runs, Fox publicly announced that the show had been cancelled at the end of the second season in 2002. In spite of the announced cancellation, in 2003 Fox decided to make the third season. During the third season, Fox announced that the show was canceled for good. Soon after Family Guy was cancelled, Henry and brother Patrick created Kicked in the Nuts
Kicked in the Nuts
Kicked in the Nuts is a spoof of hidden camera shows, created in August 2003 for the Channel 101 short film festival. It was written, directed, produced, and edited by Mike Henry and Patrick Henry.-Premise:...
, a spoof of hidden camera shows. Family Guy was renewed in 2005 for its fourth season due to strong DVD sales and its syndication on basic-cable networks. Once again Henry and the rest of the cast came back for their voice works.
The Cleveland Show
In 2009, a spin-off series titled The Cleveland ShowThe Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
premiered on Fox. The project was created by MacFarlane, Henry and American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
show runner Rich Appel. Cleveland references this at the end of the episode "Baby Not on Board
Baby Not on Board
"Baby Not on Board" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of the animated television series Family Guy. It premiered on Fox in the United States on November 2, 2008. The episode features Stewie after he is accidentally left at home when the Griffins head for the Grand Canyon. The family soon...
". The series had its premiere on September 27, 2009. Due to the cancellation of Mike Judge's King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
, the American adaptation of Sit Down, Shut Up being moved to Saturday nights, and the renewal of American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, for some time The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
was the only cartoon on Fox's "Animation Domination" line-up that was not created by Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
until Loren Bouchard
Loren Bouchard
Loren Hal Bouchard is a writer, director, producer, composer, and voice actor for several animated TV shows and a co-creator of Home Movies . He is also the creator of Bob's Burgers-Biography:...
's Bob's Burgers
Bob's Burgers
Bob's Burgers is an American animated television sitcom, which premiered on January 9, 2011 on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series was created by Loren Bouchard and focuses on the Belcher family, who runs a hamburger restaurant. On April 7, 2011, Bob's Burgers was renewed for a second season...
entered the lineup in January 2011. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes, was picked up by Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009 before the first season even premiered. Due to strong ratings FOX picked up the back 9 episodes of season 2 which would make a 22 episode season and bring the total episode count of the show to 44.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–present | Family Guy Family Guy Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian... |
Cleveland Brown Cleveland Brown Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,... , Herbert, various others (voices) |
111 episodes |
| 2003 | Kicked in the Nuts Kicked in the Nuts Kicked in the Nuts is a spoof of hidden camera shows, created in August 2003 for the Channel 101 short film festival. It was written, directed, produced, and edited by Mike Henry and Patrick Henry.-Premise:... |
The prankster | 8 episodes |
| 2003 | Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW... |
Ed | Episode: The Fundamental Things Apply |
| 2005 | Robot Chicken Robot Chicken Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show... |
Various voice roles | Episode: Kiddie Pool Episode: Plastic Buffet Episode: Nutcracker Sweet |
| Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story | Cleveland Brown Cleveland Brown Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,... , Herbert (voices) |
Direct-to-DVD animated film | |
| 2005–present | American Dad! American Dad! American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television... |
Jackson, various others (voices) | 20 episodes |
| 2006 | Family Guy Video Game! | Cleveland Brown Cleveland Brown Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,... (voice) |
VG |
| 2007 | Scrubs Scrubs (TV series) Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes... |
Urologist | Episode: My Point of No Return My Point of No Return "My Point of No Return" is the 22nd and final episode of season six and the 139th episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It aired on May 17, 2007 on NBC. It is part two of the two-part season finale, preceded by "My Rabbit".-Plot:... |
| 2008–present | Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy is an American cartoon web series created by Seth MacFarlane.-Background:The series, which consists of comic cartoon shorts unrelated to each other, is released on YouTube. The series, which aired several episodes a month, was originally sponsored by... |
Voice and Bird (voices) | Episode: Things You Never Hear Episode: Beavers: Assholes of the Forest |
| 2009–present | The Cleveland Show The Cleveland Show The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States... |
Cleveland Brown Cleveland Brown Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,... , Rallo, Additional voices (voices) |
22 Episodes |
| 2011 | American Dad | Cleveland Brown Cleveland Brown Cleveland Orenthal Brown is a character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. He is voiced by Mike Henry. In the first seven seasons of Family Guy, Brown is a frequently recurring character. As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends,... |
Hurricane! Hurricane! "Hurricane!" is the second episode of the seventh season of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on October 2, 2011. The episode plot mainly revolves around the Smith family, who prepare for evacuation in response to an oncoming hurricane. Reluctant to... Episode |