Role: Voice of Riot (The Stingers)

Appearing: Saturday, Sept 12, 2026

Biography

As a busy Hollywood voice actor, Townsend Coleman is perhaps one of the most recognizable voices on TV. For 16 years, he was the voice of NBC's "Must See TV" and "Comedy Night Done Right" primetime comedy promos, including hits from Seinfeld and Frasier to 30 Rock and The Office, as well as the promos for "The Tonight Show" starring Jay Leno (then Conan), "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (then Jimmy Fallon), "Last Call with Carson Daly," and "Saturday Night Live." He currently voices the daily on-air promos for the long-running "Live with Kelly and Mark" and radio spots for "Judge Judy," in addition to regularly voicing primetime promos for ABC Family, The Hub, and ABC-TV.

The character behind the voice really came to life in 1985, when Coleman, having just moved to Los Angeles from Cleveland, Ohio, auditioned for and got a part on the animated hit "Inspector Gadget." As the voice of Corporal Capeman, Gadget's bumbling assistant, he embarked on an entirely new career, providing the voices for some of the most memorable characters in cartoons and commercials.

In addition to voicing the egotistical lead singer Riot on "Jem and the Holograms," Coleman brought life to The Tick in Fox Kids' hit animated series. He provided the voices for many popular cartoon characters, including Michaelangelo, Rat King, and Usagi Yojimbo on the original, long-running "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series. He also voiced Waldo on "Where's Waldo?", Gobo, Architect, and Wrench on NBC's animated "Fraggle Rock," Scott/Teen Wolf on "Teen Wolf," Scratch on "Spacecats," Wayne Gretzky on "ProStars," Dragonflyer on "Glofriends," Rewind on the 80s "Transformers," and 20 years later, Sentinel Prime on "Transformers: Animated" for Cartoon Network.

Coleman has also been the voice behind numerous national TV ad campaigns for clients such as Home Depot, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Mattel Hot Wheels, Sunny Delight, Colgate, Jenny Craig, Blockbuster Video, Greyhound, AT&T, Eggo Waffles, Taco Bell, and the voice of "Spot," the precocious red 7-Up dot—even a few "Keebler elves" and "Raid bugs."

Born in New York City in 1954, Coleman spent his childhood in Denver, Colorado and Cleveland, Ohio. After studying architecture and theater at the University of Colorado in Boulder, he returned home to Ohio to pursue a radio career. Ten years as a disc jockey at various Cleveland radio stations led to numerous commercial and voiceover jobs. He appeared as host of the nationally syndicated TV series "The Dance Show" prior to moving his family to LA in 1984 to take advantage of career opportunities on the west coast.

Schedule

Townsend Coleman will be appearing at the following JemCon 2026 events:

• Saturday, Sept 12, 2026

Schedule subject to change. Check your program guide for final times.

Photo Ops & Autographs

• Photo Ops: Details TO BE DETERMINED

• Autograph Sessions: Details TO BE DETERMINED

• Meet & Greet: Details TO BE DETERMINED