At the age of five, Lee William Tockar told his mother he wanted to grow up to be a cartoon.
Though he did not understand the concept of a cartoon when he made the statement, his uncanny knack of impersonating accents and people won Lee first place in a talent show at the age of 10, for his performances as Kermit the Frog and Bugs Bunny. Now, internationally recognized in the Animation world, Lee has lent his voice to over 100 well-loved animated characters on the big and small screens.
He has performed the title roles in the animated series “George of the Jungle,” “Yam Roll” and “Yakkity Yak;” as well as lead roles in the Gemini award winning series “Dragon Booster,” and such holiday classics as “Rudolph” and “Casper’s Haunted Christmas,” to name a few. For his portrayal of “George of the Jungle,” Lee was presented with the 2008 ELAN (Electronic Animation) Award for “Best Male Voice-over Artist of the Year” from the hands of none other than the creator and Emmy award winning star of “The Family Guy:” Seth McFarlane. A selection of the feature roles also credited to Lee are ‘Ravage’ in “Beast Wars,” ‘Dr. Frogg’ in “League of Super Evil,” ‘Bling Bling Boy’ in “Johnny Test,” ‘Modoc’ in “Ironman,” ‘Bibble’ in “Fairytopia” and “Mermaidia,” ‘Half-Life’ and ‘Flux’ in “The Incredible Hulk” and Terminus in “Fantastic Four.”
An artist in Commercial voice-over, as well as animation, Lee has worked on numerous regional and national advertising campaigns, including the voices of The Vancouver Canucks, LA. Kings, Kokanee Beer. Terasen Gas, Future Shop, Rogers Wireless, David Suzuki Foundation, Toyota and Telus.
While his humble beginnings imitating Kermit and Bugs at the age of 10 led Lee to a formidable Voice-over career, these successes are but the ‘tip of the proverbial iceberg.’ Lee’s passion for the arts and storytelling is a force to be reckoned with. He has overcome a disability to master many facets of the arts, including writing, painting, illustrating and music composition. (Lee was born with Conal Dystrophy Disorder, which rendered him legally blind at birth.) During his teenage years, Lee opened a graphic arts business which enabled him to fly around BC, painting wall murals for restaurants, even before he graduated from Kelowna Secondary School.
Born and raised in Kelowna, BC, Lee Tockar spent his early years perfecting his writing, drawing and performance techniques. By the age of 12, he won his first public speaking award for his district, reading a two thousand word essay on Horror movies. In 1988, he won the BC Playwright competition for his original work, “Confessions,” which was performed at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island, in Vancouver, BC. A year later, in 1989, he was runner up for his second play, “You Obviously Weren’t Listening.” He has also written and performed plays in Vancouver’s Fringe Festivals, including the 2005 production “Another Instant Classic,” as well as for several sketch comedy tours. He is an outstanding and sought after painter, sings and plays several instruments and has even written for many of the cartoons he has performed in, including CBC’s “Yam Roll,” “Rudolf & the Island of Misfit Toys” and “Billy the Cat.”
Lee’s most recent literary accomplishments include the completion of his very first audio CD collection of children’s masterpieces. Infused with humour, imagination and boundless possibilities, the series, consisting of three books, “Billy Brainrain’s Night Time Alphabet,” “Billy Brainrain & the Incredible Everywhere Rope” and “Billy Brainrain & the Government Cover Up Toy Closet” has been read to hundreds of children in countless schools and at a variety of public events. Not only did Lee write these brilliant stories, but in the true spirit of combining a variety of his talents, also crafted all of the illustrations and voiced the audio CDs. The first audio CD of “Billy Brainrain’s Night Time Alphabet” is set to release online and in stores in 2010.
Lee recently finished illustrating the Sci-Fi / Fantasy book, “Escape Clause” which has just been published, and is working on a dark, animated comedy, which he guarantees will find its way to the big screen. As President of Multi Mania Entertainment Inc. and Co-Artistic Producer, Writer and Creator for Holy Molee Entertainment Inc., Lee is also an experienced creative writer and consultant for several companies in marketing and advertising.
Lee’s future goals and dreams include working on “Family Guy,” creating and producing his own kids’ show, and to finally produce and release his own music; a work in progress of the last five years.
Currently residing in Vancouver, BC, Lee is a genuine lover of the arts, an advocate of learning, and a Renaissance man. When not writing, painting, carving, creating music or illustrating, Lee spends his time reading, perfecting his chicken soup recipe and enjoying life with his wife, Polly.
Lee Tockar IMDB
