Tom Kenny speaks to university, community
The most notable voice in the industry, whose career stretches far and wide, Tom Kenny or more famously known as SpongeBob, left Bikini Bottom to pay a visit to Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK).
Things kicked off Jan. 30 with a workshop he hosted with a few students who got a chance to meet him. Having touched the hearts of countless fans around the world as well as those here at TAMUK, it reminded him of his own childhood.
“People come up to me and talk about how much SpongeBob meant to them, and I have stuff like that in my life so to be that for them in their lives is very cool,” Kenny said.
“For me it was the classics all the Looney Tunes, like Bugs and Daffy, but my all-time favorite was Popeye the sailor man which was sort of my comfort show the way SpongeBob is for a lot of people,” Kenny added.
In his life, he met so many people and created different kinds of connections which was one thing he did not fail to mention during his guest lectureship and some of those were the ones who had inspired him to get into voice acting.
“One major person was a guy named Mel Blanc and he was all the Looney Tunes and many more, and he was the guy who kind of created my job,” Kenny said.
Kenny also went on to talk about the importance of animation.
“It is age proof; it is probably the least ageist part of show business. Usually show business is obsessed with youth and youngness, and it is usually a tough go to try to make it past a certain age in the business. So as long as you can sound like that character, nobody will question it,” he said.
As an example, Kenny noted the “Simpsons” character Bart Simpson is played by a 65-year-old actress.
With an abundance of students at TAMUK interested in going into the acting business, Kenny offered some advice.
“It is a weird job and the odds of making it I guess if you look at the math of it, but hey if anyone who is interested in acting and any occupation just hang in there you will get knocked down, but you just got to get back up and keep going. That is not just show business, that is life,” Kenny said.
After the workshop, the guest lectureship began in front of a large crowd combined with both students and members of the community. Those in attendance made sure to show their love and appreciation toward Kenny by cheering and clapping for him as they showcased various clips of shows and movies he starred in from “SpongeBob” to “The Powerpuff Girls” to “Mr. Show.”
“I heard that SpongeBob was in town and that was my childhood. I grew up watching him and that was like the first cartoon I ever watched,” TAMUK senior Ivan Cadavona said.
Students in attendance truly felt like they were kids again hearing the true voice of their generation.
“Growing up with Tom Kenny as SpongeBob and even in Adventure Time it was just a comfort kind of show,” Mikayla Luera said, who was one of the lucky students to meet Tom Kenny in person at the workshop. “It was so crazy; it cured a lot of my childhood and I loved it.”