Chuck McKibben

Charles “Chuck” McKibben (born February 1947 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American voice actor, broadcast producer/director and voice-over coach. Known today as an audiobook reader (using the proper name of “Charles” for his more serious readings), Chuck McKibben began his career as an announcer on WING (AM) in Dayton, Ohio while still in high school. (His WING career was profiled in The Dayton Daily News, July 29, 1967 issue.) By his mid-20’s, McKibben had advanced from various radio announcing jobs, such as being the afternoon “drive time” host on Cincinnati station WSAI-FM, to becoming the personal recording engineer/producer and studio manager for “The Man of 1,000 Voices,” Mel Blanc. (McKibben's association with Blanc was announced in The Hollywood Reporter, section R5, November 29, 1972 issue.) McKibben’s daily responsibilities at Mel Blanc Audiomedia in Beverly Hills, California included recording Blanc himself (famed “voice” of a vast number of cartoon characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester and Tweety, etc.) for a variety of motion picture, advertising and theme park projects. In addition, McKibben conducted recording sessions for commercials and syndicated radio programs with many iconic performers, such as Academy Award-winning actors Kirk Douglas and Jack Palance, Jack Benny, Vincent Price and Rod Serling, plus major voice artists such as Ernie Anderson, Paul Frees, Casey Kasem and Gary Owens.

Chuck McKibben’s experience in Los Angeles was followed by a 30-year career (1976-2006) in New York City as the writer, producer, director and frequent “voice” of numerous radio and TV commercials. Although he worked primarily as the staff broadcast production director for two advertising agencies, and received numerous industry awards for his creative efforts, he also enjoyed considerable acceptance as a freelance voice artist. In the late 1980’s, for example, McKibben was chosen to launch the “My First Sony” line of children’s electronics as the sole national TV spokesman (see Wiki article "My First Sony"), and through the 90’s, he was a daily “presence” for New York viewers as the senior promo announcer for Time Warner Cable of New York City. McKibben’s longest association as a TV spokesman for any advertiser was his 15-year run with Lexus of Smithtown (Long Island), completed just prior to his leaving New York.

Although he continues to record commercials and narration for clients as far away as Abu Dhabi, since January 2007 (when he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Chuck McKibben has concentrated on the audiobook field, recording extensively for North Carolina-based publisher AudioRealms (www.audiorealms.com). In addition, McKibben teaches voice-over skills to aspiring voice actors, and produces demo recordings for them, in his home studio. His name appears at www.harlanhogan.com in the list of recommended voice-over coaches on the East Coast.