Squire Fridell

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Squire Franklin Fridell (born April 9, 1943 in Oakland , California ) is an American actor and dubbing actor , who gained notoriety primarily through his engagements as a commercial actor in over 3,400 commercials. He also took part in more than twice as many television and radio commercials in the voice-over sector. He is known, among other things, for his portrayal of the official Ronald McDonald from 1984 to 1991 or for his portrayal of Toyotaman in countless US advertisements for the Toyota Motor Corporation from 1978 to 2007.

He is also known as a book author, he published the book Acting in Television Commercials for Fun and Profit through Harmony Books in 1980 , and owner of the GlenLyon Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma Valley .

life and career

Squire Fridell was born on April 9, 1943 in the city of Oakland, California. At an advanced age he attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton , California, where he belonged to the Phi Sigma Kappa brotherhood and from which he has a bachelor's degree. His further education brought him to Occidental College in Eagle Rock , Los Angeles, from which he graduated with a master's degree in acting and directing. From 1966 to 1975 he was director and director of the theater company at El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera , and from 1975 to 1977 film and acting teacher at Rio Hondo College in nearby Whittier , California. He then worked from 1976 to 1977 at Cerritos College and Long Beach City College and in 1980 found a brief engagement as an acting teacher at all three of these colleges. That year he also published Acting in Television Commercials for Fun and Profit through Harmony Books . From the 1960s to the mid-1970s he appeared as a stage actor in various plays in the South Coast Repertory . In parallel to his work as a teacher and college professor, he was mainly active as a commercial actor for US television from 1970 and over the years has developed into one of the most famous faces on commercial television in the United States. In addition, he was also used as an actor in film and television from this time until the mid-1990s, where he achieved not insignificant roles, including leading roles.

In 1970 he had guest or short appearances in one episode of The Bold Ones: The New Doctors , Der Chef or Adam-12 , in which he was seen in two more episodes in different roles until 1972. In 1972 he got his first not insignificant film role in Paul Wendkos ' television film The Strangers in 7A with Andy Griffith , Ida Lupino and Michael Brandon , followed by another film appearance in Don McDougall's The $ 250,000 Doll . After rather minor roles in an episode of the NBC series Police Story (1973) and in the thriller The Missing Are Deadly , another film directed by Don McDougall, he came in 1977 to one of the leading roles as Frank Ryan in the short-lived Universal Television series Rosetti and Ryan , in which he starred as Joe Rosetti alongside Tony Roberts . From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, Fridell made a number of guest appearances in television series, but also made appearances in feature films. During this time he was used in an episode each of Petticoat (1978), Vegas (1979), The Ropers (1979), and M * A * S * H and also made an appearance in the supporting role of Phil Sawyer in Human Feelings written by Henry Bloomstein and directed by Ernest Pintoff , where he starred alongside Nancy Walker and Billy Crystal .

In the published 1982 sex comedy Pink Motel by director Mike MacFarland he played the character George before he followed in guest roles in each one episode from 1984 Mama's Family and Newhart was seen, and in the comedy Heart trump is directed by Terry Hughes starred . Towards the end of the 1980s, his acting appearances in films and television series became increasingly less. Under Jim Kouf he got the role as Yates in the comedy Miracles - A Very Unbelievable Adventure in 1986 , before he was seen in 1988 in Stewart Raffill's Mick, my friend from the other planet, in his then star role as Ronald McDonald . In 1990, Squire Fridell , who appeared in over 3,400 commercials and was active in more than twice as many radio and television commercials in the voice-over sector, appeared again in a film production as Ronald McDonald. In the short film The Adventures of Ronald McDonald: McTreasure Island he lent his voice to the red-haired clown in a yellow suit. After appearing as Byron Walsh in one of the final episodes of the NBC series The Night Hawk in 1991, he only had appearances in the television movie Bay City Story (1992), in John Carpenter's The Village of the Damned (1995) and released in 1996 Video game Top Gun: Fire at Will , in which he spoke the Air Boss .

Fridell, best known as The Toyotaman and Ronald McDonald, was named the "uncrowned king of commercials" by the news magazine Newsweek after appearing in 110 different 30- and 60-second commercials in 1981. While he was Toyota's face in countless commercials for almost three decades from 1978 to 2007 , he reappeared in his role as Toyotaman in 2010, after the company had suffered image damage a year earlier due to the poorly failed safety tests to work on improving the Japanese company's image in the United States. As the official Ronald McDonald of the McDonald's Corporation , he was also seen in countless advertising campaigns from 1984 to 1991. He took over the role of the advertising character from the actor and comedian King Moody (1929-2001), who held it from 1975. Subsequently, he gave up his role from 1990, although he could still be seen as Ronald McDonald until 1991, to the somewhat younger Jack Deopke .

During his active time as an actor in film, television and advertising, he was considered one of the last contract players at Universal Studios , who, in contrast to the large number of actors, did not receive unemployment benefits during his career, but was always under contract. In addition to the aforementioned book, which was published for the first time in 1980 and is now in its fourth edition, Squire Fridell also wrote the script for four plays, which were also staged, as well as the script for a film, which was not made subsequently . Relatively little is known about his voices in German-language dubbed versions; The German synchronous file names with Till Hagen ( Midnight Caller ), Randolf Kronberg ( Vegas ) and Reinhard Brock ( Village of the Damned ) three German voice Fridells.

Since 1986 he has lived with his wife Suzy, a former professional dancer and later dance trainer, in Glen Ellen in the Californian wine-growing region Sonoma Valley , where he and his wife have been running the GlenLyon Vineyards and Winery since 1989 . In 1977 Squire Fridell married Suzanne "Suzy" McDermaid, who was already a professional dancer. While he was living in Los Angeles at the time, but his wife owned a loft in Manhattan , the two of them commuted between the two metropolises for years before Suzy Fridell gave up her loft in the early 1980s and moved with her husband to Sunset Beach near Huntington Beach . After a few years they moved to the aforementioned winery. Together they have a daughter, who was born in Los Angeles in 1982 and named Alexandra "Lexy" McDermaid Fridell. As a child, she was seen at her father's side in the 1980s, before she started a career as an actress herself.

Filmography

Film appearances (also short appearances)
Series appearances (also guest and short appearances)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Squire Fridell's portrait on the official website of the GlenLyon Winery ( memento of the original from March 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed on March 16, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / glenlyonwinery.com
personal data
SURNAME Fridell, Squire
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fridell, Squire Franklin (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor, voice actor, and writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Oakland , California , United States