Bud Collyer. Is anyone else even in the running? Most Clark/Superman actors don't even change their voice from one character to the other. (Although it's too early for Hoechlin to even be in this poll, since we haven't heard his performance yet.) And even aside from being the best at changing his voice, he gave a really effective performance in both roles. Other Superman voice actors not listed in the poll include: Michael Fitzmaurice (Collyer's replacement for the final year of the radio series) Danny Dark (Super Friends) Beau Weaver (1988 Ruby-Spears series) Christopher McDonald (Batman Beyond) Yuri Lowenthal (Legion of Super Heroes) Nolan North (Young Justice) And from the DC Universe Animated Original Movies: Adam Baldwin Kyle Maclachlan Mark Harmon James Denton Mark Valley Matt Bomer Sam Daly Alan Tudyk Jerry O'Connell And assorted others in LEGO and other kids' DVDs, including David Kaye, Travis Willingham, and Peter Jessop. Of all these, the one that stands out most in my memory is Kyle Maclachlan from Justice League: The New Frontier. He did a terrific job playing a '50s-style Superman -- not in the sense of the goofy '50s comics, but in the sense of having the voice of a square-jawed '50s movie hero.
I have a hard time picking between Newbern and Tim Daly, but if I had to pick one I'll give a very slight edge to George Newbern
I'd have to say (and did in the poll): Bud Collyer from Filmation's "The New Adventures of Superman" (circa 1966 - 1970)
And from the Adventures of Superman radio series from 1940-1950, and in the first several animated shorts starting in 1941. He, Joan Alexander (Lois Lane), and Jackson Beck (the narrator) all reprised their radio roles for Filmation.
Is it just me or has there been a running theme with these threads.... Wait, what was the best Superman theme?
So people seem to like the version they are most familiar with from an earlier time in their life. I have absolutely no experience with the radio show, and grew up with Super Friends, which was rather cliched and cheesy. The most constant and consistant exposure I have had to a Superman voice actor has been Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League, which are so close that when I was a teenager I didn't even know they were different. We don't know what Wellings mature and authoritive Superman voice would have been, and Reeves only had 4 movies. So, I absolutely am going with the Daly/Newburn combo, although I recognize and accept that Dark is distinct in his own way, but I appreciate a more nuanced Superman.
Not at all. The Superman actors I was most aware of growing up were George Reeves, Danny Dark (though not by name), and Christopher Reeve. I didn't hear Bud Collyer's Superman until much later, and didn't experience the full range of his work in the role until I listened to the surviving radio episodes a few years ago. It has nothing to do with nostalgia; he was just really good in the role. He transformed his voice between Clark and Superman as masterfully as Reeve transformed his body language. Since he was basically playing Superman in all but name in the last 2-3 seasons, I think we know about as much as we could. And he's just not an actor who offers a very interesting vocal performance.
While largely true, it also depends on the quality of the voice/performer. I watched a number of Superman productions long ago, but even when several versions were airing in the same period, it was easy to make class distinctions. That's why where voice was concerned, Bud Collyer takes the top spot; working in radio, he had to create distinct personalities for Kent and Superman, where some performers in animation and live action barely changed their voice to play up the dual identity. His brilliant delivery was the reason Filmation hired him to voice their own version of the character in the 1960s series The New Adventures of Superman, The Superman / Aquaman Hour of Adventure and The Batman / Superman Hour. After Collyer, Reeve is a close second in voice. He made Kent & Superman two personalities--each as important to understanding / supporting the character was the other. The Super Friends' Danny Dark was terrible; when hearing him for the 1st time in 1973, I always thought his Superman sounded like someone dealing with an emergency room-level of constipation. Beau Weaver (Superman - CBS, 1988) tried to take inspiration from Reeve (considering the heavy influence of the Salkinds' era), but he's a take it or leave it voice performer. Daly/Newburn served their role well enough, but often, their versions of Kent were too close to Superman.
Which Superman had the best cape? Which Superman had the best hair? Which Superman was the best Clark Kent? Which Clark Kent was the best Superman? Which Kal-El was the best Superman? Which Superman wore the red trunks best? Which Superman had the nicest teeth? Sorry, I'm bored...
I just can't with Danny Dark, even though his tenure was so long. It was almost too corny, which is odd given that Superman can be the corniest character at times. But to me, other VAs strike a good balance between earnest/approachable, but also serious when needed. Collyer has a certain timelessness to him, where Clark is just a man trying to get the job done. You can't really beat that projection. Newbern was trying to imitate Daly, and rightfully so for the sake of consistency. To Newbern's credit I sometimes forgot that I wasn't listening to Daly. But because of that imitation, sometimes Newbern Superman was a little too monotone and flat just like Daly. I like Daly and his voice is the one I'll continue to imagine in my head when I read comics, but I have trouble picturing him emoting as much as other people on this list. Likewise, Routh was imitating Reeve, again for consistency. Routh may get the short end of the stick, but I really think he did Reeve (rather than Clark/Superman) real justice.
Yeah, I always found Dark's Superman a bit too bombastic. Beau Weaver on the 1988 Ruby-Spears animated series was an okay Superman -- a bit Dark-ish, but not quite so much. He was the one actor other than Collyer who did Clark in a significantly higher register than Superman, but his Clark sounded a bit too much like a deep-voiced man trying to sound high-pitched, not as natural as Collyer's Clark. (Collyer's natural vocal range was closer to his Superman voice than his Clark voice, but he faked Clark's tenor very well.) That's interesting. I could always tell the difference. Daly was interesting because, if anything, his Clark voice was slightly deeper and harder-edged than his Superman voice, in contrast to the usual approach.