As promised, a postscript about that audio tour of The Breakers, where I’m the Voice of the Vanderbilt Summer Home in Newport.
It was treat enough to be chosen as having just the sound the clients were “listening” for in the initial recorded audition. But it was an even bigger compliment on the job itself, hearing the group and their engineer going through the sections I’d auditioned with, saying “Oh, we don’t need to do those over, they’re already perfect.”
Adding “icing” to the voiceover cake, however, was a pickup session a few weeks later for some last-minute script changes. It was mercifully quick , since my air conditioning was out that day. But after everything was recorded and checked, both engineer and client commented they’d expected it to take longer, since they were accustomed to voice talent not being able to match themselves in previous recordings.
I was taken off guard by that one. I just thought everybody could match themselves, barring technical problems or illness.
Not so, I was assured. So I gratefully accepted the compliment and the enlightenment! Knowing we had time, I told them it reminded me of that great Marx Bros routine from Animal Crackers, where Groucho (Capt. Spaulding) approaches musician Chico (Emanuel Ravelli).
Groucho: Say, I used to know a fellow, looked exactly like you, by the name of…ah…Emanuel Ravelli. Are you his brother?
Chico: I’m Emanuel Ravelli.
Groucho: You’re Emanuel Ravelli?
Chico: I’m Emanuel Ravelli.
Groucho: Well, no wonder you look like him…But I still insist, there is a resemblance.
Chico: Ha, ha, ha, ha…hey, he thinks I look alike.
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Of course, I rattled it off in my semi-reasonable-facsimile Groucho voice and my fairly-spot-on Chico, then offered an alternate punchline to match our own completed session: “Hey, they think I sound alike!”
Maybe, if they ever do an audio tour of Margaret Dumont/Mrs. Rittenhouse’s mansion, I’ll get that job too!
— over and out —
