Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction

Thursday, March 15th, 2012 6:47PM CDT

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LEGENDARY VOICE ACTOR TO RECEIVE FIRST POSTHUMOUS INDUCTION INTO HASBRO’S TRANSFORMERS HALL OF FAME
Chris Latta, the Voice of Starscream, to Be Honored, Along With Prolific TRANSFORMERS Comic Writer Simon Furman and a New Crop of Robots, at Ceremony in Dallas, Texas on April 28

Pawtucket, R.I. (MARCH 9, 2012) - Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is proud to announce the induction of two legendary figures in the evolution of the iconic TRANSFORMERS franchise-comic book writer Simon Furman, and legendary voice actor Chris Latta-into the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame. Furman has written TRANSFORMERS comics on and off for almost 30 years, and has written more TRANSFORMERS comic books than anyone else. Chris Latta voiced ten Transformers characters in the early animated series, including STARSCREAM and WHEELJACK. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1994, however his posthumous award will be accepted by his family at the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame ceremony, April 28, 2012, during BOTCON, the Official TRANSFORMERS Convention, in Dallas, Texas.

Founded in 2010 to honor those influential in creating and building the iconic TRANSFORMERS franchise, as well as actual "ROBOTS IN DISGUISE," the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame has previously honored writer Bob Budiansky, voice of Optimus Prime Peter Cullen, original TRANSFORMERS designers Yoke Hideaki and Kojin Ohno and the Director and Executive Producer of the live-action film trilogy, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.

Simon Furman: Simon Furman is one of the most recognized and respected names in the world of TRANSFORMERS comic books. Furman began his run on TRANSFORMERS comics writing the first UK version of the TRANSFORMERS imprint. Later on, Furman took over the role of writer on the U.S. comic adaptation beginning with issue 56 and ending with issue 80, the final comic to be published in the series. In 1993 with the reintroduction of the TRANSFORMERS brand under the "Generation 2" banner, Furman was once again tapped to pen the 12 issue comic series. Nearly ten years later, Furman returned to the world of mainstream TRANSFORMERS comics as part of the "Dreamwave" writing staff. Simon Furman now writes for IDW comics, where in 2012 and by popular demand, he was asked to continue the story of the original TRANSFORMERS comics right where he had left off beginning with issue 81 of TRANSFORMERS ReGeneration One.

Chris Latta: The first TRANSFORMERS animated television series began to air in 1984, and as part of the original cast, voice actor Chris Latta helped breathe life into these animated robotic characters.
Chris Latta began his voice over career in the late 1970s. In 1983, Latta joined the cast of the G.I. JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO animated series as COBRA COMMANDER, the leader of the evil mega maniacal organization COBRA. Later, on the TRANSFORMERS series, Latta pioneered the role of STARSCREAM, a back handed and conniving character that constantly plotted to usurp his leader MEGATRON for control over the DECEPTICONS. Latta’s portrayal of both STARSCREAM and COBRA COMMANDER have made these characters two of the most iconic and widely recognized in their respective brands. Unfortunately, Chris Latta passed away in 1994; however his family will be on hand at the Hall of Fame event to accept the award on his behalf.

Hasbro will also induct four more iconic robot characters into the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame. Heroic AUTOBOT JAZZ, fan-favorite DINOBOT GRIMLOCK and evil DECEPTICON SHOCKWAVE will all be honored. In addition, TRANSFORMERS fans around the world are able to vote on TRANSFORMERS.com for a fourth robot to receive the 2012 "Fans’ Choice" honor. Fan-chosen nominees include ARCEE, MEGATRON (BEAST WARS), WHEELJACK, RODIMUS and SKY-BYTE. The winner will be revealed for the first time at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony at "BOTCON" on April 28, 2012. Voting is open from now until March 21st on TRANSFORMERS.COM

First introduced in 1984 by Hasbro and Takara as a toy line, the TRANSFORMERS brand
has provided kids with hours of MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE fun with their action figures that convert from robot to vehicles and back again. Legions of boys around the world grew up creating fantastic adventures and battles set on both the planet CYBERTRON and Earth that featured the "good-guy" AUTOBOTS and the "bad-guy" DECEPTICONS. Since then, more than 7500 robots have been introduced in countless animated TV series, comic books and three live-action feature films. For further information visit the official TRANSFORMERS Facebook page at Facebook.com/Transformers.

# # #

About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY. The Hub, Hasbro’s multi-platform joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10, 2010. The online home of The Hub is http://www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com. © 2012 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Credit(s): Hasbro

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Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358781)
Posted by Seibertron on March 15th, 2012 @ 6:50pm CDT

Here's a fun little video of Chris Latta doing stand up comedy which I found through Google ...

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358798)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on March 15th, 2012 @ 8:14pm CDT

That was actually pretty funny. Sounded like he brought out a bit of Starscream at the beginning. The only other performance on screen that I have seen was the bit part in Road House. I did get to meet his daughter last year, she was a voice actor on a panel, and she's very nice in person.

As for Simon Furman, in my opinion he's THE most recognizable and (perhaps) respected Transformers comic book writer.
On a related note, happy birthday to Bob Budiansky! Also a well-known and much-respected TF writer.

I went last year, got to meet Bay and Tyrese. I almost wish I was going this year just because of this. But overpriced tickets, hotel rooms and the not so appealing boxed set kept me away this year.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358800)
Posted by MINDVVIPE on March 15th, 2012 @ 8:22pm CDT

Hahaha, cult :twisted:

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358825)
Posted by RiddlerJ on March 15th, 2012 @ 9:46pm CDT

Rodimus Prime wrote:That was actually pretty funny. Sounded like he brought out a bit of Starscream at the beginning. The only other performance on screen that I have seen was the bit part in Road House. I did get to meet his daughter last year, she was a voice actor on a panel, and she's very nice in person.

Wasn't he the guy that tried to mug Kramer on the subway in that Seinfeld episode? He was credited as Christopher Collins but I think that was just a pseudonym.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358836)
Posted by Heavy B on March 15th, 2012 @ 10:04pm CDT

"I'm not a comidian, I'm a psycotic who learned to market his skills."

thats awesome

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358839)
Posted by Darth Bombshell on March 15th, 2012 @ 10:07pm CDT

RiddlerJ wrote:Wasn't he the guy that tried to mug Kramer on the subway in that Seinfeld episode? He was credited as Christopher Collins but I think that was just a pseudonym.

Christopher Collins is his real name. Chris Latta is his stage name.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358843)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on March 15th, 2012 @ 10:14pm CDT

Darth Bombshell wrote:
RiddlerJ wrote:Wasn't he the guy that tried to mug Kramer on the subway in that Seinfeld episode? He was credited as Christopher Collins but I think that was just a pseudonym.

Christopher Collins is his real name. Chris Latta is his stage name.

Correct. I think he only used it for voice work, though. For acting and stand-up, he used his real name. And I have never seen 1 single episode of Seinfeld.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358883)
Posted by Banjo-Tron on March 16th, 2012 @ 3:51am CDT

2 good choices

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358898)
Posted by AutobotMR2 on March 16th, 2012 @ 6:20am CDT

Two great choices this year. I honestl;y couldn't think of two people...right now mind you...who deserve this honor more than Starscream/ Cobra Commander himself ( R.I.P. Chris) and in my opinion the best thing to happen to Transformer comics ever. So glad they didn't pick Shia Lebouf or however in God's name you spell it....

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358911)
Posted by Shadowman on March 16th, 2012 @ 7:48am CDT

Seibertron wrote:Here's a fun little video of Chris Latta doing stand up comedy which I found through Google ...

Well that was a genuinely amazing way to start my day.

Also, the article forgot one thing; Furman also wrote Nemesis Part 2, the series finale to Beast Wars.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358928)
Posted by Seibertron on March 16th, 2012 @ 9:11am CDT

Darth Bombshell wrote:
RiddlerJ wrote:Wasn't he the guy that tried to mug Kramer on the subway in that Seinfeld episode? He was credited as Christopher Collins but I think that was just a pseudonym.

Christopher Collins is his real name. Chris Latta is his stage name.

That's incorrect. He was born Latta, adopted as Collins, and used Latta because there was another actor in the guild named Chris Collins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Latta

Wikipedia wrote:Collins was born Christopher Lawrence Latta in Orange, New Jersey, and grew up in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan, New York City. His legal name became Christopher Charles Collins when his stepfather adopted him. Collins' biological father, Robert Latta, was a New York stage actor. His mother, Jane Morin, worked as an advertising executive. In his stand-up routine, he claimed to have grown up in Harlem and said his ultra-liberal parents had moved the family there "so he could meet some Negroes." (Morningside Heights is sometimes called "West Harlem.")

After a year at New York University, he studied acting, dance, voice and mime. In the mid-1970s, he acted on the New York and Boston stage and did voice-over work for Boston radio station WBCN. He made his animation voice acting debut as one of the English dubbers of the 1979 anime series Space Battleship Yamato (also called Star Blazers). He was most recognizable in that series as the voice of space marine Sgt. Knox during the Comet Empire installment.

Voice work

One of Collins' earlier voice works was in Star Blazers second series broadcast in the United States The Comet Empire. His most notable role in the series was that of space marine Sergent Webb Knox (Saito in the Japanese version).

In 1983, Collins started voicing Cobra Commander for a five-part G.I. Joe animated miniseries. In 1984, he reprised the role for a second five-part animated mini-series, which became a regular series in 1985. Also in 1984, Collins voiced a new character, Starscream, for a three-part Transformers animated miniseries. By 1985, he was voicing other G.I. Joe and Transformers characters in toy commercials, carrying on in those roles when the two television series made their debut. When he began doing regular voice work, he adopted the stage name Chris Latta because another Screen Actors Guild actor was performing as "Chris Collins".

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358950)
Posted by RhA on March 16th, 2012 @ 10:56am CDT

Chris Latta IS Starscream. To this day, every voice is compared to his portayal of Screamer. Easily as recognisable as Cullen and Welker.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358954)
Posted by Bouncy X on March 16th, 2012 @ 11:20am CDT

Latta was WheelJack? damn, i had no clue.

since Starscream and Cobra Commander sounded practically identical, i just figured he was one of those voice actors who are limited. kinda like many of the Hanna Barbera actors, its hilarious watching their shows today and seeing how often the same voices pop up in multiple series. and they dont even bother trying to change em. so i always thought Starscream was the only voice he did on Transformers. lol

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358956)
Posted by AutobotMR2 on March 16th, 2012 @ 11:38am CDT

Bouncy X wrote:Latta was WheelJack? damn, i had no clue.

since Starscream and Cobra Commander sounded practically identical, i just figured he was one of those voice actors who are limited. kinda like many of the Hanna Barbera actors, its hilarious watching their shows today and seeing how often the same voices pop up in multiple series. and they dont even bother trying to change em. so i always thought Starscream was the only voice he did on Transformers. lol

It is pretty funny when you go back and look at the cast and who all they voiced. Some of the VA's had up to 6 characters they voiced at a time...it's really funny knowing Cullen voiced both Prime and Ironhide because he was talking to himself alot, same with Welker voicing Megatron and Soundwave.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358957)
Posted by Bouncy X on March 16th, 2012 @ 11:44am CDT

AutobotMR2 wrote:
Bouncy X wrote:Latta was WheelJack? damn, i had no clue.

since Starscream and Cobra Commander sounded practically identical, i just figured he was one of those voice actors who are limited. kinda like many of the Hanna Barbera actors, its hilarious watching their shows today and seeing how often the same voices pop up in multiple series. and they dont even bother trying to change em. so i always thought Starscream was the only voice he did on Transformers. lol

It is pretty funny when you go back and look at the cast and who all they voiced. Some of the VA's had up to 6 characters they voiced at a time...it's really funny knowing Cullen voiced both Prime and Ironhide because he was talking to himself alot, same with Welker voicing Megatron and Soundwave.

its crazy with Welker.... of the original season 1 lineup of Decepticons, i think there were only 2 he DIDN'T voice. so i can imagine those recording sessions...Latta and Welker all alone in a booth doing a scene between 8 characters.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358967)
Posted by craggy on March 16th, 2012 @ 12:28pm CDT

I've never even heard of TRANHSFORMERS, let alone read any of the comics that Simon Furman might have wrote for them.

Nicely done, Hasbro Copy Writer!

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358975)
Posted by Seibertron on March 16th, 2012 @ 12:50pm CDT

craggy wrote:I've never even heard of TRANHSFORMERS, let alone read any of the comics that Simon Furman might have wrote for them.

Nicely done, Hasbro Copy Writer!

I corrected on the error for them. Thanks.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358976)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on March 16th, 2012 @ 12:51pm CDT

Seibertron wrote:
Darth Bombshell wrote:
RiddlerJ wrote:Wasn't he the guy that tried to mug Kramer on the subway in that Seinfeld episode? He was credited as Christopher Collins but I think that was just a pseudonym.

Christopher Collins is his real name. Chris Latta is his stage name.

That's incorrect. He was born Latta, adopted as Collins, and used Latta because there was another actor in the guild named Chris Collins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Latta

So then Collins was his real name. He might have been born Latta, but it was legally changed to Collins. Latta became his stage name.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358989)
Posted by craggy on March 16th, 2012 @ 2:04pm CDT

have to say, it's a surprise these two weren't already in.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1358991)
Posted by RiddlerJ on March 16th, 2012 @ 2:21pm CDT

Bouncy X wrote:Latta was WheelJack? damn, i had no clue.

since Starscream and Cobra Commander sounded practically identical, i just figured he was one of those voice actors who are limited. kinda like many of the Hanna Barbera actors, its hilarious watching their shows today and seeing how often the same voices pop up in multiple series. and they dont even bother trying to change em. so i always thought Starscream was the only voice he did on Transformers. lol

He was Starscream, Sparkplug, Wheeljack, Reflector, Cobra Commander, Ripper, Gung-Ho, I'm sure I missing a few.

Re: Hasbro's press release regarding Chris Latta and Simon Furman's Hall of Fame induction (1359164)
Posted by Michael Alex Kawa on March 17th, 2012 @ 1:50am CDT

AWESOME