David Ogden Stiers' voice work kept him busy after M*A*S*H

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Where do you go after earning two Emmy nominations for co-starring in the most successful sitcom in television history? While that latter superlative could be argued, nobody can argue the fact that more people tuned into the M*A*S*H finale than any other program at that time. So, if you're David Ogden Stiers, how do you follow that up? For Stiers, the future was right there in his past.

Way before he landed in Korea, David Ogden Stiers landed onscreen with a small role in Drive, He Said, making his cinematic debut in the Jack Nicholson-directed independent film. However, it was an offscreen role that same year that would inform Stiers' later career. That same year, Stiers would appear in a movie that would end up being much more important, both personally and historically. Although he's never seen onscreen, 1971 saw Stiers performing in George Lucas' THX 1138. Obviously, the movie was important in the course of film history; Lucas would take what he learned and apply it to later projects like Star Wars. THX 1138 was important in a different way, though, for Stiers, as it was his first-ever voice-over role.

When M*A*S*H wrapped in 1983, David Ogden Stiers began the rest of his life by appearing in a handful of movies; some were released in theaters and others were made for TV. He spent the remainder of the decade performing in various Perry Mason television films. 

A big shift came in 1991. Walt Disney Feature Animation released Beauty and the Beast to critical and commercial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing movies ever and garnering a series of Academy Award nominations. Stiers' earlier voice-over experience paid off, as he was cast as Cogsworth in the animated blockbuster. His role won him praise and led to more voice work; the following year, Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli hired Stiers to voice a role in the English dub of their new film Porco Rosso

His relationship with Disney built throughout the rest of his career. He briefly detoured through Australia to voice a koala in the financially disappointing Napoleon before rejoining the Mouse House for back-to-back voice roles. Stiers caught the tail-end of the Disney Renaissance, voicing Governor Ratcliffe in Pocohantas and Archdeacon in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He would continue to voice his tightly-wound Beauty and the Beast character Cogsworth in further direct-to-video features, while also joining the cast of Disney/ABC's Saturday morning cartoon Teacher's Pet. 

For an entire generation, though, Stiers' most recognizable voice role came in 2002, when he gave life to the character Dr. Jumba Jookiba in Disney's Lilo & Stitch. The film was a box office success, becoming the second highest-grossing animated movie of the year, right behind Fox's Ice Age. In addition to the movie's lucrative merchandising deals, the story would continue to live on through several direct-to-video features and an animated series, all of which featured Stiers. 

The best part of Stiers' second chapter? The kids who were Stitch fans never asked him about M*A*S*H!

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33 Comments

66Kimble 9 months ago
David also had a major role in the series finale of Touched By An Angel plus a part as the dad in John Cusack’s cult classic Better Off Dead.
lynngdance 9 months ago
I was wondering if Metv would mention this. It seems like every time I watch a Disney movie from the 90s/early 2000s I see his name in the credits! 😄
Plurbus 9 months ago
Don't forget his voicework for Disney's Atlantis: The lost empire (Also with MJF).
JeffPaul76 9 months ago
Well, That's nice to know. I learned a lot that I didn't know before. Thank you MeTV!
CarlGraf 9 months ago
He also played the Mayor of Grady, SC. along side Michael J Fox in “Doc Hollywood”.
JHP 9 months ago
does anyone remember him in the MTM show?
ColleneGandy 9 months ago
A lot of people forget that he was in the mini series North and South He played Sen. Greene.
paxallen1067 9 months ago
He narrated Ric Burns' documentary on New York; his voice provided the right touch ..
57Tbird 9 months ago
David voiced cartoon character Private Investigator Nicky Flippers, a frog in Hoodwinked.
CoreyC 10 months ago
Stiers played a blind murderer on Matlock.
Jaxter14 CoreyC 9 months ago
You’ll see many of the same actors in both Matlock and the Perry Mason tv movies.
Wiseguy70005 CoreyC 9 months ago
One of the few Columbo-style Matlocks where we see the guilty person at the beginning. Another was the premiere episode with Dick Van Dyke which I thought was an odd choice for the premiere since most episodes were "whodunnits" and the premiere is supposed to introduce the series to viewers.
Wiseguy70005 Jaxter14 9 months ago
The same reason you see many actors from Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and Mannix on those three series (same production company).
Jaxter14 Wiseguy70005 9 months ago
Actually the Van Dyke episode was the 2nd in the series. The premiere of Matlock was a two-parter with Ben and his daughter Charlene defending a tv personality charged with murder. The Charlene actress was replaced after the two-part premiere.
Since my username is Doug And Andy Fan I would like to see if anyone knows what sitcom DOUG AND ANDY were on . Doug And Andy were not on this sitcom at the same time because Andy was on this sitcom from 1976 -1978 and
Doug was on this sitcom from 1984-1985 .
Happy Days:Moose played by Barry Greenberg was on Happy Days on
Season one only in 1974 .Yet Moose was seen on Happy Days for the
Entire Season 2 of Happy Days!!
How is this possible??
retired2019 10 months ago
When DOS was on an episode of Frazier, he was fantastic.
Wiseguy70005 retired2019 9 months ago
Frasier. The title is shown on the series.
Zip 10 months ago
Outside of MASH, I mostly remember DOS as the bum on the Thanksgiving episode of ALF, and as the guy destined to die(by mandated suicide) on Star Trek:TNG. That was a sad episode.
Moody Zip 9 months ago
He played a rather lecherous senator in the 80s mini-series "North & South".
kb7rky Zip 9 months ago
"Half A Life". Majel Barrett-Roddenberry played Lwaxana Troi, who fell in love with Dr. Timicin (Stiers).

FUN FACT: One of the files Timicin was reviewing had the number "4077" on it...a tip-of-the-hat to his works on "M*A*S*H"
kb7rky kb7rky 9 months ago
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0708724/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv
JeffPaul76 kb7rky 9 months ago
Why do you look like Jim Nabors as "Gomer Pyle" in your avatar?
dougandandyfan kb7rky 9 months ago
SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE !!
Runeshaper 10 months ago
WOW! Stiers played several AWESOME animated characters! Pretty impressive.
Bricat2001 10 months ago
never knew he was involved with studio ghibli, i love the soundtracks to the films (my favorites being naüssica of the valley of the wind and spirited away)
Andybandit 10 months ago
Good for him. He had a good voice for animated movie.
CaptainDunsel 10 months ago
Then there's the David Ogden Stiers we *almost* got post- MASH, with 1997's "Justice League of America" pilot on CBS. And yes, that's Stiers at about 50 seconds in, appearing as "The Martian Manhunter".

JeffPaul76 CaptainDunsel 9 months ago
The actor who portrayed The Flash, looks quite fat to me. He needed to lose some weight.
LoveMETV22 10 months ago
Excellent story. What a talented actor David Ogden Stiers was, not only on M*A*S*H but his voice work as well.

" Stiers' most recognizable voice role came in 2002, when he gave life to the character
Dr. Jumba Jookiba in Disney's Lilo & Stitch. The film was a box office success.

Chris Sanders who played "Stitch" shared a video working with Mr. Stiers as they recorded for
" Lilo & Stitch."
Zip LoveMETV22 10 months ago
Good Lord. I just realized how much Stitch sounds like Jar Jar Binks.
LoveMETV22 Zip 10 months ago
Too funny. Someone did a Jar Jar compilation. Loved the humor of the person who made it at the beginning:
" You Know" Etc....
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