Scooby-Doo! Where Are You? We Found the Man Behind the Voice, Scott Innes, at Cowtown Comic Con
One of the men behind the voice of Scooby-Doo was in the house at Cowtown Comic Con! Scott Innes, whose voiced TV’s most beloved cartoon dog and other characters since 1997, has mastered Scoob talk (you need that “R” in front of just about every word). He was kind enough to sit down with our friend, The Happy Collector (aka Anna Skinner), during a recent appearance at Cowtown, an annual fan convention in Fort Worth, Texas.
In addition to his TV voice work, Innes is also a radio DJ on Classic Hits 103.3 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also publishes a local magazine called Hug, and produces a children’s TV program called Hal & Al. He has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and on FOX and Friends. Innes’ hard work, talent and community outreach have been recognized with numerous awards and accolades over the years. Here he shares more …
How did you get into radio and voice acting?
Here’s what people don’t understand, sometimes you have to take a backdoor in order to get into the front door. How I got into radio to begin with, is this. The station said they weren’t hiring. They said, unless you will clean the station and empty the trash cans, we won’t even consider you. So, I said, “Really. Well, I’m your new janitor.” So that’s how I got in. Then they threw me a bone and said we are going to let you run American Top 40 with Casey Kasem (the original voice of Shaggy Rogers) on Sundays. That’s how I perfected Shaggy’s voice, because I heard Casey’s voice so much. And I still work in radio. I do Classic Hits on 103.3 in Baton Rouge. It’s a top-rated morning show.
Everett Collection
When did you start doing the voice of Scooby-Doo?
I started in 1997. This year (2023) is the 25th Anniversary of Zombie Island, which was my first movie doing Scooby-Doo. You know, the Scooby-Doo franchise began in 1969, and the original voice of Scooby was Don Messick, a great friend of mine.
When you do the characters on a Scooby-Doo cartoon, what is it like doing their voices?
At this point I can turn it on on a dime. I can do it in my sleep. People either fot it or they don’t. There is no in-between in this business. I don’t mean for this to sound arrogant or disrespectful, but when someone asks me how to be a voice actor, I always tell them: “Just record yourself all the time, and put it up on all your social media sites.” Someone in the business might hear your work and like it. It’s a very difficult business to get into. There are like only 50 cartoon voice-over artist doing all the voices. I don’t even really consider myself if that 50. [He laughs.]
Credit: Scott Innes
Do you have a collection?
Originally, I was a big collector of Coca Cola merchandise. And, when I officially became the voice of Scooby-Doo in 1997 in the movie, my wife told me you will have to make a decision, because I was buying Scooby stuff left and right, and she would buy me stuff as well. It’s currently taken over two bedrooms in my house, it’s in the attic, and in storage, it’s everywhere.
What collectible do you have that is the most important to you?
That would be the only original piece I still have from my childhood, which is my Yellow Scooby-Doo lunchbox. I remember my grandmother took me to the Ben Franklin store in like 1972 when it came out, and bought it for me. I’ve since gone back and collected a lot of the other Scooby-Doo pieces that were out then, but my lunchbox is the original one I owned.
Do you own a classic car?
I don’t have a classic car, but I do have a classic Mystery Machine.