Franklin Wendell Welker was born on 12 March 1946, in Denver, Colorado USA, and is an actor, but better known to be the voice actor for Megatron in the “Transformers” franchise. He has also voiced Fred Jones in numerous “Scooby-Doo” animated projects since the show’s creation. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Frank Welker? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $15 million, mostly earned through a successful career in voice acting. He has received an Emmy Award in honor of his numerous achievements in various animated projects. He’s also done theatre work, and all of these efforts have ensured the position of his wealth.
Frank Welker Net Worth $15 million
Welker attended Santa Monica College and graduated with a degree in Theatrical Arts, during which time he got recognition for his performance in a production of “The Wizard of Oz” playing the Cowardly Lion. After school, one of his first voice acting opportunities came as a commercial for Friskies dog food. Later on he would audition for the casting of “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” originally intending to get the Scooby-Doo role, but he was awarded the role of Fred Jones.
During the late 1960s up to the 1980s, Frank did a lot of live action projects. One of his first roles was in the film “The Trouble with Girls”, in which he portrayed a college kid who befriends Elvis Presley. He then appeared in “The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes”, “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t”, and “How to Frame a Figg” which he co-starred with Don Knotts. He also made numerous television appearances, such as in “Love, American Style”, “The Don Knotts Show” and “Catch-22”. He appeared as a guest in “The Merv Griffin Show”, “The Smother Brothers Show” and “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”. He also had the role of a voice actor in “Simon & Simon” and then participated in “The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of George Burns”. One of his latest projects is “The Informant!” in which he played the role of Matt Damon’s father.
Since 1969, Welker has voiced Fred Jones in the “Scooby-Doo” franchise, and would later voice both him and Scooby. In 1973, he voiced the Wonder Dog for “Super Friends” and then lent his voice in “Bailey’s Comets”. Some of his other projects include a lot of Hanna-Barbera characters in shows such as “The Flintstones Comedy Show”, “Dog Wonder”, and “Jabberjaw”. In the 1970s he voiced Quackula in “The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle”, and the character Droopy in “The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show”. He would start using his voice for a lot of popular shows such as “The Real Ghostbusters”, “The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest”, “Duck Tales”, and “The Smurfs”. He also voiced numerous characters for “The Simpsons” and “Futurama”, plus is well known for doing vocal effects in various animated projects such as “Aladdin”, “My Neigbor Totoro” and “Mars Attacks!”
A few of his latest shows include “Garfield Gets Real”, “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” and “Curious George”. He also uses his voice in various video games, namely “Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm” and “Lego Marvel’s Avengers”.
Probably his most well-known franchise is the “Transformers” animated series; he voiced the Decepticon leader Megatron as well as numerous others including Soundwave, Sludge, Rumble, Laserbeak, and Mirage. He became the voice of Ravage and Soundwave in the film “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” in 2009, and voiced Shockwave and Barricade in the film “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”.
In “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, he voiced Galvatron. While he did not get the role of Megatron which was given to Hugo Weaving, Welker did voice Megatron for various theme park attractions and video games. All have added to his net worth.
Frank is considered the best voice actor in Hollywood. He also tried to make an impression of Barry White, which eventually became the voice of Doctor Claw for “Inspector Gadget”.
For his personal life, little is known as he keeps any relationships strictly private.
