Voice artist had dulcet tone
Edmonton born actor known for his work in film trailers, TV commercials
Renowned Canadian voice-over artist Alan Bleviss won industry acclaim for bringing a sonorous, honeyed tenor to blockbuster film trailers and TV commercials.
And then he lost his dulcet tones. Reflecting on the legacy of her father, whose recent death made international headlines, Sarah Bleviss says there was a point in his life when he could barely speak due to a neurological disorder.
“It’s a bit like a Greek tragedy to have this profoundly beautiful and commanding voice and to lose it,” she said.
The Edmonton native, who narrated the trailers of films including Scarface, Dirty Dancing and Ragtime, was eventually able to recover vocally and went on to become the signature voice of the Democratic Party on election campaigns for Bill Clinton and Joe Biden.
“I know he was invited to the Clinton inauguration twice and he decided not to go to keep the mystery, which I think is kind of funny,” Sarah Bleviss said.
But she said her father’s struggles with chronic inflammation were debilitating and nearly robbed him of his career.
“He went through a period of complete paralysis, including his vocal chords,” she said.
“In his recovery, he ended up with a damaged peripheral nervous system, so for 30-something years of my life, he couldn’t feel his hands, legs, arms or feet.
“He worked with a vocal specialist here in New York, who was a former Israeli drill sergeant, and she taught him to regain his voice and re-control his voice using, I believe, his diaphragm.”
She said the same woman helped him regain his voice when chemotherapy and radiation damaged his vocal chords during treatment for lung cancer. He died at his home in New York City on Dec. 30 after a two-year battle with the disease. He was 76.
He was born Aug. 6, 1941 to Jewish parents and studied at the University of Alberta.
To appease his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer, he said he was studying law — when in fact he was studying theatre.
“When his father found out he was so upset and he actually stopped funding my father’s education,” Sarah Bleviss said.
“My father actually was an incredible card player and he played poker and bridge and things like that to fund his education.”
He went on to study at the National Theatre School of Canada, where he became a lifetime governor and has a library named after him and his family.
“Thank you, Alan, for your unparalleled altruism and for having dedicated your time and financial leadership to helping NTS reveal the talent of so many young theatre artists, on and behind the stage,” the school said.