William Dufris
William “Bill” Dufris (February 1, 1958 – March 24, 2020) was an American voice actor and audiobook narrator.
It was in London where Dufris began his audio career (radio plays, audiobooks, film/animation dubbing, language tapes).
During this time, he worked a number of BBC Radio plays with Kathleen Turner, Sharon Gless, Stockard Channing, and Helena Bonham-Carter. Moreover, he worked with director Dirk Maggs (of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame) on his audio drama productions of Spider-Man (where he voiced the title role of Peter Parker), Judge Dredd, Voyage and An American Werewolf in London.
He was best known as the original voice of Bob the Builder in the popular children’s show Bob The Builder for the US and Canada.
These experiences led Dufris to co-found the audio production company The Story Circle, Ltd in the UK. Upon returning to the United States, Dufris founded Mind’s Eye Productions and co-founded Rocky Coast Radio Theatre and The AudioComics Company, for which he has been producer, director, actor, and engineer. For AudioComics he directed Starstruck, the first season of Horrorscopes, Titanium Rain, Honey West, and The Batson’s for the AudioComics Kids line. He also directed Arigon Starr’s audio comedy Super Indian for Native Voices at the Autry in Los Angeles.
He was best known for voicing the title character in the American dub of the British animated series Bob The Builder. He left after season nine Sarah Ball, the show’s co-creator and one of the writers, directors, and producers, was moving on. Dufris also voiced Elvis and Dougan in the children’s stop motion TV series Rocky and the Dodos for Cosgrove Hall and dubbed several anime films such as X, Appleseed and two of the Lupin III films.
Dufris was on the Advisory Board of the National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc. in addition to being a Norman Corwin Award Committee member. He was a guest instructor and performer at the 2005–2007 Audio Theatre Workshops, appearing in the world premiere works The Best Place to Grow Pumpkins, Rewind, Extra-Ordinary, and Histories.
In 2018, Dufris and Jack Bowman co-founded the audiobook company Dagaz Media.
Dufris died of cancer on March 24, 2020 at the age of 62
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