Michael Yarmush (born June 19, 1982) is an American born Canadian television actor. He was the original voice of Arthur Read for the TV series, voicing the character from Season 1 to Season 5 and Arthur's Perfect Christmas. He departed the show after his voice became too deep due to puberty, and was replaced by Justin Bradley beginning with the sixth season.
Marc Brown states that he and the rest of the creative team were very attached to Yarmush's performance as Arthur and so tried to keep him on the show for as long as possible, until his voice got too deep for him to continue.[1] Even after he aged out of the role, Yarmush continued to be involved in the series: he provided the voice of Tough Customers member Slink, and his Arthur voice continued to be heard in the opening theme. He also provided the voice of the waiter Jay in the Season 10 premiere "Happy Anniversary," which celebrated ten years of the series. Yarmush finally reprised the role he originated in the series finale, "All Grown Up", voicing the adult Arthur 20 years in the future.
Voices on Arthur[]
Major[]
- Arthur Read (1996-2000; season 1—season 5; Arthur's Perfect Christmas, Arthur's New Friend, and "All Grown Up")
- Slink
Minor[]
- Jay (waiter)
- Big Kid #2
- Tween #5
- Mike (fantasy only)
- Pal (fantasy only)
Other Voice Roles[]
- Butch the First West Side Boy (The Little Lulu Show) (1996-1998)
- Lawrence (Mona the Vampire)
Voice Credits[]
Season 1[]
Season 2[]
- Arthur Meets Mister Rogers/Draw!
- Binky Barnes, Art Expert/Arthur's Lucky Pencil
- D.W., the Picky Eater/Buster and the Daredevils
- Arthur Makes a Movie/Go to Your Room, D.W.
- Arthur's Underwear/Francine Frensky, Olympic Rider
- Buster Baxter, Cat Saver/Play it Again, D.W.
- Arthur's TV-Free Week/Night Fright
- Arthur vs. the Piano/The Big Blow-Up
- Lost!/The Short, Quick Summer
- D.W. Goes to Washington/Arthur's Mystery Envelope
- D.W.'s Deer Friend/Buster Hits the Books
- Arthur's Faraway Friend/Arthur and the Square Dance
- Water and the Brain/Arthur the Unfunny
- Sue Ellen's Lost Diary/Arthur's Knee
- Grandma Thora Appreciation Day/Fern's Slumber Party
- Love Notes for Muffy/D.W. Blows the Whistle
- Francine Redecorates/Arthur the Loser
- Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard/D.W.'s Very Bad Mood
- D.W.'s Name Game/Finders Key-pers
- How the Cookie Crumbles/Sue Ellen's Little Sister
Season 3[]
- Buster's Back/The Ballad of Buster Baxter
- D.W. All Fired Up/I'd Rather Read It Myself
- Arthur Goes Crosswire/Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous
- Background Blues/And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids
- The Chips are Down/Revenge of the Chip
- Binky Rules/Meet Binky
- Arthur Rides the Bandwagon/Dad's Dessert Dilemma
- Popular Girls/Buster's Growing Grudge
- Arthur's Treasure Hunt/The Return of the King
- Attack of the Turbo Tibbles/D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy
- Double Tibble Trouble/Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival
- What Scared Sue Ellen?/Clarissa is Cracked
- Arthur's Dummy Disaster/Francine and the Feline
- Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight/D.W.'s Perfect Wish
- Arthur and D.W. Clean Up/The Long, Dull Winter
Season 4[]
- D.W.'s Library Card/Arthur's Big Hit
- Hide and Snake/Muffy's New Best Friend
- Buster's Breathless/The Fright Stuff
- The Contest/Prove It
- The Blizzard/The Rat Who Came to Dinner
- D.W. Tale Spins/Prunella Gets it Twice
- Binky Barnes, Wingman/To Beat or Not to Beat
- 1001 Dads/Prunella's Prediction
- What is that Thing?/Buster's Best Behavior
- My Music Rules/That's a Baby Show!
Season 5[]
- Arthur and the Big Riddle/Double Dare
- Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto/Nerves of Steal
- It's a No-Brainer/The Shore Thing
- The World Record/The Cave
- The Lousy Week/You Are Arthur
- The Election/Francine Goes to War
- Sleep No More/Pet Peeved
- The Last of Mary Moo Cow/Bitzi's Beau
- Just Desserts/The Big Dig
- Arthur's Family Feud/Muffy Gets Mature
Specials[]
Season 9[]
Season 10[]
Season 14[]
Season 16[]
- The Last Tough Customer
- The Best Day Ever (archive audio)
Season 18[]
Season 21[]
Season 25[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- He is the longest-serving voice actor for Arthur Read, voicing him for 5 seasons and 85 episodes over the course of 4 years.
- Stock audio of Yarmush's gasps and screams are used in some episodes of Season 1-5
- His voice early on in Season 1 was notably raspier not too unlike Duncan Wold and Ben Ellis from the Living Books PC games. Towards the end of the season his voice became a bit higher and clearer, which he kept consistently for Seasons 2-4 before his voice matured fully in Season 5