The Rise of Odell!!

Good evening,

My name is Odell Atkinson. I live in Memphis, Tennessee and my dream is to become a voice actor. At the suggestion of my dearest friend, Jimmy, I have decided to create a web log (blog). I'm mainly using this website/web log as an outlet for some frustrations and success stories to post in the industry I am currently trying to find moderately stable employment in. Voice acting.

The History:
I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. I had an incredibly happy childhood with frequent trips to the zoo and various museums. Aside from the happiness I was deaf. Mhm. There are home videos of me speaking in slurred English. It's actually kind of cute... in a handicapped sort of way. I can't fully remember the causality of the deafness, but I did have several surgeries: adenoids, tonsils and tubes. (Throat surgeries are not part of the problem, but I was very young and it seems wrong to leave it out seeing as how it has to do with vocal abilities) I recall having to do speech therapy in, Mm, I'd say the second grade. I liked it cause they always asked me to draw. (to see how mentally developed I was)

In fact I can recall how mad I was at the lady for telling me that I didn't draw ears on my characters. Even as a child I was thinking "Who draws ears at my age? Honestly!"

At this age there were such miraculous shows as:
Classic Tom and Jerry (The Fred Quimby lot)
Classic Looney Toons,
David the Gnome,
Mighty Max,
Samurai Pizza Cats,
Tiny Toons,
Muppet Babies,
Reboot (featuring the god: Tony Jay),
X-Men,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,
Gummi Bears,
Spider Man,
Eek the Cat,
Doug,
The Magic School Bus,
Ah! Real Monsters!,
The Tick,
Little Bear (That show was always eerily serene),
Captain Planet,
Beavis and Butthead,
Pinky and the Brain,
Animaniacs,
Ren & Stimpy,
Beetlgeuse: the animated series,
Aladdin: the animated series,
The Goof Troop,
(Looking these up on youtube and noticing alot of rap in the opening credits, Ha!)
Dark Wing Duck,
Tale Spin,
Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers,
Batman: the animated series,
Gargoyles,
Beast Wars,
Freakazoid,
Inspector Gadget,
Sonic the Hedgehog,
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog,
Cartoon Planet,
Space Ghost: Coast to Coast,
The Critic (One of my greatest inspirations)
and The Simpsons.

And this list is just animated things I watched. Needless to say I was a Televison-a-holic.


The History II:
My youth was equally happy. At around ten I moved to a new home in the city. It was here that the voices began to flow. At my new home I attended a new church. It was here that I met my friends. Joel, Zach and Jimmy. (They being the top three) We attended our priesthood meetings and boy scout meetings. Looking back we were lil' shits. Haha. Always loud obnoxious and rebellious for the sake of laughter (Except Jimmy he was quiet and reserved at this stage) I suppose we thought we were hot shit. And this was just in church. In school I was the class clown always performing some strange stunt or act. Tucking my knees into my shirt and doing a midget dance, etc.

I digress, this should be more about how I got into voice acting. But, it was, at this time that I began to entertain with my voice. The shows at this date being:

Captain Simeon and the Space Monkeys,
Power Puff Girls,
South Park,
Dexter's Laboratory,
Johnny Bravo,
Pokemon,
Cowboy Bebop,
Aqua Teen Hunger Force,
etc.

In the... 4th grade? Was when South Park came out. And I discovered I could do the voice of Cartmen! And all my friends wanted me to say "I'll roshambo you for it!" Heh. That's mostly what I remember doing by this age.

This is all I'm going to post for now. I'm getting tired. :p