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Arthur Read
Arthur Timothy[2] Read is a fictional anthropomorphic aardvark created by the author Marc Brown.[3] The main character of the book and television series Arthur, he is in the third grade and lives in the fictional city of Elwood City.[4] Physical appearanceArthur is an anthropomorphic aardvark, who is 8 years old.[5] In Brown's first Arthur book, Arthur's Nose (1976), Arthur is shown with a long nose and resembles an actual aardvark, though as the books progressed (as seen in the first season of PBS's Reading Rainbow in its 13th episode, titled "Arthur's Eyes") and eventually became an animated TV series, Arthur’s appearance changed. The character's most recognizable form is a light brown, slanted face with small ears and nostrils with signature round brown-rimmed eyeglasses.[6] Normally, Arthur wears a yellow V-neck sweater over a white dress shirt, blue jeans along with red and white sneakers. He also occasionally wears a red rugby-style sweater. In the series finale ("All Grown Up"), Arthur's 28-year-old appearance features him with straight dark brown hair, slight facial hair, a green vest with a hood, and a red and yellow shirt with a Dark Bunny insignia. Arthur's relationships FamilyThe tensions between Arthur and his 4-year-old (later 5-year-old) sister, Dora Winifred "D.W." Read, are a common theme in the Arthur series. Arthur is constantly pestered by D.W., who goes out of her way to get Arthur into trouble, which often causes Arthur to retaliate, by getting into quarrels with his friends. Arthur's parents are his mother, Jane Read, who is a work-at-home accountant, and his father, David L. Read, who runs a catering business. Arthur's toddler sister is Baby Kate. Appearances from Arthur's extended family include his grandparents: Thora (David's mother) and Dave (Jane's father). His uncles: Fred (Jane's brother), Richard, Bud, and Sean. His aunts: Jessica, Loretta, and Lucy. His cousins: Cora, Monique, Ricky, George, and other unnamed relatives. However, the only two members of Arthur's extended family who have appeared more than once are his grandparents. Grandma Thora lives in a house not too far from Arthur's in Elwood City and is known to be a bad cook, but a loving grandmother and a world-class marbles player. She loves to play bingo every Friday night, and in some episodes has to watch over Arthur and D.W. She is good friends with Mrs. McGrady, the school cafeteria monitor. Grandpa Dave lives in a convalescent home and has a roommate who was a ship captain. Voice actorsCanadian child stars who have voiced the character of Arthur in the TV series:
Michael Yarmush originally voiced the character for the first five seasons from 1996 to 2000, prior to his puberty. In 2001, Justin Bradley assumed the role for Season 6, coinciding with his own puberty. Mark Rendall then took over for Seasons 7 and 8, including a redub of Season 6, from 2001 to 2003. Cameron Ansell voiced the character from Seasons 9 to 11 between 2004 and 2007, followed by Dallas Jokic, who voiced the character in Seasons 12 to 15 from 2008 to 2012. Drew Adkins continued the role in Seasons 16 and 17 from 2012 to 2014, and William Healy followed in Seasons 18 and 19 from 2014 to 2016. Jacob Ursomarzo voiced the character in Seasons 20 and 21 from 2016 to 2018, while Roman Lutterotti completed the series in the final four seasons from 2019 to 2022. Notably, Michael Yarmush reprised his role as the adult Arthur in the series finale titled "All Grown Up." International voice actorsSince Arthur is shown in more than 80 countries, Arthur is dubbed by these young voice actors (in several languages) shown here:
ReceptionArthur Read was listed as number 26 in the TV Guide article, 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time.[7] References
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