# Alan Bleviss

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{{Short description|Canadian–American voice actor (1941–2017)}}

'''Alan David Bleviss''' (August 6, 1941 – December 30, 2017) was a [Canadian](/source/Canadians) born [voice actor](/source/Voice_acting) who had been a resident of the [United States](/source/United_States) since 1976. In 1991, he was described as one of the "top names" in the business.<ref name=PI/> His voice over career spanned nearly four decades.<ref name="OBIT">{{cite web|title=Alan Bleviss Obituary|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/alan-bleviss-obituary?pid=187692774|website=Legacy.com| date=31 December 2017 |access-date=1 January 2018}}</ref> He was a past president of the Civil War Token Society.

==Life and career==
Bleviss was born and raised in [Edmonton](/source/Edmonton), where his father owned several theaters and a cigar store.<ref name =CM/> He was educated at the [University of Alberta](/source/University_of_Alberta) and the [National Theatre School of Canada](/source/National_Theatre_School_of_Canada).<ref name =CM/> He lived in the New York City area at the height of his career from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, and died at his home in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) on December 30, 2017.<ref name="OBIT" />

Bleviss did voice over work for the [coming attraction trailers](/source/Trailer_(promotion)) for hundreds of Hollywood movies, especially those made by [Miramax](/source/Miramax)<ref name="PI">{{cite news|url=http://articles.philly.com/1991-10-09/news/25814323_1_msi-voice-cinema-paradiso|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913040027/http://articles.philly.com/1991-10-09/news/25814323_1_msi-voice-cinema-paradiso|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 13, 2015|title=The Voice That Sells The Movies: Alan Bleviss, Unseen Star Of The Ad World|last=Rea|first=Steven|date=October 9, 1991|newspaper=[The Philadelphia Inquirer](/source/The_Philadelphia_Inquirer)|access-date=August 19, 2016|url-access=subscription }}</ref> His corporate clients included [American Express](/source/American_Express), [AT&T](/source/AT%26T), [Canada Dry](/source/Canada_Dry),<ref name=PI/> [Enterprise Rent-a-Car](/source/Enterprise_Rent-A-Car) and [Kodak](/source/Kodak).<ref name =CM/> He did political work for the [National Abortion Rights Action League](/source/National_Abortion_Rights_Action_League) and many [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) campaigns, including the 1988 campaign of [Michael Dukakis](/source/Michael_Dukakis) for president.<ref name=PI/>

Bleviss won six [Clio awards](/source/Clio_awards).<ref name =CM/> Among the earliest was a 1971 TV ad for [Heinz](/source/Heinz) Tomato Juice, which used a celery stick to emphasize how thick the product is.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=dick&p=96&item=AT:48603.007 |title=Heinz Tomato Juice: Celery Stick (Clio Awards, 1972 Winners) |website=[Paley Center for Media](/source/Paley_Center_for_Media) |access-date=August 19, 2016}}</ref>

In 1992, Bleviss developed [Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy](/source/Chronic_inflammatory_demyelinating_polyneuropathy), which led to partial paralysis and damage to his voice. He barely worked for 20 years, although therapy eventually allowed him to regain professional use of his voice.<ref name =CM>{{cite news | last =Mouallem | first =Omar | title =The Voice: One man overcame all odds to become the voice trusted by millions. Now he takes on a new role: hero to fine arts students | newspaper =Cornerstone magazine | publisher =[University of Alberta](/source/University_of_Alberta) | date =May 2014 | url =http://www.cornerstonemagazine.ca/alan-bleviss/ | access-date =August 9, 2016 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160820191630/http://www.cornerstonemagazine.ca/alan-bleviss/ | archive-date =August 20, 2016 | url-status =dead }}</ref>

Bleviss served on the board of directors of the National Theatre School of Canada,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://ent-nts.ca/en/about/ca-cg/| title =Patron and Board of Directors | date =2015 | website = [National Theatre School of Canada](/source/National_Theatre_School_of_Canada) | access-date =August 19, 2016 }}</ref> and funded scholarships and a student theatre facility at the University of Alberta.<ref name =CM/>

Bleviss is the inspiration for a [sandwich](/source/sandwich) called "The Edmonton" at [Shopsins](/source/Shopsins), a diner in [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan). It is a [tuna](/source/tuna) and [avocado](/source/avocado) sandwich on [garlic bread](/source/garlic_bread).
<ref name=CC>{{cite news | last =Cosh | first =Colby | title =A short story from the stochastic web | newspaper = [Maclean's](/source/Maclean's)| location =[Toronto](/source/Toronto) | date =February 2, 2010 | url =http://www.macleans.ca/authors/colby-cosh/a-short-story-from-the-stochastic-web/ | access-date =August 19, 2010 }}</ref> He is a well-known collector of [Civil War token](/source/Civil_War_token)s, unofficial currency of the early 1860s.<ref name=CC/> In 2009, he auctioned off 500 items from his collection, described by the auctioneer as "one of the most extensive holdings ever assembled".<ref>{{cite news | title =Stack's Sells Millions at 74th Anniversary Coin and Currency Sale in Baltimore | newspaper =Coin Collecting News | date =December 2, 2009 | url =http://www.coinlink.com/News/uncategorized/stacks-sells-millions-at-74th-anniversary-coin-and-currency-sale-in-baltimore/ | access-date =August 19, 2016 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160820193328/http://www.coinlink.com/News/uncategorized/stacks-sells-millions-at-74th-anniversary-coin-and-currency-sale-in-baltimore/ | archive-date =August 20, 2016 | url-status =dead }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100212171918/http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/arts/Alan_Bleviss.cfm Alan Bleviss Mini-Bio]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleviss, Alan}}
Category:1941 births
Category:2017 deaths
Category:Canadian male voice actors
Category:Male actors from Edmonton
Category:University of Alberta alumni
Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alan Bleviss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Bleviss) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Bleviss?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.