Celebrity

Bill Cunningham, original voice of Ken doll, dies at 96

Cunningham was also a singer and the founder of CESD Talent Agency.

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Published on July 27, 2023 07:42PM EDT

Bill Cunningham, the singer and talent agency founder who served as the original voice of Mattel's Ken doll, died July 15 at his home in West Hollywood, Calif. He was 96.

CESD Talent Agency, which Cunningham opened 60 years ago as Pacific Artists Agency, confirmed the news Thursday.

Born Jan. 2, 1927, in San Francisco, Cunningham began his career as a crooner on NBC's Voices of Walter Schumann and The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show. He sang on motion pictures for Fox, Paramount, and Warner Bros., as well as commercials.

Bill Cunningham was the original voice of Mattel's Ken doll. CESD Talent Agency/ Instagram, Paul Jordan/Mattel Inc.

Cunningham was the first voice of Ken, Barbie's boyfriend, for Mattel Toys, and also sang alongside the likes of Judy Garland and Dinah Shore. His debut album, I'm Always Chasing Rainbows, was financed by Fred Astaire.

In 1963, Cunningham's friend Peggy Taylor, the singer and TV personality, encouraged him to open Pacific Artists, one of the first talent agencies in Los Angeles. Specializing in commercial and voice-over work, the agency became Cunningham & Associates in 1967 and is now known as CESD (Cunningham-Escott-Slevin-Doherty).

Cunningham, who also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, retired in 1989 and published a memoir in 2014, I Wonder What Became of Me.