Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Ross Dickran Bagdasarian (born May 6, 1949)[1] is an American actor, animator, voice actor, singer, and record producer, known for his work on the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise.
Ross Bagdasarian Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ross Dickran Bagdasarian May 6, 1949 Fresno, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Ross Bagdasarian |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
| Employer | Bagdasarian Productions Chipmunk Records PettuniaMedia Bagdasarian Home Entertainment |
| Known for | President of Bagdasarian Productions and Chipmunk Records Founder of PettuniaMedia Son of Alvin and the Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian Sr. |
| Television | See full List below |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
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He is the son of the franchise's creator, Ross Bagdasarian.[2][3] He is often called Ross Bagdasarian Jr. to distinguish him from his father, but he does not share his father's given name, which was "Rostom".
Early life
Bagdasarian was born in Fresno, California, the son of Armenuhi (née Kulhanjian) and Ross Bagdasarian. He is of Armenian descent. As a child, he worked with his father on The Alvin Show by helping edit and coordinate the soundtracks and falsetto voice-overs of The Chipmunks.
Career
Bagdasarian graduated from law school.[4] He succeeded his father[4] as president of Bagdasarian Productions in 1972 after the death of the elder Bagdasarian. The company had fallen into obscurity after significant success between 1958 and the late 1960s. His wife Janice Karman, whom he married in 1979, is co-president. Bagdasarian and Karman have two children and live in Montecito, California.
Under Bagdasarian's supervision, new Chipmunks records were created shortly after his marriage to Karman, including Chipmunk Punk. In 1981, the Chipmunks returned to television in the cartoon special A Chipmunk Christmas. Two years later, Ruby-Spears Productions' Alvin and the Chipmunks Saturday morning cartoon series debuted on NBC. Based on that series, a feature film, The Chipmunk Adventure was released in 1987. Bagdasarian voices Alvin, Simon, and Dave Seville, and Karman voices Theodore and The Chipettes (Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor).
Bagdasarian and Karman hold tight creative and financial control over the Chipmunk franchise, reviewing each and every business contract in great detail. In the mid-90s, Bagdasarian bought out his brother's and sister's portions of the Chipmunk rights, to take complete control of the franchise.[4]
Universal Pictures lawsuit
Bagdasarian licensed the rights to the Chipmunk characters to Universal Pictures in 1996, resulting in a string of Universal-produced direct-to-video films. Four years later, he and Karman sued them for breach of contract, claiming that Universal failed to properly utilize, market, and merchandise the characters and hence resulting in a loss of royalties to Bagdasarian.[5] The case was decided in Bagdasarian's favor. "For us, it was a custody battle", Karman said. "They finally realized 'OK, these two are really fighting for their kids'."[4]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Producer | Writer | Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Chipmunk Adventure | Yes | Yes | Yes | Alvin Seville Simon Seville David Seville | |
| 1999 | Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein | Yes | No | Yes | Direct-to-video | |
| 2000 | Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| 2005 | Little Alvin and the Mini-Munks | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| 2007 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Alvin Seville (singing voice) | Songwriter |
| 2009 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | Yes | No | Yes | Singing Voice | |
| 2011 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| 2015 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip | Yes | No | Yes | ||
Television
| Year | Title | Producer | Writer | Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | A Chipmunk Christmas | Yes | Yes | Yes | Alvin Seville Simon Seville Dave Seville | TV movie |
| 1983–1990 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | Yes | Yes | Yes | TV series | |
| 1984 | I Love the Chipmunks Valentine Special | Yes | Yes | Yes | TV movie | |
| 1985 | A Chipmunk Reunion | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1990 | Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue | No | No | Yes | Alvin Seville Simon Seville | TV short |
| Rockin' Through the Decades | Yes | Yes | Yes | Alvin Seville Simon Seville Dave Seville | TV movie | |
| 1994 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| A Chipmunk Celebration | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| 1995 | The Easter Chipmunk | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2015–present | ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks | Yes | Yes | Yes | TV series |
References
- Ross Dickran Bagdasarian — California Birth Index at Family Search
- Keates, Nancy (September 9, 2011). "Luxury Real Estate: The House Built by 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
- o (December 21, 2007). "Chipmunks legacy is a family affair". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
- Pearson, Ryan (December 14, 2007). "The Chipmunks have a very close family". The Providence Journal. Associated Press. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- "'Chipmunks' Creators Sue Universal". The New York Times. September 14, 2000. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
External links
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ross Bagdasarian |
President of Bagdasarian Productions 1978– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Owner of Alvin and The Chipmunks 1978– | ||
Authority control  |
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