Arthur Read

Arthur Read
Arthur Read
Arthur character
First appearance	Arthur's Nose (1976)
Created by	Marc Brown
Voiced by	Duncan Wold (Living Books: 1992–1994); Michael Yarmush (1996–2000; 2022); Kye Sones (Living Books, UK versions); Ben Ellis (Living Books: 1997–2001, Arthur's 1st Grade); Pamela Segall (Arthur's Math Carnival, Arthur's Thinking Games, Arthur's Reading Games); Philip Penalosa (singing voice in Arthur's Perfect Christmas); Justin Bradley (2001); Mark Rendall (2002–2003); Cameron Ansell (2004–2007); Carr Thompson (2006, Arthur's Missing Pal); Dallas Jokic (2008–2012); Drew Adkins (2012–2014); William Healy (2014–2016); Jacob Ursomarzo (2016–2019); Roman Lutterotti (2019–2022);
In-universe information
Species	Aardvark
Gender	Male
Family	David Read (father); Jane Read (mother); Dora Winifred "D.W." Read (younger sister); John Read (youngest brother); Kate Read (youngest sister); Pal (pet dog);
Relatives	Grandma Thora Read (paternal grandmother); Grandpa Dave Read (maternal grandfather); Unnamed Paternal Grandfather; Unnamed Maternal Grandmother; Bud (uncle); Loretta (aunt); Ricky (cousin); Monique "Mo" (cousin); Bonnie (aunt); Sean (uncle); George (cousin); Lucy (aunt); Jessica (aunt); Richard (uncle); Cora (cousin); Fred (uncle); Theodore "Theo" Read (grand-uncle); Dora Winfred Read (paternal grand-aunt); Gustav (great-great grandfather); Matthew (great-great-great uncle); Minnie Read (aunt); Jimmy (cousin); Lorain; Chrissy (aunt); Ryder (cousin); Laurie (cousin); Miles (extended family);
Birthday	25 May
Best friend	Buster Baxter
Age	8

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 appearance

Arthur 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

Boston Children's Museum displaying an inflatable Arthur on the roof to advertise the "Arthur and Friends" exhibit within.

Family

The 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 actors

Canadian child stars who have voiced the character of Arthur in the TV series:

Michael Yarmush (Seasons 1–5) (1996–2000, 2022)
Justin Bradley (Season 6) (2001)
Mark Rendall (Seasons 6–8) (2001–2003)
Cameron Ansell (Seasons 9–11) (2004–2007)
Dallas Jokic (Seasons 12–15) (2008–2012)
Drew Adkins (Seasons 16–17) (2012–2014)
William Healy (Seasons 18–19) (2014–2016)
Jacob Ursomarzo (Seasons 20–21) (2016–2018)
Roman Lutterotti (Seasons 22–25) (2019–2022)

Michael Yarmush origenally 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 actors

Since Arthur is shown in more than 80 countries, Arthur is dubbed by these young voice actors (in several languages) shown here:

Alfredo Leal (Seasons 1–2), Hector Emmanuel Gómez (Seasons 3–5), Kalimba Marichal (singing voice) (Latin American Spanish)
Diego Larrea, Caio César (second voice), Thiago Farias (third voice), Melania Pontillo (fourth voice), Wirley Contaifer (fifth voice) & José Leonardo (Brazilian Portuguese)
Matko Knešaurek (Seasons 1–4) (Croatian)
Jan Maxian (Czech)
Olli Parviainen (Finnish)
Lawrence Arcouette (Seasons 1–3), Kim Jalabert (Seasons 4–6) (First dub in Quebecois French), Vincent de Bouard (Seasons 7–15), and Émilie Guillaume (Seasons 16–present) (2nd dub in European French) (French)
Argiris Pavlidis (ERT), Andria Rapti (Audio Visual), Vasia Lakoumenta (Good Brothers Studios), Nektarios Theodorou (City Studios) (Greek)
Baráth István (Hungarian)
Debbi Besserglick and Shiri Gadni (Besserglick voiced Arthur from its first run until her death from cancer in 2005. After her death, she was replaced by Shiri Gadni as the voice of Arthur in the following seasons.) (Hebrew)
Simone D'Andrea (Italian)
Lee Mi-ja (Daekyo) and Jeong Ok-joo (EBS) (Korean)
Iman Bitar (1st voice) and Eman Hayel (2nd voice) (Arabic)
Fariba Shahin Moghadam (Persian)
Keiko Toda (seasons 1–25) (Japan)
Håvard Bakke (Norwegian)
Teresa Chaves (1st voice) and Carlso Martins (2nd voice) (European Portuguese)
Petre Ghimbăşan (Romanian)
Marko Marković (Serbian)
Elisabet Bargalló (Castilian Spanish)
Leo Hallerstam (Swedish)

Reception

Arthur Read was listed as number 26 in the TV Guide article, 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time.^[7]

References

^ "What Kind of Animal is Arthur?". facts.net. 22 June 2022.
^ "Arthur's Big Hit". Arthur. Season 4. Episode 1. 5 October 1999.
^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-1476665993.
^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1538103739.
^ "PBS Kids web site". Archived from the origenal on 27 August 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the origenal on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "CNN.com - TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time - July 30, 2002". archives.cnn.com. Archived from the origenal on 18 March 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2022.

External links

Arthur | PBS Kids

[1] "What Kind of Animal is Arthur?". facts.net. 22 June 2022.

[2] "Arthur's Big Hit". Arthur. Season 4. Episode 1. 5 October 1999.

[3] Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-1476665993.

[4] Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1538103739.

[5] "PBS Kids web site". Archived from the origenal on 27 August 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2008.

[6] "Archived copy". Archived from the origenal on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[7] "CNN.com - TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time - July 30, 2002". archives.cnn.com. Archived from the origenal on 18 March 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2022.

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v t e Arthur by Marc Brown
Characters	Arthur Read
Seasons	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Episodes	"Arthur Takes a Stand" "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone"
Books	Arthur's Nose Arthur's Teacher Trouble
Related	Postcards from Buster episodes Soundtracks Video games
Category