Arthur Read

Arthur Timothy[2] Read is the titular protagonist of both the book series and the PBS children's television series Arthur, created by Marc Brown.[3] In the show, he is an eight-year-old anthropomorphic aardvark in Mr. Ratburn's third grade class, and lives in the fictitious city of Elwood City.[4]

For other people named Arthur Read, see Arthur Read (disambiguation).
Arthur Read
Arthur character
Arthur, as he appears in the television series
First appearanceArthur's Nose (1976)
Created byMarc Brown
Voiced by
In-universe information
SpeciesAardvark[1]
GenderMale
Family
  • David Read (father)
  • Jane Read (mother)
  • Dora Winifred "D.W." Read (sister)
  • Kate Read (sister)
  • Pal Read (dog)
Relatives
  • Thora Read (grandmother)
  • Grandpa Dave
  • 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)
  • Gustav (great-great grandfather)
  • Matthew (great-great-great uncle)
ReligionChristian
NationalityAmerican
BirthdayMay 25
Best friendBuster Baxter

Physical appearance

Arthur is an anthropomorphic aardvark[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 and eventually became a TV series, a noticeable, simplified version of Arthur took shape. The character's most recognizable form is a light brown, slanted face with small ears, drawn as a bipedal, pre-pubescent youth with signature round glasses.[6] On more than one occasion, Arthur's classmates tease him for his glasses and somewhat "dorky" attire.[7]

Arthur's relationships
Boston Children's Museum displays an inflatable Arthur on the roof, weather permitting, to advertise the "Arthur and Friends" exhibit within.

Family

The tensions between Arthur and his four-year-old sister, Dora Winifred "D.W." Read, are a common theme in the Arthur series. Arthur is constantly pestered by D.W., and she usually tries to get Arthur into trouble, which occasionally causes Arthur to retaliate. Despite that, Arthur tries his best to ignore D.W.'s annoying antics most of the time and often does her favors - sometimes at his parents' request and against his will. D.W. also make frequent attempts to hang out with Arthur's 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. His mother is from the Pittsburgh area and knew Fred Rogers as a child, while most of his father's relatives are from Ohio. He also has a baby sister named Kate and a pet dog named Pal.

Appearances from Arthur's extended family include Grandma Thora (David's mother), Grandpa Dave (Jane's father), Uncle Fred (Jane's brother), Uncle Richard, Uncle Bud, Uncle Sean, Aunt Jessica, Aunt Loretta, Aunt Lucy, and 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 Grandma Thora and Grandpa Dave.

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 on a farm he claims has been in the family for 150 years.

Friends

Buster Baxter

Buster Baxter is regarded as Arthur's best friend who has the habit of eating junk foods. He lives with his mom and travels around the world.

Mary Alice "Muffy" Crosswire

Muffy is popular and rich due to her dad's successful used automobile business, Crosswire Motors.

Alan "The Brain" Powers
Not to be confused with The Brain from Pinky and the Brain.

The Brain's true name is Alan, but his friends call him Brain due to his high intelligence and habit of correcting others' mistakes in many subjects.

George Lundgren

George is a ventriloquist and has a wooden giraffe ventriloquist dummy named Wally. George also has dyslexia, but he doesn't let that get in his way.

Shelley "Binky" Barnes

Binky is a bulldog who usually wears an orange shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes. He is a member of the Tough Customers, which are a group of bullies, but has a soft side. He plays the clarinet, catches butterflies, and enjoys ballet.

Francine Frensky

Francine Frensky is a tomboy who has short brown hair tied with a barrette, wears blue jeans, and a maroon sweater. She enjoys soccer, playing the drums, and horseback riding.

Sue Ellen Armstrong

Sue Ellen Armstrong officially moved to Elwood City in the winter of the third grade school year. She also has a deep interest in World culture, and is skilled in the martial arts. She practices karate and plays the saxophone. She is an only child.

Voice actors

These are the people who have been the voice actor for Arthur in the TV series:

  • Michael Yarmush (Seasons 1–5) (1996-2000)
  • Justin Bradley (Season 6) (2001)
  • Mark Rendall (Season 6 U.S. reruns, Seasons 7–8) (2001-2003)
  • Cameron Ansell (Seasons 9–11) (2004-2007)
  • Dallas Jokic (Season 12–15) (2008-2012)
  • Drew Adkins (Season 16–17) (2012-2014)
  • William Healy (Season 18–19) (2014-2016)
  • Jacob Ursomarzo (Season 20– Season 21) (2016-2019)
  • Roman Lutterotti (Season 22–present) (2019-present)

Arthur was originally voiced by Michael Yarmush for the first five seasons from 1996 until 2000 when he reached puberty. In 2001, Yarmush was replaced with Justin Bradley for the 6th Season. Bradley was replaced with Mark Rendall who started voicing Arthur in Season 7. After Season 8 in 2003 Rendall redubbed all of Bradley's dialogue in Season 6.

International voice actors

Since Arthur is shown in more than 80 countries, Arthur is dubbed by these voice actors shown here:

  • Alfredo Leal (Season 1–2), Hector Emmanuel Gómez (Season 3–5), Kalimba Marichal (singing voice) (Latin America)
  • Diego Larrea (1st voice), and José Leonardo (2nd voice) (Brazil)
  • Matko Knešaurek (Season 1–4) (Croatia)
  • Olli Parviainen (Finland)
  • Lawrence Arcouette (Season 1–3), Kim Jalabert (Season 4–6) (First dub in Quebec French), Vincent de Bouard (Season 7–15), and Emilie Guillaume (Season 16–present) (2nd dub in European French) (French-speaking countries)
  • Baráth István (Hungary)
  • 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)
  • Keiko Toda (Season 1-25) (Japan)
  • Iman Bitar (1st voice) and Iman Hale (2nd voice) (Middle East)
  • Fariba Shahin Moghadam (Persian)
  • Teresa Chaves (1st voice), Carlso Martins (2nd voice) (Portugal)
  • Petre Ghimbăşan (Romania)
  • Elisabet Bargalló (Spain)
  • Leo Hallerstam (Sweden)

Reception

Arthur Read was listed as number 26 in the TV Guide article, 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time.[8]

References
  1. "FAQS ABOUT ARTHUR AND FRIENDS". PBS Parents.
  2. "Arthur's Big Hit". Arthur. Season 4. Episode 1. October 5, 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".
  6. http://www.thepacepress.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/arthur.jpg
  7. "Arthur's Eyes/Francine's Bad Hair Day". 2 September 1996 – via www.imdb.com.
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20100318065041/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/30/cartoon.characters.list
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