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Q: Who did the voice for the first "Garfield" cartoon?

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

"Garfield's" voice was already a familiar one to '70s sitcom fans, but when the comical cat first debuted on TV in 1982, sitcom watchers weren't his target audience.

Garfield first spoke in the Emmy-nominated 1982 TV special "Here Comes Garfield," and his voice was that of Lorenzo Music. Music's voice, though still not his face, appeared on the classic sitcom "Rhoda" from 1974 to 1978, playing her doorman, Carlton, who was always just heard through an intercom.

Music took on the Garfield role in a long string of TV specials that led into the '90s, as well as the animated series "Garfield and Friends" from 1988 to 1994.

But at first it was Music's pen, not his voice, that made him a name in showbiz. He started out as a writer for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" in the late '60s, then got a writing gig on "The Mary Tyler Moore" show in 1970. This, of course, led to his biggest break yet, as "Rhoda" was a "Mary Tyler Moore" spinoff.

But it was definitely his voice that made him a star. It's also known from his various roles on another kids' series, "Adventures of the Gummi Bears," and also as Larry the Crash Test Dummy from the surprisingly popular series of public-service announcements that promoted the use of seatbelts.

Interesting bit of trivia: Music also voiced the Peter Venkman character on the animated series "The Real Ghostbusters," a role originated by Bill Murray in the megahit 1984 live-action film. Twenty years later, Murray would return the favour, voicing the cat in question in the 2004 computer-animated "Garfield" film and its 2006 sequel.

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