Roy Conrad (1940–2002) was an actor and voice actor, more commonly known among the LucasArts fandom as the voice of Ben in the computer game Full Throttle.
Roy Conrad
Conrad has appeared in another LucasArts game, Star Wars: Rebel Assault II - The Hidden Empire, as the rebel pilot Ace Merrick. One of the developers of Full Throttle had this to say when recalling how they cast the part of Ben:
- "Roy was one of the sweetest guys you'll ever meet, and a joy to work with. It was hilarious to watch him act, and see that stern, gravelly voice of Ben coming out of this gentle, soft-spoken man. Casting Roy was definitely the easiest decision we ever had to make at LucasArts. We had been through boxes of audition tapes without much luck--When you advertise that you're looking for a tough, biker character, you get a lot of guys trying to be tough; Growling, yelling, and forcing a lot of attitude--And then we put in Roy's tape, and out came this effortless, deep, rich, bass sound. And that was that. We didn't even listen to another tape."
In 2002, Conrad died of lung cancer in Roseville, California. Despite what people might think when they first hear his deep, low basso voice, and what his illness might suggest, Conrad never smoked in his life. Those who knew him say that he was a very gentle man so different from some of the voice characters he portrayed.
