Raise a Million for M. Bison (And Wood Man and Spark Mandrill and Commander Beef and…)

Have you heard of Richard Newman?

Even if you haven’t heard of him, there’s a good chance that you’ve simply heard him, just the same: The long-time voice actor has nigh-countless credits to his name, including both Wood Man and Spark Mandrill from Ruby-Spears’ Mega Man cartoon from the early 90’s and Maysa/Commander Beef from MegaMan NT Warrior in the early aughts. Beyond that, he’s also voiced Captain Ginyu from Dragon Ball Z, Rhinox from Transformers: Beast Wars, Vector Prime from Transformers: Cybertron, Mr. Turtle from Franklin, Mayor Knightleigh from Edgar and Ellen, and Cranky Doodle Donkey from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Of course, thanks to the power of the internet, this may very well be how you best know him:

And that’s sort of the key.

Here’s the thing: Being an actor, even a voice actor, is hard work. And not just in putting in performances, but unless you’re a top-tier name, just in simply getting work, with only about four percent of professional actors working at any given time.

Unfortunately for Mr. Newman, who has brought many of us so much joy over the years, he’s now in his late-60s, which puts him in the awkward position of “too young for the ‘old man’ roles and too old for the ‘romantic lead’.” Throw on top of that the fact that Canadian residuals are quite low compared to those in America, and you can see how even with royalties, making ends meet is tough.

That’s where the above clip– and you– come in. That one 5-second clip of Bison shouting “Yes! Yes!” (before Daniel Bryan made it cool, I might add) has over six million views, and that’s just for a reupload. From his daughter, Sofia:

A few months ago, I was informing my dad of all the memes his characters have inspired, as he tends to be rather clueless when it comes to that sort of thing. I pointed out that there was a video of M. Bison that had over 1 million hits on Youtube, and he joked that if every person who viewed that video sent him a dollar, we wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore (there was another video with over 6 million views, but I digress).

That’s when the lightbulb went off: What if everyone who viewed that video did send him a dollar?

And so they created this Indiegogo campaign. So far, there have been 114 people who have donated (Full disclosure: Including yours truly) a combined $3,161 CAD to the cause of raising one million dollars Canadian so that Newman and his family can keep their home.

(Edit: Actually, my fault for not including this earlier. Per the campaign page: “Specifically, we’re looking at $150,000 before our house is completely paid off and around $30,000 to fix it up. No, we don’t expect to actually raise a million, but it would be such a relief for my dad not to be in constant stress about somehow coming up with $5000 a month.”)

As of this writing, 45 days remain on the campaign, and for those interested, there are perks involved. $15 gets you a signed headshot, while $20 will net you a copy of his 1982 vinyl record from his singing days (for a laugh, click through and see what the name of the band he joined after this record was called).

For $25, you can get a personalized voicemail, and $30 earns a personalized video– in character, no less! So now you can “imagine the delight of your friends when you don’t pick up your phone, and Rhinox tells them to leave a message” or “get Cranky Doodle Donkey to propose to your partner.”

You don’t have to donate that much, of course– just if you want the perks. As noted, if everyone who has enjoyed that video sent in a dollar, it would go a long way. And if you can’t spare the buck, share the post! Maybe you happen to know someone who would, or might even be interested in a pep talk from Captain Ginyu.

If nothing else, it’s at least worth your dollar to contribute to the man who delivered the best M. Bison line since Raul Julia told us that for him, “it was Tuesday”:

LBD "Nytetrayn"

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

For a full list of places to find him online, click here.