When I first began the “Featured Voices” series here, my intention was to spotlight lesser-known and largely unrecognized voice talents interviewed or otherwise featured in the media.
These tend to be “human interest” pieces published through regional news media, and the ones I most enjoy reading are those for whom voiceover represents merely a portion of what they do and who they are.
Such is Roger Steffens, who has amassed an enormous volume of voice work as narrator for many film, TV and audiobook productions, one of which won an Oscar for “Best Documentary” in 1978, The Flight of the Gossamer Condor. He was the “corporate voice” for Time Warner Audio Books between 1996-2003, and is the exhibit voice for several noted exhibits and museums (Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Biosphere II, Getty Museum, Museum of Tolerance, Weisenthal Center). Furthermore, he’s voiced commercials and industrials for such high-profile clients as IBM, General Motors, AT&T, Boeing and Fox Broadcasting.
And still this is only a fraction of what Steffens has accomplished in his career. According to his resume, he “wears many hats [as] actor, author, lecturer, editor, photographer, reggae archivist, broadcaster, director and producer.”
Steffens’ passion is Reggae music and the life’s work of Reggae legend Bob Marley. He’s the founder of the “Roger Steffens’ Reggae Archives” which includes “over 300,000 titles on tape, record and CD, and the world’s most extensive collection of Marley/reggae memorabilia.” Steffens also tours and lectures internationally as the curator of “The World of Reggae featuring Bob Marley” — a 6,000-piece exhibition celebrating the music legend.
For much more on the man and his passion than I can possibly summarize here, I invite you to visit Steffens’ ReggaeSupersite.com.
And although this article in Hawaii’s Big Island Weekly is mostly a copy/paste of Steffens’ bio on his website, it does include a brief interview with Steffens on his upcoming appearance at Bob Fest and Ag Fair on Sunday, Feb. 7 in Hilo, HI.
February 6, 2010 @ 2:06 pm
Have you ever noticed that any place there is hardship, you’ll find two posters. Che and Bob Marley