List of Adventures in Odyssey characters

The following is a partial list of characters from the radio program Adventures in Odyssey.

Major characters (currently active)

• John Avery Whittaker,^[1] voiced by Hal Smith (1987–1994), Paul Herlinger (1996–2008), and Andre Stojka (2009 - ), often known as "Whit", is the main fictional character of Adventures in Odyssey and the namesake of Odyssey's most famous attraction, Whit's End. He is viewed as a spiritual Christian leader to the children, and adults also, in Odyssey. He was originally voiced by Hal Smith, but after Smith's death in 1994, the character of Whit left Odyssey to lead an archaeological mission in Israel for the Universal Press Foundation. Whit returned to Odyssey in 1996; he had been voiced by Paul Herlinger until 2008. Andre Stojka took the role following Herlinger's retirement.

• Connie Kendall^[2] (1987 - ), voiced by Katie Leigh, is probably the second-most major character in Adventures in Odyssey, appearing in more episodes than any character except John Avery Whittaker. Connie has been voiced by Katie Leigh since her arrival in Odyssey in episode #4: "Connie Comes to Town".

• Eugene Meltsner^[3] (1988 - ), voiced by Will Ryan, is a longtime employee at Whit's End. He is very intelligent, having a reputation for erudition and a fondness for trivia. Major plot arcs involving Eugene include his conversion to Christianity and his courtship, engagement, and then marriage to Katrina Shanks. Another major storyline about Eugene is the rediscovery of his father, whom he had believed dead since he was seven years old.

• Katrina Shanks-Meltsner,^[4] voiced by Pamela Hayden (1994 - 2002) and Audrey Wasilewski (2005 - ), is the wife of Eugene Meltsner. She is the daughter of wealthy father Armitage Shanks and mother Millie. She also has two brothers that have never been named.

• Bernard Walton^[5] (1990 - ), voiced by Dave Madden is the town of Odyssey window-washer. Though kind-hearted, Bernard is somewhat cynical and grumpy, but is most widely known for his metaphorical humor and penchant for storytelling. He hosts B-TV, a Christian television show in Odyssey. He is also Eugene's cousin

• Jason Whittaker^[6] (1994 - ), voiced by Townsend Coleman, is Whit's son and former National Security Agency agent. He ran Whit's End while Whit was in the Middle East. Jason came very close to marrying his longtime sweetheart, Tasha Forbes, but they broke up while parked in front of the Justice of the Peace's house.

• Jack Allen^[7] (1994 - ), voiced by Alan Young, is a childhood friend of Whit, former manager of "Whit's End" when Whit was in the Middle East, and current owner of the J & J Antique Gallery, along with his wife Joanne Allen. He last appeared in Album 50 in 2008, and a couple of Darian's Rise episodes in 2009.

• Wooton Bassett^[8] (2001 - ), voiced by Jess Harnell, is an Odyssey mailman who is also the author of Power Boy comics. In some ways, he seems to have not grown up yet (example: he collects Smiley Meal toys and has a slide going out of his house), although he occasionally shows his mature/serious side. He currently has a strained relationship with his father because Wooton is a Christian.

• Chris (1987 - ), voiced by Chris Anthony, is the show's announcer from the first episodes until the present time.

Major characters (currently inactive)

Adults

• Bart Rathbone,^[9] (1987-2008) voiced by Walker Edmiston and Robert Easton, is the schemish manager of the Electric Palace. Bart's character often attempts publicity stunts, such as a television game show, and at one time ran as an unfocused, populist candidate for mayor, against Tom Riley. He was most recently voiced by Robert Easton, as Edmiston recently died.

• Tom Riley^[10] (1987 - 2008), voiced by the late Walker Edmiston, is a local farmer and good friend of Whit. Edmiston recently died, so the producers are doing what they did to Whit when Hal Smith died, taking Tom's lines from other episodes and putting them together for new shows. Tom is said to be a longtime conservative member and chairman of the Odyssey City Council, as well as one-term mayor.

• George Barclay^[11] (1988 - 1997, 2003 - 2004), voiced by Chuck Bolte, Left for Pokenberry Falls to become pastor at local church. Returned for several episodes in 2003 and 2004 to perform Connie and Mitch's wedding, which never happened. (Barclay's name shares a pronunciation with that of Bishop George Berkeley, the 18th century philosopher after whom the University of California, Berkeley is named.)

• Mary Barclay^[12] (1993 - 1996), voiced by Carol Bilger. Mary is the wife of Pastor George Barclay and mother of three children, Donna, Jimmy, and Stewart Barclay.

• Dr. Regis Blackgaard^[13] (1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000), voiced by Earl Boen is Whit's nemesis. Dr. Blackgaard was supposedly killed in an explosion of his own making in 1995. However, he left behind a virus in the Imagination Station that was destroyed a few years later after attempting to gain a corporeal form from Aubrey Shepard. Some of Dr. Blackgaard's biggest fans refuse to admit he was killed in the explosion, saying he's still alive but biding his time before returning to Odyssey again, if he ever does.

• Robert "Mitch" Mitchell (2001 - 2004), voiced by Steve Burns is Connie's boyfriend and an FBI agent also known as AREM (phonetical spelling of RM, his initials). Mitch's relationship with Connie was a turbulent one, plagued by misunderstandings and Connie's reluctance to trust him because of the secrecy of his work. Mitch was placed in witness protection during the Novacom Saga and was presumed dead until Connie discovered the truth. After the Novacom Saga, he proposed to Connie, but the two decided to call off the wedding at the last minute and temporarily separate.

• Dale Jacobs (1989 - 1998), voiced by Phil Lollar, was the editor of The Odyssey Times.^{[citation needed]} He had two daughters, Robyn and Melanie; Robyn (1989 - 92) was one of the more popular kid characters during her time on the show.

• Richard Maxwell (1989 - 2000), voiced by Nathan Carlson, debuted in the episode "Eugene's Dilemma" as a manipulative bully who worked as a counselor at Campbell County Community College and victimized his young charge, Nicholas Adamsworth. After the truth about Richard's actions was revealed and he was dismissed from the college, Richard entered the employment of Dr. Regis Blackgaard, but had a change of heart after one of Blackgaard's schemes landed Lucy Cunningham-Schultz in the hospital. Having burned down Tom Riley's barn (for which Tom refused to forgive him for years afterward) and hacked into John Avery Whittaker's computer on Blackgaard's orders, Richard served two years in the Campbell County Detention Center before being released on parole. He foiled a number of Blackgaard's plans as part of his quest for personal redemption.^{[citation needed]}

• Officer David Harley (1987 - 1989), voiced by Will Ryan, is a bumbling, affable police officer who appeared in several early episodes. His character was replaced by Private Eye Harlow Doyle after parents complained that the character of Officer Harley gave kids the wrong impression about the intelligence of most police officers.^{[citation needed]}

• Peter Bourland (2002 - 2003), voiced by Keith Silverstein, was an FBI Agent who helped investigate the Novacom case.^{[citation needed]}

• Arthur Dent (2000 - 2002), voiced by Christopher Snell, was an employee of Andromeda. Arthur Dent was driven to temporary paranoia by the realization of the corporation’s goals and apparent power. He later destroyed a radio tower with fertilizer explosives, thinking that it was the tower from which Andromeda would be broadcasting its mind-control signals. After a court trial, he did not make any further appearances in Odyssey.^{[citation needed]}

• Armitage Shanks, voiced by Bernard Erhard (1995 - 1998) and Brian Cummings (2002), was the father of Katrina Shanks; now deceased (allegedly murdered by poisoning during the Novacom Saga). He was a bit overprotective of his daughter, and was frequently at odds with Eugene during the early stages of Eugene and Katrina's relationship; however, he was motivated more by love of his daughter than by malice toward Eugene.^{[citation needed]}

Children

• Rodney Rathbone^[14] (1989 - 2007), voiced by Steve Burns, is the son of Bart Rathbone, he is a mischievous local bully, and head of The Bones of Rath, a gang of teenagers who bully.

• Aubrey Shepard,^[15] voiced by Camilla Belle (1998-1999) and Danielle Judovitz (1999-2005), was a creative and introspective girl who loves books and poetry. She has a tendency to act impetuously, which often gets her into trouble. Aubrey lived in Tom Riley's Timothy Center with her father Ben, mother Ellen, and younger sister Bethany. She was initially unhappy about her parents' newfound Christianity and often made a point to rebel against it, but became a Christian herself during the Novacom Saga. She later left for college.

• Sam Johnson^[16] (1991 - 1996), voiced by Kyle Ellison, was a good-hearted boy who also tended to be somewhat naive.

• Lawrence Hodges (1992 - 1995, 2008), voiced by Gabriel Encarnacion, is a hyper-active kid with a run-away imagination to the point where he was having trouble separating his make-believe world and the real world, He was briefly heard over a phone-interview in the two part 2008 episode "The Triangled Web" (He is working at a laundromat as he has been kicked out of NASA.)^{[citation needed]}

• Lucy Cunningham-Schultz^[17] (1988 - 1996, 2008), voiced by Genni Long, was a pre-teen reporter for both her middle school's newspaper The Odyssey Owl and The Odyssey Times. She reappeared as a college student in "The Triangled Web" and got engaged to Jack Davis.

• Donna Barclay^[18] (1988 - 1996), voiced by Azure Janosky. Daughter of George and Mary, older sister of Jimmy; often portrayed as a typical teenage girl who liked boys and shopping. Donna had a rebellious streak and could be somewhat temperamental also, but had a good heart and moral compass. Her best friend was Dale Jacobs' elder daughter, Robyn Jacobs (voiced by Sage Bolte, 1989-1992), who was herself the central character in many episodes.

• James (Jimmy) Barclay^[19] (1988 - 1996, 2004, 2008), voiced by David Griffin. Probably the most popular child character in the show's history. He and his family were in numerous episodes. He was the only child star kept after the death of the 1st Whit and was kept after his voice changed (it was common practice for AIO to drop actors when their voice changed). He has the second most appearances for a child character, behind Lucy. Returned for "The Triangled Web".

• Grady McKay^[20] (2004 - 2008), voiced by Jordan Orr, is a friend of Wooton.

• Tamika Washington^[21] (2003 - 2008), voiced by Courtney Brown, is the daughter of Ed and Elaine

• Digger Digwillow (1988), voiced by Chad Reisser, was the first person to experience the Imagination Station, and the founder of "Wonderworld." Oddly enough, he was only in three episodes (The Imagination Station I & II, Heatwave).^{[citation needed]}

• Isaac Morton, (1989 - 1993) voiced by Justin Morgan, is a friend of Lucy, although before Curt. He was a good-hearted but cowardly kid who had a lot of run-ins with a bully named Rodney Rathbone, leader of the "Bones of Rath" gang.^{[citation needed]}

• Jack Davis, (1988 - 1989, 1992 - 1994, 2008) voiced by Donald Long, is another of Lucy's acquaintances. Most known for the being the "coolest" kid. He later became engaged with Lucy in "The Triangled Web".^{[citation needed]}

• Curt Stevens, (1990 - 1992, 2008) voiced by Fabio Stephens, was always getting into trouble and was most notably known for his relationship with Lucy. He also returned for "The Triangled Web".^{[citation needed]}

• Jenny Roberts, Voiced by Natalie Babbitt, was the show's second of two blind characters. Despite her disability, she never let it get her down and fit in quite easily in Odyssey. In the three-episode The Perfect Witness, she was kidnapped from Holstein's Bookstore and made use of her heightened senses of smell and hearing to help catch the criminals. She was also the longtime pen-pal to Melanie Jacobs, as seen in the Episode "Pen Pal."^{[citation needed]}

• Liz Horton,^[22] (1998 - 2007) voiced by Lauren Schaffel was the reporter for Odyssey Owl and best friend of Mandy Straussberg.

• Jared DeWhite^[23] (1997 - 1999, 2001 - 2004, 2008), Voiced by Brandon Gilberstadt, was a trouble maker and conspiracy theorist who moved away after a few seasons. He returned during the Novacom series (he and his family had been placed in Witness Protection) and tipped off Sarah and Mandy to the activities of Novacom.

• Dwayne Oswald, (1997 - 1999) voiced by Kris Kachurak, is best known as a foil for Jared DeWhite, Dwayne began as a character who was no good at anything and turned into an honor student later on.^{[citation needed]}

• Alex Jefferson,^[24] (1999 - 2003) voiced by Travis Tedford, played a pivotal role in the Novacom saga with his cousin Cal.

• Marvin Washington,^[25] voiced by Kyle Massey (2003), Jordan Colloway (2003-2004), and Kendre Berry (2004-2008) was a child character and an African American; lives with his parents Ed and Elaine and his sister Tamika. While the Washington family were not the first African-American characters on Adventures in Odyssey, they are arguably the first to be considered "major" characters.

• Nick Mulligan (1997 - 2005), voiced by Chris Castile, (the nephew and adopted son of Mike and Tracy Mulligan) was portrayed early on as a brash, tough-talking street kid from New York City who smoked and frequently clashed with his cousin/adopted sister Lisa, but eventually he quit smoking and became an employee at Whit's End, and his character mellowed slightly.^{[citation needed]}

• Mandy Straussberg^[26] (1998 - 2008), voiced by Aria Curzon, is very gifted in writing stories and plays, and in the episode "The Present Long Ago", it is revealed that she will one day marry the middle school's other top student, Trent DeWhite.

• Rusty Gordon (1993 - 1995), Voiced by Shawn Svoboda, is a member of Rodney's gang, the Bones of Rath. He later wrote a book that painted a very negative portrait of Odyssey, which inspired Connie to write her own book.^{[citation needed]}

• Trent DeWhite (2003 - 2008), voiced by Corey Padnos, is Jared's little brother. Possessing a toned-down version of his brother's vivid imagination, Trent has been known to overreact and daydream at times. He is a top student at Odyssey Middle School, and at one point developed a crush on Mandy Straussberg, who he will one day marry as revealed in "The Present Long Ago".^{[citation needed]}

• Shannon Everett (1992 - 1994), is a rich and popular cheerleader who often resorted to bullying tactics and/or deception to get her way.^{[citation needed]}

Minor characters

• Edwin Blackgaard^[27] (1992 - 2008), voiced by Earl Boen, is the twin brother of Dr. Regis Blackgaard and owner of the Harlequin Dinner Theatre.

• Walter Shakespeare (1992 - ), voiced by Corey Burton, is the assistant to Edwin at the Harlequin Dinner Theatre.

• Doris Rathbone^[28] (1993 - 1998), voiced by Pamela Hayden and Diane Hsu (2007 - present), is Rodney's mother.

• Principal Skinner (1993), voiced by J.P. Sloane.

• Harlow Doyle^[29] (1992 - 2000, 2005, 2008, 2010), voiced by Will Ryan.

• Tasha Forbes, voiced by Christie Nimitz (1994 - 1996) and Mandy Steckelberg (2008), is Jason Whittaker's on-again, off-again girlfriend/fiancée.

• Joe Finneman (1991 - 1994), voiced by Parley Baer, was Connie's great uncle, owner of "Finneman's Market".

• June Kendall (1988 - 1996, 2002 - 2003), voiced by Maggie Malooly, is the mother of Connie.

• Agnes Riley, voiced by Julia Kazarian (1988) and Susan Silo (1996, 2002 - 2005) is Tom Riley's wife, also known to her close friends as "Rose" (her middle name). Agnes, an artistic woman who enjoys painting and music, suffers from dementia and resides in an assisted-living facility. She was so infrequently seen by Odyssey residents that the first time Rodney Rathbone saw Tom talking to her (and being unaware that they were married), he assumed Tom was having an illicit affair with her.

• Margaret Faye (1997 - 1998, 2006, 2008), voiced by Alexandra Kenworthy, ran for Odyssey Mayor against Bart Rathbone and won. She had feelings for Mr. Whittaker and asked him to marry her as well as manage her campaign, but Whit, not agreeing with many of the issues she supported, declined, which infuriated her. Connie later worked on her campaign.

• Phillip Glossman (1988 - 1990, 1992, 1994 - 1995, 2008), voiced by Paul McCusker, is a state Congressman who harbors a personal vendetta against John Avery Whittaker dating back to the founding of Whit's End.

• Leonard Meltsner (2006 - 2007), voiced by Phil Proctor is the father of Eugene. He returned to America for a while and then returned to Africa. He is now a Christian.

References

1. ^ "Character Details: John Avery Whittaker". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/en/metadata/Characters/Whit.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
2. ^ "Character Details: Connie Kendall". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Connie.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
3. ^ "Character Details: Eugene Meltsner". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Eugene.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
4. ^ "Character Details: Katrina Meltsner". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Katrina.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
5. ^ "Character Details: Bernard Walton". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Bernard.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
6. ^ "Character Details: Jason Whittaker". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Jason.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
7. ^ "Character Details: Jack Allen". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Jack.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
8. ^ "Character Details: Wooton Bassett". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Wooton.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
9. ^ "Character Details: Bart Rathbone". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Bart.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
10. ^ "Character Details: Tom Riley". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Tom.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
11. ^ "Character Details: George Barclay". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/George.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
12. ^ "Character Details: Mary Barclay". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Mary.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
13. ^ "Character Details: Regis Blackgaard". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Regis.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
14. ^ "Character Details: Rodney Rathbone". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Rodney.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
15. ^ "Character Details: Aubrey Shepard". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Aubrey.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
16. ^ "Character Details: Sam Johnson". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Sam.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
17. ^ "Character Details: Lucy Cunningham-Schultz". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Lucy.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
18. ^ "Character Details: Donna Barclay". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Donna.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
19. ^ "Character Details: Jimmy Barclay". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Jimmy.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
20. ^ "Character Details: Grady McKay". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Grady.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
21. ^ "Character Details: Tamika Washington". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Tamika.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
22. ^ "Character Details: Liz Horton". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Liz.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
23. ^ "Character Details: Jared DeWhite". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Jared.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
24. ^ "Character Details: Alex Jefferson". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Alex.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
25. ^ "Character Details: Marvin Washington". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Marvin.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
26. ^ "Character Details: Mandy". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Mandy.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
27. ^ "Character Details: Edwin Blackgaard". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Edwin.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
28. ^ "Character Details: Doris Rathbone". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Doris.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
29. ^ "Character Details: Harlow Doyle". WhitsEnd.org. http://www.whitsend.org/metadata/Characters/Harlow.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 

External links

• Complete list of characters
• AIOHQ.com Character Histories
• OdysseyScoop.com Citizens of Odyssey Character Summaries
• John Avery Whittaker, Connie Kendall, and Eugene Meltsner at the Internet Movie Database