Editing Christopher Collins

{{short description|American actor and comedian}}
{{Other people}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Christopher Collins
| image         = Chris Latta.jpg
| alt           = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption       = Collins in ''[[Road House (1989 film)|Road House]]'', 1989
| birth_name    = Christopher Lawrence Latta
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1949|8|30}}
| birth_place   = [[Orange, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1994|6|12|1949|8|30}}
| death_place   = [[Ventura, California]], U.S.
| other_names   = Chris Latta
| occupation    = {{hlist|Actor|comedian}}
| years_active  = 1975–1994
| spouse        = Judith Ryan
| children      = 3
}}
'''Christopher Charles Collins''' (born '''Christopher Lawrence Latta'''; August 30, 1949 – June 12, 1994) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the voice of [[Cobra Commander]] in the ''[[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985 TV series)|G.I. Joe]]'' animated series and [[Starscream]] in the first ''[[The Transformers (TV series)|Transformers]]'' animated series. He had a few guest roles in the ''[[Star Trek]]'' series ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|The Next Generation]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'', he voice acted [[Moe Szyslak]] and [[Mr. Burns]] in the first season of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' (1989–1990), and he had many other roles in [[television]] series and [[film]]s. He also had a successful [[stand-up comedy]] career.

==Early life==
Christopher Lawrence Latta was born in [[Orange, New Jersey]] to Robert Latta (1920–1966), a New York stage actor, and Jane Morin (1925–2001), an advertising executive.<ref> {{Cite news |date=2001-11-30 |title=Paid Notice: Deaths SNOWDAY, JANE MORIN |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/30/classified/paid-notice-deaths-snowday-jane-morin.html |access-date=2024-07-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He grew up in the [[Morningside Heights]] (sometimes called "West Harlem") section of [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]]. His legal name became Christopher Charles Collins when his stepfather adopted him.

After a year at [[New York University]], he studied acting, dance, voice, and mime in [[Paris]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Christopher Collins |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oxnard-star-free-press-obituary-for-chri/140021180/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |work=Oxnard Star Free Press |date=June 15, 1994}}</ref>

==Career==
===Radio work and stand-up comedy===
In the mid-1970s, he acted on the New York and [[Boston]] stage and did voice-over work for Boston radio station [[WBCN (FM)|WBCN]].

Collins's stand-up career peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he performed in most of the major comedy venues in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. In 1990, he won the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-05-07-vl-2481-story.html|title=Work In Progress : A Stand-Up Guy : Comic Christopher Collins says his job is no laugh riot, but the payoff is thrilling.|first=Ken | last=McAlpine| date=May 7, 1992|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

===Voice acting===
Collins made his animation voice acting debut as one of the English dubbers of the 1979 [[anime]] series ''[[Space Battleship Yamato]]'' (also called ''[[Star Blazers]]''). He was most recognizable in that series as the voice of space marine Sgt. Knox during the Comet Empire installment.

When he began regular voice work, he adopted the [[stage name]] Chris Latta, as another [[Screen Actors Guild]] actor was performing as Chris Collins.

In 1983, Collins began voicing [[Cobra Commander]] for a [[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983 TV series)|five-part ''G.I. Joe'' animated mini-series]]. He continued voicing the role in a second five-part animated mini-series in 1984, a regular animated series beginning in 1985, a 1987 [[G.I. Joe: The Movie|direct-to-video animated movie]] and a [[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1989 TV series)|1989 animated series]]. Starting in 1984, Collins voiced the [[Decepticon]] [[Starscream]] for the [[The Transformers (TV series)|''Transformers'' animated series]]. He voiced other G.I. Joe and Transformers characters in these series as well as in toy commercials. These included the [[Autobot]] scientist Wheeljack, the Autobots' human friend Sparkplug Witwicky, the G.I. Joe Marine [[Gung-Ho (G.I. Joe)|Gung-Ho]] and the [[Cobra (G.I. Joe)#Factions|Dreadnok]] Ripper. In ''[[Inhumanoids]]'', he voiced D'Compose and Tendril. In ''[[Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light]]'', he voiced Darkstorm and Cravex. He provided voices in ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'', credited as Chris Collins.

In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Collins originated the voice of [[Mr. Burns]] in the first-season episodes "[[Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire]]", "[[The Telltale Head]]", and "[[Homer's Odyssey (The Simpsons)|Homer's Odyssey]]", and recorded lines as [[Moe Szyslak]] for "The Telltale Head" and "[[Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons)|Some Enchanted Evening]]" (but was dubbed over in the latter). Along with several other early ''Simpsons'' voice actors, he left during the first season. [[Hank Azaria]] took over the voice of Moe, while [[Harry Shearer]] assumed the role of Mr. Burns.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XF8nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 |title=Television Series of the 1980s: Essential Facts and Quirky Details |first=Vincent |last=Terrace |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |date=November 10, 2017 |page=201 |isbn=9781442278318}}</ref> In a 2018 interview with ''[[GQ]]'', Azaria commented on replacing Collins as Moe, saying that he did not find out until years later that he had replaced another actor. Azaria said that when he asked why he had replaced Collins, he was told by [[Matt Groening]], "He (Collins) was great... He was just a dick.  His voice was great, he was just kind of jerky to everyone." Azaria continued, "Think about how awful—that guy could have been on ''The Simpsons'' his whole life. Lesson to you kids: Always be nice!"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5TaYFi4UVA  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/O5TaYFi4UVA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live| title=GQ interview, Hank Azaria Breaks Down his Iconic Simpsons and Movie Roles |website=[[YouTube]] }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Live action===
Later in the 1980s, he adopted the stage name of Christopher Collins and acted in many live-action television series and motion pictures. In ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', he played [[Klingon]] Captain Kargan in the episode "[[A Matter of Honor]]" and Pakled Captain Grebnedlog in the episode "[[Samaritan Snare]]". In ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', he portrayed two different Markalians: Durg in "[[The Passenger (DS9 episode)|The Passenger]]", and an unnamed assistant to The Albino in "[[Blood Oath (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Blood Oath]]". In ''[[Married... with Children]]'', he played Roger, one of [[Al Bundy]]'s bowling buddies and a member of NO MA'AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood). He portrayed a mugger on an episode of ''[[Seinfeld]]'' titled "[[The Subway (Seinfeld)|The Subway]]". He appears as Mr. Forbes in a first-season episode of ''[[NYPD Blue]]'' titled "Abandando Abandoned". In 1989, he hosted ''[[King Koopa's Kool Kartoons]]'', but was later fired from the show and replaced with [[Patrick Pinney]] allegedly due to inappropriate behavior toward crew and audience members.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/king-koopa-kool-kartoons-lost-media-super-mario-nintendo/ |title=Nintendo's Oddest Lost Media - ''King Koopa's Kool Kartoons'' |last=Kendall |first=Gene |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |date=January 9, 2023 |access-date=January 31, 2024}}</ref>

His first live-action feature film appearance is a bit part as the sharing husband in the film ''[[Road House (1989 film)|Road House]]''. He appeared in ''[[True Identity]]'', ''[[Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot]]'', ''[[Blue Desert (film)|Blue Desert]]'', and ''[[A Stranger Among Us]]''.

On April 28, 2012, Collins was posthumously inducted into the [[Transformers Hall of Fame]]. His daughter Abigail accepted on his behalf.

==Personal life==
Collins married twice and had three children. Early in his career, he divided his time between New York, Boston, and [[Los Angeles]] before settling in L.A. in 1983. In 1991, he moved to [[Ventura, California]].

In an interview, [[Flint Dille]] recalled: {{blockquote|There was one summer when I had to bail Chris Latta out of the Hollywood jail in order to get him to the recording on time. Never figured out what he was in for, but he said it was [[jaywalking]]. Chris was a wild, interesting guy. I liked him and was very sorry to hear that he died.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cybertronchronicle.com/60-astrominutes/flint-dille/flint_dille_1.html | title=Flint Dille interview | publisher=Cybertron Chronicle | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507011724/http://cybertronchronicle.com/60-astrominutes/flint-dille/flint_dille_1.html | archivedate=May 7, 2010 | date=May 7, 2010 }}</ref>}}
 
==Death==
Collins died on June 12, 1994, at the age of 44, due to complications of [[encephalitis]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jun 15, 1994, page 4 - Camarillo Star at Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/934731316/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Jim|last=Ciscell|url=https://www.toptenz.net/top-10-deaths-that-were-overshadowed-by-other-peoples-deaths.php|title=Top 10 Deaths That Were Overshadowed By Other People's Deaths|website=toptenz.net|date=March 8, 2014|accessdate=March 1, 2020}}</ref><ref name="SMS-1">{{cite news |last1=Cason |first1=Colleen |title='Star Trek' actor Collins dead of encephalitis |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/simi-valley-star-obituary-for-christophe/139953429/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |work=Simi Valley Star |date=June 14, 1994}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{{Div col}}
*''[[Star Blazers]]'' (1979, TV Series) – Comet Empire General Dire / Sergeant Knox
*''[[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983 TV series)|G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]]'' (1983, TV Mini-Series) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / [[Breaker (G.I. Joe)|Breaker]] / [[Steeler (G.I. Joe)|Steeler]] (voice)
*''[[Pac-Man (TV series)|Pac-Man]]'' (1983, TV Series) – (voice)
*''[[Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends]]'' (1983, TV Series) – Beetle / Sandman (voice)
*''[[The Transformers (TV series)|The Transformers]]'' (1984–1987, TV Series) – Starscream / Wheeljack / Sparkplug Witwicky / Laserbeak / Buzzsaw / Reflector / Defensor / Furg / Krunk (voice)
*''[[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983 TV series)|G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra]]'' (1984, TV Mini-Series) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / Ripper (voice)
*''[[Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines]]'' (1985) – Adrian Ravenscrodr / Ernie Slye (voice)
*''[[Pulgasari]]'' (1985 Film) - [[King]] of [[Goyreo Dynasty]]  
*''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (1986, TV Series) – Starscream / Laserbeak (voice, uncredited)
*''[[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983 TV series)|G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]]'' (1985, TV Series) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / Breaker / Steeler / Ripper / Horrorshow / [[Frostbite (G.I. Joe)|Frostbite]] (voice)
*''[[Inhumanoids]]'' (1986, TV Series) – D'Compose / Tendril / Statesman Granahue (voice)
*''[[Baby Blinkins|The Blinkins]]: The Bear and the Blizzard'' (1986, TV Movie) – Slime (voice)
*''Inhumanoids: The Movie'' (1986) – D'Compose / Granahue / Tendril (voice)
*''[[G.I. Joe: The Movie]]'' (1987) – Cobra Commander / Gung-Ho / Ripper (voice)
*''[[Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light]]'' (1987, TV Series) – Darkstorm / Cravex / Falkama (voice)
*''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'' (1987–1990, TV Series) – Sammy K. Ferret (voice)
*''[[This Is America, Charlie Brown]]'' (1988, TV Mini-Series) – Sailor/[[Samoset]] (voice)
*''[[Superman (TV series)|Superman]]'' (1988, TV Series) – (voice)
*''[[Mr. Belvedere]]'' (1988, TV Series) – Tom
*''[[Mama's Family]]'' (1989, TV Series) – Larry McCary
*''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' (1989, TV Series) – [[Samaritan Snare|Captain Grebnedlog]] and [[A Matter of Honor|Captain Kargan]]
*''[[Road House (1989 film)|Road House]]'' (1989) – Sharing Husband
*''[[Anything But Love]]'' (1989, TV Series) – Charles
*''[[King Koopa's Kool Kartoons]]'' (1989, TV Series) – King Koopa
*''[[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1989 TV series)|G.I. Joe: Operation Dragonfire]]'' (1989, TV Mini-Series) – Cobra Commander (voice, uncredited)
*''[[The Simpsons]]'' (1989–1990, TV Series) – [[Mr. Burns]] (voice) / [[Moe Szyslak]] (voice)
*''[[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1989 TV series)|G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]]'' (1990–1992, TV Series) – Cobra Commander (voice)
*''[[Blue Desert]]'' (1991) – Phone Man
*''[[Doogie Howser, M.D.]]'' (1991, TV Series) – Mr. Stapleton
*''[[Rover Dangerfield]]'' (1991) – Big Boss / Coyote / Sparky / Wolf / Horse (voice)
*''[[True Identity]]'' (1991) – Frank LaMotta
*''[[Danger Team]]'' (1991, TV Movie) – Truk (voice)
*''[[Seinfeld]]'' (1992, TV Series) – Thug
*''[[Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot]]'' (1992) – Gang Member
*''[[A Stranger Among Us]]'' (1992) – Chris Baldessari
*''[[The Golden Palace]]'' (1992, TV Series) – Angel
*''[[Civil Wars (TV series)|Civil Wars]]'' (1992, TV Series) – P.J. Stone
*''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' (1993–1994, TV Series) – [[Blood Oath (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Guard]] and [[The Passenger (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Durg]]
*''[[Married... with Children]]'' (1993–1994, TV Series) – Roger
*''[[NYPD Blue]]'' (1994, TV Series) – Paul Forbes
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|1980s|1990s}}
* {{IMDb name|0490383}}
{{Memory Alpha}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = none | title = Voice of [[Starscream]] | years = 1984–1986 | after = [[Doug Parker (voice actor)|Doug Parker]]}}
{{succession box | before = none | title = Voice of and portrayed [[Witwicky family#Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug Witwicky]] | years = 1984–1985 | after = [[Kevin Dunn]]}}
{{succession box | before = none | title = Voice of [[Cobra Commander]] | years = 1985–1990 | after = [[Scott McNeil]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Christopher}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American comedians]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male comedians]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:American stand-up comedians]]
[[Category:Comedians from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Comedians from Essex County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Male actors from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Male actors from Manhattan]]
[[Category:New York University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Harlem]]
[[Category:Actors from Orange, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Deaths from encephalitis]]