Iconic Dragon Ball Z Narrator Doc Harris Dies at 76
Doc Harris, the narrator behind Dragon Ball Z's English dub from Ocean, has died at 76
Doc Harris, the legendary narrator behind Dragon Ball Z's earliest English dub days, has died at the age of 76. Real name Gilbert Auchinleck, Harris passed away this past Saturday at Vancouver General Hospital following a reported minor surgery last month (as detailed by Broadcast Dialogue). Harris had a long broadcasting career that spanned many decades, but many anime fans will likely more recognize him as the iconic voice behind Dragon Ball's early days. Serving as the narrator closing and opening each of Dragon Ball Z's episodes of a certain era, Harris' voice is still the one that many fans think of to this day when looking back at the anime series.
Harris served as the voice of the narrator during the Ocean Group days of Dragon Ball's English dubbed release. He's the voice behind the iconic "Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z," and likely was the voice ringing out in many fans' television sets before and after school. Along with voicing the narrator in the Dragon Ball Z TV anime series, Harris was also heard in a few of the Dragon Ball Z movies, and is often remembered as one of the big reasons that the Dragon Ball franchise is as big as it is today.
What Is Dragon Ball's Ocean Dub?
Dragon Ball Z's "Ocean dub" is a colloquial term used by fans to refer to the 53 episodes produced by Funimation in cooperation with Saban Brands and Ocean Group's voice talent. These episodes were edited from the original TV broadcasts in Japan, and had a much different voice cast than was heard later in Funimation's re-releases of the series with the likes of the uncut Dragon Ball Z Kai material and more. But if you ask fans of a certain age, it's this version of the anime that really helped to cement the vibe and spirit that Dragon Ball has in the West.
This version of the series had its own rocking soundtrack, it's own take on many of the characters, and of course, Doc Harris serving as the glue that held it all together. It's hard to imagine Dragon Ball Z having just as much of an early on impact as it did without iconic voices like Harris' behind it all, and it wasn't the only animated series Harris lent his voice too either with contributions to series such as My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Monster Rancher, Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space, and Captain N The Game Master.
Dragon Ball Celebrates 40th Anniversary
As Dragon Ball celebrates the 40th anniversary of the late Akira Toriyama's original manga first hitting the pages of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, it's also the perfect time to go back and check out some of Harris' work with the Dragon Ball Z series. Unfortunately, much of this work is relegated to older physical media releases such as VHS tapes, so fans wanting to seek them out will need to do some digging online. Through the work of those like Harris on the franchise, Dragon Ball is now at a much bigger place than it ever was.
It's hard to imagine that those involved with Dragon Ball in its earliest days in the West would see that the anime would be continuing with new entries all these decades later, but it's clear that fans have been loving all of these contributions for all this time. There's the hope that Harris understood how big of an impact his voice has had on a certain generation, and will continue to do so for years to come. Our deepest condolences are with Harris' family, friends, and loved ones at this difficult time.
