Otakon 2008 Announces Richard Epcar and Ellyn Stern
FOR RELEASE SATURDAY, 10 MAY 2008
Otakon 2008 Announces Richard Epcar and Ellyn Stern
Baltimore, Maryland (10 May 2008) - Veteran ADR Director and voice actor Richard Epcar and actor Ellyn Stern will appear as guests at Otakon 2008. Epcar is probably best known as the voice of Batou on the English dub of GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX; his wife, Stern, recently voiced Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, in BLEACH.
Richard Epcar's involvement with anime titles goes back to ROBOTECH, and has included several beloved hit shows such as LUPIN III (for which he played Jigen in one dub and Goemon in another), DIGIMON, TRANSFORMERS, BLEACH, and NINJA SCROLL. Most recently, he played the title character in the comedy BOBOBO-BO BO-BOBO, and voiced Batou in both seasons of GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX. He has also voiced the Joker in the DC Comics video game, Radin in Mortal Kombat, and Ansem in Kingdom Hearts II. His voice can also be heard in both World of Warcraft and Everquest, and most recently in Blue Dragon. Epcar is also a prominent ADR and voice director for videogames, movies, and television shows such as OLD BOY, NOEIN, BLUE DRAGON, UNREAL TOURNAMENT, PATLABOR 3, and many, many others. Fans of the Power Rangers shows may recognize his voice as well; he voiced many of the monsters.
Ellyn Stern started in anime with the original ‘Robotech’ series, in which she played several characters. She is currently most often heard playing "mom" characters -- Marumaru's Mom and Jiro's Mom in BLUE DRAGON, Yu's Mom in NOEIN, Jack's Mom in MÅR, and Masaki Kurosaki in BLEACH. She voiced Haraway in GHOST IN THE SHELL 2 - INNOCENCE, Rosalind in ARMITAGE III, Veronica Vera in SHADOW HEARTS II, and several roles in MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM - THE MOVIE TRILOGY. Stern has directed or co-directed english dubs for various foreign releases, including EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN and THE LAST EMPEROR. She also contributes several voices to the UGLY BETTY telenovas.
Stern and Epcar have appeared together on TLC's CLEAN SWEEP, and recently starred together in Neil Simon's RUMORS at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills.
ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its fifteenth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore's few large, city-wide events, drawing over 22,000 individual members for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 60,000 "turnstile" attendees). Otakon is a membership-based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all- volunteer, unpaid staff -- we are run by fans, for fans.
