Early life and education
West was born in Detroit, Michigan, on April 16, 1952, and is of Irish descent. He grew up in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston and in New Jersey, graduating from Roslindale High School. He briefly attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston before leaving to pursue music full time, playing in Boston-area bands while supporting himself selling guitars in Harvard Square.1 West has spoken publicly about a difficult childhood and has said he developed his impressionist and character-voice abilities in part as a coping mechanism. In 2019 he disclosed that he had been diagnosed on the autism spectrum.1
Career
Radio
West first built an audience in radio. From roughly 1980 to 1986 he was part of the morning team on Boston's WBCN, performing comedic characters and bits on Charles Laquidara's program "The Big Mattress." After relocating to New York, he joined "The Howard Stern Show" on K-Rock in the late 1980s, where he became a fixture for several years and was noted for impressions of figures such as Larry Fine of the Three Stooges, baseball owner Marge Schott, and actor George Takei.1
Animation breakthrough
West's first significant television voice role came on the 1988 revival of "Beany and Cecil." His breakthrough arrived with two of Nickelodeon's first original animated series. On "Doug" he voiced both the lead character, Doug Funnie, and his rival Roger Klotz. On "The Ren & Stimpy Show," created by John Kricfalusi, West was originally cast only as Stimpy J. Cat. After Kricfalusi, who voiced Ren Hoek, departed the show following disputes with the network, West also took over the role of Ren for the remainder of the Nickelodeon run, voicing both title characters.1
Futurama and signature roles
Since 1999, West has voiced a large share of the principal cast of Matt Groening's "Futurama," including the hapless delivery boy Philip J. Fry, the elderly Professor Hubert Farnsworth, the lobster-like Dr. John Zoidberg, the blowhard captain Zapp Brannigan, and the head of Richard Nixon, among others.1 The role of Fry in particular became one of his most identifiable performances across the show's original run, its direct-to-video films, and its later revivals.
He has also become a steward of several classic cartoon characters. He voiced Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in the feature film "Space Jam" (1996) and in subsequent Looney Tunes productions, took on Woody Woodpecker and Popeye, and voiced Shaggy Rogers in "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" (1998). Among his best-known commercial work, he is the voice of the Red M&M character. West has voiced well over a hundred distinct characters across television, film, video games, and advertising. He also titled himself the lead of the band "Billy West and the Grief Counselors," releasing the album "Me-Pod" in 2004, and has performed alongside a range of rock musicians over the years.1
Ghostbusters
Extreme Ghostbusters (1997)
West provided the voice of Slimer in Extreme Ghostbusters, the 1997 sequel series that continued the world of the original animated franchise with a new team of young busters working under Egon Spengler. According to long-standing fan accounts preserved in the GBFans.com community archive, West was approached for the role and was told that Frank Welker, who had originated Slimer in "The Real Ghostbusters" and "Slimer!," did not wish to reprise the part. Welker did return to the franchise for "Extreme Ghostbusters" in a guest capacity, voicing Ray Stantz. This recasting account is community lore rather than a documented studio statement, and we present it as such.
Personal life
Published biographies report that West was married to Violet Benny from 1992 until their divorce in 2009. He has been open about health struggles, including a bout with prostate cancer.1 As of 2026 he remains active in voice acting and continues to perform.
GBFans.com members know West primarily as the voice behind one of the franchise's most beloved characters in animated form, and his broader résumé makes him a frequent draw at the kind of comic and animation conventions where Ghostbusters fans cross paths with collectors of "Futurama," "Ren & Stimpy," and Looney Tunes memorabilia. We make no claim of an exclusive GBFans.com relationship with him.
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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"Billy West," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_West. Source for birth name and date (William Richard Werstine, April 16, 1952, Detroit), Irish descent, Roslindale Boston upbringing and Berklee College of Music, the WBCN "The Big Mattress" and "The Howard Stern Show" radio years and impressions, the "Beany and Cecil," "Doug," and "Ren & Stimpy" animation breakthrough, the "Futurama" ensemble from 1999, "Space Jam" (1996), "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" (1998), the Red M&M and other voice work, the band Billy West and the Grief Counselors and the album "Me-Pod" (2004), the 2019 autism diagnosis, the prostate cancer survivorship, and the 1992 to 2009 marriage to Violet Benny.
