Ross Bagdasarian Jr.

Ross Dickran Bagdasarian (born May 6, 1949)[1] is an American actor, voice actor, singer, animator and record producer, known for his work on the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise.

Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Born
Ross Dickran Bagdasarian

(1949-05-06) May 6, 1949
Fresno, California, United States
NationalityArmenian
Other namesRoss Bagdasarian
CitizenshipUnited States
Occupation
  • Actor
  • voice actor
  • singer
  • animator
  • record producer
  • attorney
Years active1978–present
Employer
Known for
TelevisionSee full List below
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1980)​
Children2
Parents

He is the son of the franchise's creator, Ross Bagdasarian.[2][3] He is often called Ross Bagdasarian Jr. to distinguish him from his father, but he does not share his father's given name, which was "Rostom".

Early life

Bagdasarian was born in Fresno, California, the son of Armenuhi (née Kulhanjian) and Ross Bagdasarian. He is of Armenian descent. As a child, he worked with his father on The Alvin Show by helping edit and coordinate the soundtracks and falsetto voice-overs of The Chipmunks.

Career

Bagdasarian graduated from law school.[4] He succeeded his father[4] as president of Bagdasarian Productions in 1972 after the death of the elder Bagdasarian. The company had fallen into obscurity after significant success between 1958 and the late 1960s. Bagdasarian was also admitted to the California bar as an attorney in 1975.[5]

Under Bagdasarian's supervision, new Chipmunks records were created shortly after his marriage to Karman, including Chipmunk Punk. In 1981, the Chipmunks returned to television in the cartoon special A Chipmunk Christmas. Two years later, Ruby-Spears Productions' Alvin and the Chipmunks Saturday morning cartoon series debuted on NBC. Based on that series, a feature film, The Chipmunk Adventure was released in 1987. Bagdasarian voices Alvin, Simon, and Dave Seville, and Karman voices Theodore and The Chipettes (Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor).

Bagdasarian and Karman hold tight creative and financial control over the Chipmunk franchise, reviewing each and every business contract in great detail. In the mid-90s, Bagdasarian bought out his brother's and sister's portions of the Chipmunk rights, to take complete control of the franchise.[4]

Universal Pictures lawsuit

Bagdasarian licensed the rights to the Chipmunk characters to Universal Pictures in 1996, resulting in a string of Universal-produced direct-to-video films. Four years later, he and Karman sued them for breach of contract, claiming that Universal failed to properly utilize, market, and merchandise the characters and hence resulting in a loss of royalties to Bagdasarian.[6] The case was decided in Bagdasarian's favor. "For us, it was a custody battle", Karman said. "They finally realized 'OK, these two are really fighting for their kids'."[4]

Personal life

Bagdasarian married his wife Janice Karman in 1980, she is co-president of Bagdasarian Productions.[7] Bagdasarian and Karman have two children and live in Montecito, California.

Filmography

Film
Main article: Alvin and the Chipmunks in film
YearTitleProducerWriterActorRoleNotes
1987The Chipmunk AdventureYesYesYesAlvin Seville
Simon Seville
David Seville
1999Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet FrankensteinYesNoYesDirect-to-video
2000Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the WolfmanYesNoYes
2005Little Alvin and the Mini-MunksYesNoYes
2007Alvin and the ChipmunksYesNoYesAlvin Seville (singing voice)
Songwriter
2009Alvin and the Chipmunks: The SqueakquelYesNoYesSinging Voice
2011Alvin and the Chipmunks: ChipwreckedYesNoYes
2015Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road ChipYesNoYes

Television
YearTitleProducerWriterActorRoleNotes
1981A Chipmunk ChristmasYesYesYesAlvin Seville
Simon Seville
Dave Seville		TV film
1983–1990Alvin and the ChipmunksYesYesYesTV series
1984I Love the Chipmunks Valentine SpecialYesYesYesTV film
1985A Chipmunk ReunionYesYesYes
1990Cartoon All-Stars to the RescueNoNoYesAlvin Seville
Simon Seville		TV short
Rockin' Through the DecadesYesYesYesAlvin Seville
Simon Seville
Dave Seville		TV film
1994Alvin and the Chipmunks: Trick or TreasonYesYesYes
A Chipmunk CelebrationYesYesYes
1995The Easter ChipmunkYesYesYes
2015–presentALVINNN!!! and the ChipmunksYesYesYesTV series

References
  1. Ross Dickran Bagdasarian — California Birth Index at Family Search
  2. Keates, Nancy (September 9, 2011). "Luxury Real Estate: The House Built by 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  3. o (December 21, 2007). "Chipmunks legacy is a family affair". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  4. Pearson, Ryan (December 14, 2007). "The Chipmunks have a very close family". The Providence Journal. Associated Press. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  5. http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Licensee/Detail/65100
  6. "'Chipmunks' Creators Sue Universal". The New York Times. September 14, 2000. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  7. https://www.npr.org/2018/12/20/678678276/the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman
Business positions
Preceded by
Ross Bagdasarian		 President of Bagdasarian Productions
1978–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Owner of Alvin and The Chipmunks
1978–present
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