David Ogden Stiers

David Ogden Stiers (1942–2018) was an American actor, conductor, and voice artist best known to television audiences for his role as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on «M*A*S*H» and to generations of moviegoers as the voice of Cogsworth, the uptight talking clock, in Disney's «Beauty and the Beast». Though not a singer by trade, his rich, theatrical speaking voice made him a natural fit for animated musical numbers, and he became a recurring presence in Disney's early-1990s animation renaissance.

Beyond Cogsworth, Stiers lent his voice to several other Disney productions, most notably as the villainous Governor Ratcliffe (and his servant Wiggins) in «Pocahontas» and as the sinister Archdeacon in «The Hunchback of Notre Dame», voicing the choral number «The Bells of Notre Dame» that opens the film. He also appeared in «Lilo & Stitch» and other family entertainment. His musical entries on Lyricser stem from these film soundtrack contributions rather than a recording career.

Outside voice acting, Stiers pursued a serious career as an orchestral conductor, leading regional American symphony orchestras, and remained active in stage and film acting throughout his life. His work sits at the intersection of classical music culture and Hollywood family entertainment, a combination that made him a distinctive and memorable voice in animated musical cinema.