Bill Collins

Bill Collins has heard some interesting requests in his life, so when a first-grader at Monarch Learning Center in Redding asked if he could sound like a duck again, the longtime entertainer just smiled.,A duck is easy,, said Collins, who moved to Redding in 2001 with his wife, Lisa, and his youngest daughter, Kathleen, now 9. ,Once, when I was working on a commercial for the California Egg Board, they asked me if I could make a chicken sound younger.I did,, the actor said, chuckling at the memory and performing the actual chicken sounds. ,Then they said, ,Not that young.Could you make it sound like a teenage chicken?,, Collins took on that daunting challenge and it was his voice the television audience heard when those commercials aired.While it may have been one of Collins, funniest commercials, it wasn,t his first or last.
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Locally, Collins has been in ads for Win-River Casino, Macy,s and Smitty,s Heating and Air Conditioning, to name just a few.He,s won several awards for his work.,He,s a regular for voice-overs here,, said Matt Davison, a producer at Charter Communications. ,He has an extensive background.He can read with a kindly and youthful voice, but if I ask for something harsher, he can give it.He,s very professional.He always asks, ,How does that sound?,,The two men met when they both auditioned for Riverfront Playhouse in Redding when Collins first moved to town.The two hit it off and have been working together since.,He is able to read fast without sounding rushed or awkward, , Davison said. ,That,s a hard thing to do, something I can,t do.He,s experienced so much, it,s good to have that kind of talent level here.,Voice-overs aren,t the only thing Collins does.He,s also an accomplished actor with three major motion pictures on his resume, including ,Tucker,, which starred Jeff Bridges, and ,Willow,, directed by Ron Howard.His stage and theater credits include ,Oklahoma,, ,South Pacific, and ,Music Man,, as well as many others.Locally, Collins and his wife, Lisa, are co-writers and producers of the Keyhole Mystery Theater.He also teaches drama at Redding School of the Arts, North Cow Creek and Monarch schools.He also teaches on-camera acting and auditioning techniques at Redding Talent Company.Despite the grace and talent Collins displays in his acting career, it isn,t his first love.That honor belongs to music.,I remember waking up on Saturday mornings to whatever Bruce would be playing,, said Collins of his brother, who is six years older. ,We would listen to his 45s and sing barbershop harmonies while we did the housework - that was our job - the housework.,