Michael Winslow rose to fame in the 1980s thanks to his role as Larvell Jones, the quirky officer who made sound effects, in the “Police Academy” movies. He later appeared in films like “Gremlins” and “Spaceballs” before retiring from the biz to help raise his kids after his wife died. Now, the 62-year-old voicetramentalist is hoping to return to the entertainment industry and he’s using “America’s Got Talent” as the stepping stone for how to get there. Above, watch the “AGT” sneak peek video before the episode airs Tuesday, July 13 on NBC.
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“I used to be the man of 10,000 sound effects, but we’re into the hundreds of thousands now,” Winslow explains backstage. When host Terry Crews asks him how it all started, Winslow responds, “I always did this and this is just a part of me. I’ve been making sounds since I was a kid.” Now that his children are out of the house, he readily admits he’s “in a different phase” of his life.
Standing outside the “AGT” theater in Pasadena, CA, Winslow proudly declares, “I think this is my time, and ‘America’s Got Talent’ is the place for me to show the world I still have something to offer. I still have some sounds to make and there’s still room for a little more.”
The “AGT” judges — Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara — immediately recognize Winslow when he steps out onto the big stage. He explains how his sound effects started in part because he grew up as an “Air Force brat,” which meant his family had to constantly be on the move. “So that meant I had to make up my own friends, my own movies, my own soundtrack, my own soundscape,” he notes. Winslow then delivers a hilarious comedy routine full of sound effects like airplane noises, radio static and popular songs. The clip cuts off before the judges give their critiques, but we totally expect the voicetramentalist to sail through it to the next phase of the competition.
Winslow is hoping to become the first comedy act to ever win “America’s Got Talent,” which is now in its 16th season on NBC. Do you think he has what it takes to cross the finish line? He faces stiff competition this year from other comedians like Cam Bertrand, Josh Blue, Kabir Singh, Gina Brillon and father-son duo Gerald Kelly and Lil Hunter Kelly.
