Richard White (born August 4, 1953 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee) is an American actor, opera singer and voice actor. He is most famous for voicing the character of Gaston in Disney's Beauty and the Beast and in the TV series House of Mouse.

He also played the character of Gaylord Ravenal in Show Boat at Paper Mill Playhouse and Robert Mission in The New Moon, at the New York City Opera. White also created the title role of Erik in the world premiere of Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston's musical, Phantom and sings the role on the original cast recording. His vocal range is low tenor-baritone. When asked if he believed that his character, Gaston, perished from the fall in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, White replied, "Well, all we see is him falling, but we never really know if he perishes from the fall or not." White is a 1971 graduate of Bethel Park High School.^[1]

He was also considered for the voice of Governor Ratcliffe in the 1995 Disney animated feature Pocahontas, but the producers realized that viewers would hear his voice and think of Gaston. David Ogden Stiers, White's co-star from Beauty and the Beast, provided Ratcliffe's voice (which, nonetheless, was vocally similar to Gaston's).

[edit] Personal life

He is divorced from choreographer Sharon Halley with whom he had a daughter, Amanda.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Richard White at the Internet Movie Database

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