Scott Innes
Scott Innes (born October 1, 1966) is an American voice actor, radio personality, songwriter, and author best known for his work voicing iconic Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. characters, particularly Scooby-Doo, Shaggy Rogers, and Scrappy-Doo, beginning in 1997.[1][2][3] Innes began his voice acting career prominently in 1997 when he assumed the role of Scooby-Doo, succeeding the late Don Messick, and continued voicing the character along with Shaggy and Scrappy-Doo until 2001.[3][4] During this period, he contributed to four Scooby-Doo animated films, including Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998), Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999), Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000), and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001), as well as the 2002 live-action film Scooby-Doo.[3][4] He also provided voices for more than 1,000 Scooby-Doo toys and video games, and extended his talents to other classic characters such as Papa Smurf, Snagglepuss, Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble, and Popeye.[3][2] His voice work has appeared in television appearances, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Fox & Friends.[3] Beyond voice acting, Innes has built a distinguished career in radio as a personality and concert promoter, joining WYNK-FM in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1997, where he has hosted shows for over two decades.[3][4] He received the Academy of Country Music's Air Personality of the Year award in 1997 and the Marconi Award for Air Personality of the Year in 1999 from the National Association of Broadcasters.[3][5] Innes was voted Baton Rouge's favorite on-air personality in 1998 and 1999 by Parents Magazine and has won multiple Golden Mike Awards, including being the first in Louisiana to receive it in 1999 and again in 2003.[3][6] As a songwriter, Innes has penned tracks for prominent country artists, including Sammy Kershaw, Kenny Rogers, and Shenandoah.[3][7] He remains active in community service, particularly in his hometown of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, where he organizes annual events like the Scott Innes Songs & Stories Gala to support local causes.[1][8]Biography
Early life
Scott Innes was born on October 1, 1966, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Growing up in this small town in the Missouri Bootheel region, he was exposed to local media environments that fostered his early interests in entertainment and broadcasting. From a young age, Innes displayed a natural talent and passion for mimicking cartoon voices, including that of Scooby-Doo, which he later described as a lifelong pursuit. This childhood hobby, developed during grade school, was influenced by iconic voice performers like Don Messick and Daws Butler, whom he admired and even interviewed at age 12. Innes's family background provided a supportive setting amid the local radio scene in Poplar Bluff, where stations like KLID offered accessible entry points into media. At age 13, he secured his first professional radio role as a disc jockey at KLID in 1980, earning recognition as the youngest DJ in America at the time and hosting an evening program.Personal life
Scott Innes is a father of two sons. He has an older son, Josh Innes, who works as a sports radio host in Detroit, Michigan.[9] Innes married his first wife, Jodie, on October 30, 1998, with whom he shares a son, Presley.[10] The couple later divorced in 2014.[11] In 2016, Innes married Cindy Harris, with whom he resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[12][1] Innes demonstrates a strong passion for community involvement and service projects, often leveraging his celebrity status to engage with local initiatives. As a dedicated family man, he has been recognized for his role as a father and his efforts to inspire youth through personal appearances. In November 2019, Innes visited Poplar Bluff Junior High School in his hometown of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, where he spoke to students, performed character voices, and celebrated "Scooby-Doo Day" to motivate them in their pursuits.[13][14] His family life has occasionally influenced his creative endeavors, such as songwriting inspired by his experiences as a parent.[15]Career
Radio and broadcasting
Scott Innes began his radio career as a disc jockey at KLID in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, where he debuted in 1980 at the age of 14, becoming one of the youngest DJs in the United States at the time.[16] This early entry into broadcasting marked the start of a lifelong commitment to radio, influenced by his passion for the medium that he had developed during his teenage years.[17] Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Innes built his reputation as a radio personality in the Gulf Coast region, working at stations such as WABB-FM in Mobile, Alabama, where he served as a morning announcer. By 1997, he had transitioned to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, taking on the role of morning host at WRQQ (now Classic Hits 103.3 FM) while also handling afternoon shifts at the country station WYNK-FM.[18] His tenure at WYNK lasted until 2011, during which he earned multiple accolades, including the Academy of Country Music's Air Personality of the Year in 1997 and 2006, the Marconi Award in 1999, and the Country Radio Broadcasters' Air Personality of the Year in 2002.[3] Innes's broadcasting style emphasized humor and family-oriented content, earning him two Gold'n Mike Awards from the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters and a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the industry.[3] As of 2025, Innes has continued hosting morning shows on Classic Hits 103.3 FM in Baton Rouge and midday slots on 106.1 Nash FM in New Orleans, maintaining a presence in both classic hits and country formats.[3] His career intersects with sports radio through his son, Josh Innes, an award-winning sports talk host who, like his father, entered broadcasting as a teenager. In July 2025, Josh returned to host mornings on 106.7 WLLZ in Detroit, highlighting the family's ongoing legacy in radio across generations.[3][19][20]Voice acting
In 1997, following the death of longtime Scooby-Doo voice actor Don Messick, Scott Innes was selected by Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera to assume the role of Scooby-Doo, beginning with the direct-to-video film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island released in 1998.[21] Innes provided the voice for Scooby across several animated projects from 1998 to 2001, including Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999), Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000), and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001), capturing the character's signature goofy, speech-impaired demeanor.[22] Innes also voiced Shaggy Rogers starting in 1999 and Scrappy-Doo starting in 2001, alongside Scooby-Doo, in several direct-to-video films, video games, and other media, including Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase and Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights (2002).[3][2] His portrayal of Shaggy emphasized the character's laid-back, snack-obsessed personality, while Scrappy retained the pup's energetic, boastful traits. Innes's voice work extended beyond the core Scooby-Doo trio to other Hanna-Barbera characters, including sporadic performances as Jabberjaw, the shark protagonist from the 1970s series, in commercials and revivals from the late 1990s through the 2000s.[3] A hallmark of his recording sessions was the ability to perform multiple character voices in quick succession or overlapping dialogue, allowing efficient production of interactive scenes involving Scooby, Shaggy, and others without requiring separate actors.[22] His radio broadcasting experience, where he honed versatile vocal modulation, further supported this multifaceted approach.[23] Innes continued voicing Hanna-Barbera icons sporadically into the 2000s and beyond, such as Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo in various media.[3] More recently, he lent his voice to the titular Phantom in the short horror film Phantom of the Fields (2022) and to Anubis in the comedy-adventure Shakespeare's Mummy (2023), demonstrating his ongoing adaptability in animation and independent projects.[24][25]Writing and media ventures
In 2003, Scott Innes co-wrote the country song "Handprints on the Wall" with Claude Parish and Nelson Blanchard, inspired by his young son Presley; the track was recorded by Kenny Rogers and released on Rogers's album Back to the Well.[26] Innes has additional songwriting credits for Nashville artists, including tracks for Sammy Kershaw and T. Graham Brown, as well as four songs on Shenandoah's 2017 tribute album Good Ol' Boys to Lynyrd Skynyrd.[3] In 2010, Innes launched Hug Magazine, a free publication he owns, publishes, and authors, dedicated to inspirational family and entertainment content targeted at South Louisiana communities.[27] The magazine emphasizes positive stories, local events, and uplifting features, distributed quarterly in print and online.[28] Innes maintains an official website and online shop at onescottshop.com, where he sells merchandise related to his media projects, including Scooby-Doo memorabilia, and shares updates on his creative endeavors.[3] In 2024, Innes contributed the afterword to Zoinks! The Spooky Folklore Behind Scooby-Doo by Mark Norman, published by The History Press, drawing on his extensive experience voicing the franchise's characters.[29]Filmography
Films
Scott Innes debuted as the voice of Scooby-Doo in the direct-to-video animated film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, released in 1998, marking the first entry in a new series of Scooby-Doo direct-to-video movies produced by Warner Bros. Animation. In this horror-themed adventure, Innes succeeded the late Don Messick, bringing a fresh interpretation to the iconic Great Dane while also providing additional voices. Innes continued his prominent role in the franchise's direct-to-video films, voicing both Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers in the subsequent releases Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999), Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000), and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001).[2] These films expanded on the mystery-solving formula with supernatural elements, musical performances, extraterrestrial encounters, and virtual reality themes, respectively, allowing Innes to showcase his versatility in capturing the characters' comedic timing and cowardly personas. His dual voicing contributed to the continuity of the series during a transitional period for the franchise. Transitioning to live-action hybrid features, Innes provided the voice for the antagonistic Scrappy-Doo in the theatrical film Scooby-Doo (2002), directed by Raja Gosnell and starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, and Linda Cardellini as the human Mystery Inc. members. He reprised the role in the sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), where Scrappy's villainous return played a key part in the plot involving costumed villains terrorizing Coolsville. These blockbuster films, which blended live-action with animation, grossed over $318 million worldwide combined and introduced the characters to a new generation of audiences. Innes voiced core characters in several Scooby-Doo direct-to-video films and live-action features from 1998 to 2004, including The Scooby-Doo Project (1999), Night of the Living Doo (2001), and the theatrical films Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). More recently, Innes appeared in a live-action capacity as the Ring Announcer in the biographical sports drama The Iron Claw (2023), directed by Sean Durkin and starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson as the Von Erich wrestling family. This role marked a departure from his voice work, contributing to the film's depiction of 1980s professional wrestling culture.Television
Scott Innes is renowned for his voice work as Shaggy Rogers and Scooby-Doo in various animated television productions during the late 1990s and early 2000s. His tenure in these roles brought a distinctive energy to the characters, particularly in episodic formats that emphasized mystery-solving adventures.[2] Innes also made guest appearances as Scooby-Doo and Shaggy in the Adult Swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. He voiced the characters in the 2002 episode "Shaggy Busted," where Shaggy faces legal troubles in a satirical courtroom setting, and voiced Shaggy in the 2005 episode "Identity Theft," highlighting the crossover appeal of Hanna-Barbera characters.[30][31][32] In a later web-adjacent television project, Innes returned to voice Shaggy and Scooby in the 2020 short series Scooby-Doo! Playmobil Mini Mysteries, a collaboration between Warner Bros. and Playmobil that aired on platforms like YouTube and Cartoon Network, consisting of brief animated episodes promoting toy sets.[33]Video games
Scott Innes was a prominent voice actor in the Scooby-Doo video game series during the late 1990s and early 2000s, primarily providing the voices for Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers in interactive adventure titles developed for platforms like PlayStation, PC, and Game Boy Advance.[2] His work spanned approximately 10 games from 1999 to 2006, contributing to the franchise's expansion into gaming by capturing the characters' comedic timing and fearful reactions in puzzle-solving and exploration-based gameplay.[1] These performances helped bridge the animated series' legacy with digital interactivity, often alongside co-stars like Frank Welker as Fred and Grey DeLisle as Daphne.[34] Key examples of Innes's video game roles include:- Scooby-Doo! Mystery of the Fun Park Phantom (1999): Voiced Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers in this PC adventure game where the gang investigates a haunted amusement park.
- Scooby-Doo! Phantom of the Knight (2000): Provided voices for Scooby-Doo and Shaggy in the Game Boy Color title involving a ghostly knight mystery.[35]
- Scooby-Doo! Classic Creep Capers (2000): Voiced Scooby-Doo in the Game Boy Color platformer adapting classic Scooby episodes.[36]
- Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001): Voiced Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers in the PlayStation 2 game based on the direct-to-video film, featuring cyber-world levels.
- Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights (2002): Voiced Scooby-Doo and Shaggy in the critically acclaimed PlayStation 2 action-adventure, praised for its faithful character portrayals and level design.[37]
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Mayhem (2004): Voiced Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers across multiple platforms in this story-driven mystery game involving a shrinking epidemic.
- Scooby-Doo! Unmasked (2005): Contributed voices to Scooby-Doo and Shaggy in the action game where the gang uncovers a masked villain conspiracy.
- Scooby-Doo! Who's Watching Who? (2006): Voiced Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers in the PSP and Nintendo DS title focused on surveillance-themed puzzles.[38]
- Scooby Doo! Jinx at the Sphinx (2006): Voiced Shaggy Rogers in the mobile and handheld game set in an Egyptian adventure.[39]
- Scooby-Doo! Showdown in Ghost Town (2000): Voiced Scooby-Doo in the PC educational adventure exploring a Wild West ghost town.[40]