Now in its 13th season, the Fox animated comedy “Bob’s Burgers” boasts some of the most indelible voice acting on TV, including that of John Roberts as the family matriarch Linda Belcher, with her endearingly perfect Brooklyn accent.
The inspiration for the voice? Roberts’ own mother. “She loves it,” he said. “I started doing an impersonation of her on YouTube and I would wear all her clothes. She’s very into comedy. She got it. She’s got a good sense of humor, thank God.
“She’s mostly just happy I have a job after decades and decades of waiting tables.”
Fox is home to other long-running animated sitcoms including “The Simpsons,” and it just so happens that Linda Belcher will be making an appearance on the show’s Halloween episode.
Roberts’ career has primarily been as a stand-up comedian, and he is also popular for his YouTube videos. When asked about a worst moment in his career, he told a story about his early days in comedy.
My worst moment …
“This was around 2003 and at the time I was just performing in the East Village with all my wigs and stuff, I was doing all these characters. One of my characters is Debra and I tape my nose up to do her. It looks very Whoville. But it’s funny and it works for the character.
“So before a show, I would be in a bathroom stall waiting to go on stage with my nose taped up saying a prayer (laughs) and hoping that the tape didn’t slide off from the sweat. You have to get a special kind of tape that I would get at the deli next door on Avenue A. It took me a while to figure out, you need the right tape!
“OK so, my friends, who are in a punk rock girl band from Brooklyn, they were opening for Pink. And they were like, ‘You gotta come over to the hotel. Bring your wigs and do a private show for her.’ And I’m like, oh my God, this is huge! A big break. I love Pink.
“So I went to her hotel room — she had a big suite; she’s Pink — and I brought my wigs over, lined them up and did all the characters. She loved them and we had a great night.
“She was having a big party in New York with L.A. Reid, maybe it was for her record sales? I was also a DJ at the time so she said, ‘I want you to DJ and also perform these characters at this party.’ (Laughs) So I brought all these crates of vinyl and my wigs and it was in this big New York City club.
“I’m DJing for a while. Then I run downstairs to put on my wig and tape up my nose and I’m getting ready to go on. And then someone from her record label was like, ‘You’ll announce L.A. Reid and then get off the stage.’
“I had my nose taped up already, but I was talking in my man voice (laughs), not as Debra but as me. And I was like: ‘I’m sorry, Pink really wanted me to perform. So I’m not going to cut my performance.’ Really standing up for myself (laughs) with my nose taped up.
“And then when I went on. And throughout most of my performance, L.A. Reid was on the side of the stage, I remember that. And he was just looking at me like: What the hell is this? And I just kept doing my performance while someone from the side of the stage was like: ‘John Roberts, leave the stage.’ Like, calling my name!
“But I just did the performance anyway (laughs).
“Pink sent me a really nice letter afterward and was like: ‘Whose (butt) do I need to kick?’ And I was like, nobody’s — because it was so sweet of her to hire me and she paid me so well. I had no money at the time and it was such a great experience.
“But clearly I was not going to get signed to L.A. Reid’s record label.”
What was it that compelled Roberts to stand his ground and defy whoever was telling him to get offstage?
“Probably I watched that movie ‘Fame’ too many times and was like: This is your big break, Robert! (Laughs) You don’t let anyone take your big break!
“I also knew that Pink wanted me to be there. And she was running the show. So I was like: This is Pink’s night. She invited me here, so I’m gonna do it (laughs).
“There’s always some kind of distraction that can happen in a club performance, especially in New York. And this place was big and it was in Midtown. People were talking and it was a very difficult environment to perform in anyway, so you just kind of have to make yourself heard.
“The people there were like: Who’s this jerk with his nose taped up? We’re here to be cool and hang out with Pink, who is this idiot? But she’s got a good sense of humor. Nothing was going to take away that feeling — Pink liked me, who cares about people from the record label? So it was a best moment with a worst moment.
“But me talking with my man voice with my nose taped up and my wig on was borderline psycho, you know? Nobody wants to hire that guy.
“It might have played out different if I did this after YouTube, when some people knew me. Because after YouTube, I was selling out the comedy clubs and people were coming into the city to see me and that made a huge difference.
“But this was pre-YouTube. So I was winning over one person at a time doing live shows. I was doing it the hard way. But it was great because it made me a better performer. It smashed all the fear that you deal with in those moments.
“(In Linda’s voice) I survived.”
The takeaway …
“That Pink is awesome and she’ll kick someone’s (butt) for you.
“And don’t let people intimidate you while you’re on stage. If you’re committed to a performance and supposed to be there, then command that attention.”
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