Game Recognize Game: Arthur Burghardt
by Zach Woolfork
While we’re currently playing God of War (GOW) on the PS5 and all it’s 4K 60fps glory, we thought we would highlight the talented voice actors in the GOW series — TC Carson and Christopher Judge. However, while researching we went down the rabbit hole of questions and ended up asking ourselves, “Who was the first Black voice actor in a video game?”
Sure, we know there are few and far between people of color (POC) in video game voice acting, compared to White folks…who also voice Black characters. That’s a conversation for another day. Today, we’re going to talk about Arthur Burghardt. Was he the first Black voice actor in a video game? Well, not likely. But, Arthur has definitely put in some work over his 40+ years of acting and voice acting career that should be recognized.
For grown folks who remember the animated series G.I. Joe: The Real American Hero, Arthur was most known for voicing Destro, the villain who worked side-by-side with the Cobra Commander. Interesting fact, Arthur also voiced Sgt. Stalker, a Black military expert of the G.I. Joe team. However, he only made a few appearances in the animated series — while his character lived on in several comic book series. That would’ve been dope to see a Black hero in a recurring role on a popular animated TV series back in the day.
Arthur has also been on a long list of non-animated TV shows from back in the day, such as One Life to Live, 227 and Conan the Adventurer. In film, he voiced the 80’s Transformers Movie, was in A Rage in Harlem and a host of other movies. In video games, Arthur played in Baldur’s Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, 3 World of Warcraft games and God of War: Ghost of Sparta, to name a few.
While it’s clear that Arthur is an accomplished actor and voice actor, he should also be recognized for what he did before all of that:
• Arthur’s given name is actually Arthur Banks. But, he changed his name in honor of William Edward Burghardt or W.E.B. Du Bois, the civil rights activist, educator, historian, writer and scholar
• Burghardt was a Black activist in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
• Arthur also acted on stage. He played Othello in Canada. As a playwright he wrote Frederick Douglass — Through His Own Words. He has an honorary Doctorate from Seton Hall University for his work done on Frederick Douglass
• Like Muhammad Ali, Arthur refused to be inducted into the Armed Forces to fight in the Vietnam War. Unlike Ali, who was able to shake jail time — Arthur served 2 of a 5 year sentence in prison in Atlanta, Georgia. He organized a work stoppage to challenge prison regulations towards Black inmates. In result, he endured attacks by prison guards and prolonged time in solitary confinement, naked and in fear for his life
• Arthur won an Emmy award for the televised version of his Frederick Douglass show
Now retired at age 73, Arthur Burghardt continues to do interviews and panels (online) for his fans, about his voice acting career in animated shows. While he will forever be remembered by many as Destro in G.I. Joe: The Real American Hero. He should also be recognized as a man who used his voice to stand up for Black folks and speak the truths of the Black American struggle.
