My grandson loves to watch SpongeBob Squarepants on Nickelodeon. Who does the voice of Patrick, Spongebob's friend? His voice is so familiar it drives me crazy trying to figure it out.
—Anita F., Kentucky
You must have been a fan of the television show Coach. Bill Fagerbakke, who played assistant football coach Dauber on the series, provides the voice for Patrick Star on Spongebob Squarepants. The 45-year-old California native actually played college football himself, at the University of Idaho. He dreamed of playing pro football, but suffered a knee injury in his sophomore year. Not able to play, Fagerbakke took a friend's dare to try out for a school musical. He discovered he loved acting, switched his major to theater arts, and went on to a steady career as an actor. He got the part of Dauber in Coach just two years after completing his graduate studies at Southern Methodist University, and stayed on the show for nine years. He's done a lot of voice work on cartoons aside from Spongebob, including the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He and his wife Catherine have two children.
