John Moschitta Jr.

{{short description|American actor, singer, and spokesman (born 1954)}}

{{Infobox person

| image = John Moschitta, Jr. - Retro Con, Oaks, PA 9-12-15 (21360305636).jpg

| alt =

| caption = Moschitta Jr. at the Retro Con in Oaks, Pennsylvania, in 2015

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1954|08|06}}

| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.

| other_names = Motormouth, The Fast-Talking Guy

| years_active = 1979–present

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Actor
singer
spokesperson}}

| known_for =

}}

John Moschitta Jr. (born August 6, 1954), also known as "Motormouth" John Moschitta, "John Mosquita" and The Fast-Talking Guy, is an American actor, singer and spokesman. He is best known for his rapid speech delivery. He appeared in over 100 commercials as "The Micro Machines Guy"{{Cite book |last=Bellomo |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CF8AjVJXvH0C&q=john+moschitta+jr+micro+machines&pg=PA171 |title=Totally Tubular '80s Toys |date=September 2010 |publisher=Krause Publications |isbn=9781440216473 |page=171 |access-date=August 26, 2013}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and in a 1981 ad for FedEx. He provided the voice for Blurr in The Transformers: The Movie (1986), The Transformers (1986–1987), Transformers: Animated (2008–2009) and two direct-to-video films.

Born in New York City to an Italian-American family, Moschitta had been credited by Guinness World Records as the World's Fastest Talker, with the ability to articulate 586 words per minute. His record was broken in 1990 by Steve Woodmore, who spoke 637 words per minute{{Cite book |last=Mathews |first=Peter |title=The Guinness Book of Records 1993 |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |year=1992 |isbn=9780851129785 |page=64}}{{Cite news |last=Callihan |first=Jon R. |date=February 2002 |title=Here This (Or Try To) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQAAAAAAMBAJ&q=Steve%20Woodmore%20637%20words%20per%20minute&pg=PA76 |work=Popular Science |publisher=Bonnier Corporation |page=76 |via=Google Books |volume=260 |issue=2 |issn=0161-7370}} and then by Sean Shannon, who spoke 655 words per minute on August 30, 1995.{{Cite web |title=Faster Talker |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/1/fastest-talker |access-date=November 25, 2012 |website=GuinnessWorldRecords.com}} However, Moschitta questions the legitimacy of those who claim to be faster than he is.{{Cite web |last=Ruiz |first=Michelle |date=December 9, 2016 |title=Is the Micro-Machines Guy Still the Fastest-Talking Man on the Planet? |url=http://nymag.com/speed/2016/12/is-the-micro-machines-guy-still-the-fastest-talking-man-on-the-planet.html |access-date=November 16, 2018 |website=New York Magazine}}

Career

=FedEx commercial=

In 1981, Moschitta appeared on the ABC TV series That's Incredible!,{{Cite news |last=Gervais |first=Marty |date=November 8, 1986 |title=Motor-mouth led to his rapid success |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I_FfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4844,2143022&dq=moschitta+emmy&hl=en |access-date=January 9, 2013 |work=The Saturday Windsor Star |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106120320/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I_FfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4844%2C2143022&dq=moschitta+emmy&hl=en |url-status=live }} where he recited the lyrics from "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man. The appearance led to many other television offers, such as The Tonight Show and The Merv Griffin Show. Also, after seeing the show, Patrick Kelly and Michael Tesch, employees of the Ally & Gargano ad agency, hired Moschitta to appear in a FedEx commercial; the package-delivery company was then still known by its original name, Federal Express.{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Ben |date=March 6, 1983 |title=Quick quip: Actor talks his way into Federal Express commercials |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H_ceAAAAIBAJ&pg=6762,734829&dq=moschitta+academy&hl=en |access-date=January 9, 2013 |work=The Daily News |archive-date=November 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102221004/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H_ceAAAAIBAJ&pg=6762%2C734829&dq=moschitta+academy&hl=en |url-status=live }} In the ad, "Fast Paced World",{{Cite web |title=Federal Express 'Fast Paced World' commercial from 1981 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjO6EJIyxGw |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/sjO6EJIyxGw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |access-date=December 28, 2015 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} directed by Joe Sedelmaier, Moschitta played a fast-talking executive named Jim Spleen. The commercial garnered six Clio Awards, including Best Performance–Male award for Moschitta and earned him the nickname "Motormouth". Turn-of-the-century polls named it the Most Effective Campaign in the History of Advertising and named Moschitta the Most Effective Spokesperson.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} The 40th-anniversary issue of New York Magazine (October 6, 2008) listed it as number one in "The Most Memorable Advertisements Madison Avenue Ever Sold."{{Cite journal |last=Parish |first=Nick |date=September 28, 2008 |title=The Most Memorable Advertisements Madison Avenue Ever Sold |url=http://nymag.com/anniversary/40th/50671/ |journal=New York |access-date=October 2, 2013}} Advertising Age ranked the ad number 11 among its "Top 100 Campaigns" in March 1999.{{Cite web |date=March 29, 1999 |title=Ad Age Advertising Century: Top 100 Campaigns |url=http://adage.com/article/special-report-the-advertising-century/ad-age-advertising-century-top-100-advertising-campaigns/140150/ |access-date=October 4, 2013 |website=Advertising Age |publisher=Crain Communications |archive-date=December 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231103329/http://adage.com/article/special-report-the-advertising-century/ad-age-advertising-century-top-100-advertising-campaigns/140150/ |url-status=live }} According to Moschitta, he did 29 flawless takes of the final scene of the commercial, prompting the director to remark that he is "like a machine" who never makes mistakes. In response, Moschitta deliberately fumbled on a line, which was ultimately the take that was used in the final cut.{{Cite web |last=Great Big Story |date=October 24, 2017 |title=Talking Fast With a Record-Setting Speed Talker |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExKCcndqK5c |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/ExKCcndqK5c |archive-date=2021-12-21 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}

=Other television work=

He was a contestant on Pyramid in the 1970s and then was a production assistant on Pyramid producer Bob Stewart's game show Shoot for the Stars in 1977 and later played two weeks of Pyramid as a celebrity, one in 1983 and one in 1988.

In addition to his commercials for Federal Express, Moschitta completed over 750 television and radio commercials, including national campaigns for Minute Rice, Quality Inn, Northwest Airlines, Olympus Camera, Mattel, Post Cereals, Tiger Games, Continental Airlines, Burger King, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, HBO, Micro Machines and JetBlue.

Moschitta also appeared in a number of movies and television shows. For example, he voiced the character of Blurr in The Transformers: The Movie, and reprised the character on Transformers Animated.

Moschitta has been an announcer on two television game shows: Hollywood Squares and Balderdash.

In 2016, Moschitta appeared on an episode of Superhuman on FOX as a part of the challenge "Fast Car" in which he rapidly explained the various prices of three different vehicles to mental calculator Mike Byster, who had to calculate the sticker prices of each one correctly.{{Cite web |date=June 16, 2017 |title=Mike Can Catch The Prices In A Really Fast Sales Pitch |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9cew6zZLPA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/e9cew6zZLPA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} The episode aired on June 26, 2017.

=Audio recordings=

In 1986, Moschitta recorded a spoken-word album entitled Ten Classics in Ten Minutes. In this recording, Moschitta summarizes ten classic literary tales in one minute each. The collection includes stories such as Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby; Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind; and John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.

Selected filmography

=Film=

Young Doctors in Love (1982) — Complaining man
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985) — Z'Gork (voice)
The Transformers: The Movie (1986) — Blurr (voice)
Going Under (1990) — Defense Contractor (as John Moschitta)
Dick Tracy (1990) — Radio Announcer
Blankman (1994) — Mr. Crudd
John Bronco (2020) — Himself

=Television=

Nickel Flicks (1979) — Host
Madame's Place (1982) — Larry Lunch
Matt Houston (1983) — Myron Chase
The Transformers (1986–1987) — Punch / Blurr / Blowpipe (voice) (as John Moschitta)
Sesame Street (1989) — Porter Pepper of Peter Piper "P" Products, a new baby with names from the alphabet
Saved by the Bell (1989) — George Testaverde
Mathnet (1991) — Johnny Dollar
Garfield and Friends (1992) — Super Sonic Seymour (voice)
Pinky and the Brain (1997) — Kurt Sackett (voice)
Hollywood Squares (2003–2004) — Announcer
Balderdash (2004–2005) — Announcer
Robot Chicken (2007–2012) — Elrond, Azmuth, auctioneer, NASA crew member, hostage, Micro Machines Man, Trap-Jaw (voice)
Transformers: Animated (2008–2009) — Blurr (voice)
Family Guy episode: "Fox-y Lady" (2009) - FedEx Guy (voice)
Adventure Time (2010) — Key-per (voice)
Oddities (2013) — Himself