Darby Bailey is an American actress, Ph.D. candidate, Information Technologist, voice-over artist, musician, songwriter, writer/producer, and businesswoman.[1] She is most known as the 'Voice of Tellme' and the voice of Verizon[2] and AT&T's 4-1-1 Directory Assistance.[3] Her voice has been heard trillions of times by telephone callers in the U.S. since she first started voicing phone systems in 1999.[4]
Darby Bailey | |
|---|---|
| Born | Salt Lake City, Utah, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Darby, Darby McDonough |
| Alma mater | Regent University, Antioch University Los Angeles, University of Utah, Western Governors University |
| Occupation(s) | Voice actor, Musician, Information Technologist, Songwriter, and Businesswoman |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Known for | Voice of Tellme, Amex, Verizon and AT&T 4-1-1 |
Career
editWhile most known for being the 'Voice of Tellme' and Verizon and AT&T's 4-1-1,[5][6] she is also the entry voice to various interactive voice response (IVR) systems for American Express, Fidelity Investments, United Parcel Service and inside Ford Sync enabled automobiles.[7] She also voiced Utah's 511 Travel Line to coincide with the 2002 Winter Olympics.[8] Her voice has been heard billions of times in the United States by callers using Tellme built systems. She is known for her winsome voice.[9][10]
In popular culture
editOn October 8, 2005, in a Saturday Night Live sketch called 'Julie The Operator Lady' her voice was parodied, as she was at the time, voicing a broad number of phone services, including being the first voice actor to voice both the 1-800-FANDANGO movie phone ticketing system and the Orbitz Travel alert systems,[11] as well as the first voice interactive version of the AT&T, 1-800-555-1212, Directory Assistance line[12]
Darby appeared as herself in a 2003 television episode of CBS news program Sunday Morning where she was interviewed by David Pogue for her work voicing speech enabled telephone systems.
References
edit- ^ "Darby Bailey Official Site". Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ Weingerten, Gene. "Directory Persistence helps find Darby". Star-News.
- ^ "MACHINE OPERATORS". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ Markoff, John (October 9, 2006). "Tellme and Cingular Plan Broader Directory Service". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- ^ "Voices in increasing demand for phone automation; Speech recognition:Technology replaces touch-tone menus to route calls and perform other functions over the phone". Telegraph Herald. July 21, 2002. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ Weingarten, Gene (March 26, 2006). "Directory Persistence ... in which Gene stalks a smooth operator". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ Wong, May. "Voices a growing commodity in phone automation". Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ^ "Punch 511 for word on traffic". Deseret News. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- ^ "The Voice of the Future", Peltz, Michael, 'Worth Magazine', February 2001
- ^ "Verizon's New 411 System: Is It a Live Operator, or Is It 'Darby'?". Speech Technology. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ^ "Voice technology easing transactions". USA Today. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- ^ "OK, here's the 411". Boston.com. Retrieved March 16, 2016.