Bill Fagerbakke
The voice behind SpongeBob's starfish best friend, Patrick, and a beloved sitcom sidekick on Coach.
Born 1957 (age 69)·American actor·Birthday: October 4·Baby Boomers
Biography
Bill Fagerbakke's deep, resonant voice is one of the most recognizable in animation, synonymous with the blissfully ignorant and endlessly loyal Patrick Star on 'SpongeBob SquarePants.' But before he lived in a pineapple under the sea, the Idaho native and former college football player was a fixture on the sitcom 'Coach' as Dauber, the sweet-natured, not-so-bright assistant coach who was the heart of the team. Fagerbakke possesses a rare ability to imbue simple, often silly characters with genuine affection, making them impossible not to love. His career is a testament to the power of a distinctive voice and a generous comic spirit, spanning from Broadway stages to animated blockbusters and memorable live-action guest spots, like the father on 'How I Met Your Mother.'
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Bill was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bill Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Bill's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Has voiced the character Patrick Star on 'SpongeBob SquarePants' since the show's inception in 1999.
- Played the role of Michael 'Dauber' Dybinski for the entire nine-season run of the sitcom 'Coach'.
- Performed on Broadway in the musical 'The Graduate' alongside Kathleen Turner and Alicia Silverstone.
Did You Know?
He played college football as a defensive lineman for the University of Idaho Vandals.
He is a trained Shakespearean actor and performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
His daughter's name is Finley, which is also the name of the town where Patrick Star lives in 'SpongeBob SquarePants'.
“I love that Patrick is pure id. He's just this big, wonderful, stupid heart.”
