Lion King' Voices Lane and Sabella Making Mark
Two unknown names behind key characters in the Disney hit movie "The Lion King" are making their mark in the entertainment industry. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella impress moviegoers with their voices.
CNN News
July 1, 1994
3:17pm ET

Guests: Nathan Lane; Ernie Sabella
Byline: Scott Leon

LAURIN SYDNEY, Anchor: The summer's hit movie The Lion King features a number of celebrity voices behind the animated characters. There are also two whose names are little known, but their performances definitely stand out. Scott Leon reports on the scene stealing team of Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella.

SCOTT LEON, Correspondent: If The Lion King is an animated Hamlet, then characters of Timon the Meerkat and Pumbaa the Warthog are its Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The film's comic relief is provided by scene stealing Broadway veterans Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, pals from Guys and Dolls who insisted they auditioned for Lion King together.

NATHAN LANE: And then Ernie went in and read for one of the characters, and I was reading for- you were reading for, what?

ERNIE SABELLA: A mosquito or something.

Mr. LANE: A mosquito. An overweight mosquito.

Mr. SABELLA: In Africa.

Mr. LANE: Yeah. And-

Mr. SABELLA: I thought I had it.

Mr. LANE: And then I was going in for one of the hyenas, and I said- there were like three hyenas talking. So I said, 'Let Ernie and I read together so, you know, I have someone to play off of and I'm not just talking to myself.' And so we went in and, you know, wreaked havoc.

LEON: Like Robin Williams in Aladdin, the animators and writers let the duo's comic camaraderie flourish on screen with several musical numbers, including a stirring 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight.'

Mr. SABELLA: [sings part of a song from 'The Lion King'] Sure.

Mr. LANE: He'll come your home and do the entire movie if you want. He's a pretty lonely and desperate man.

Mr. SABELLA: I'm opening a Burger King in Anaheim soon.

Mr. LANE: Yeah. Try the warthog burger.

LEON: Lane and Sabella are no overnight successes. Lane has been a Broadway mainstay, including his current stint in Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor, and for years was the Nyquil cold guy. Sabella gained fame as the naked guy in the Emmy nominated subway car episode of Seinfeld.

Mr. SABELLA: Just standing there naked, and you're in an air conditioned studio. I had my Puma shorts on. But I was so cold I could hardly say the lines.

Mr. LANE: Calvin Klein is talking to him now about modeling.

Mr. SABELLA: Yeah. Best performance for a very desperate, naked guy. Can you see the Times Square billboard?

LEON: Lane is preparing to do a revival of The Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Sabella is doing How to Succeed in Business at the La Jolla Playhouse. But they hope to reteam professionally soon.

Mr. LANE: We're looking to record an album, Pumbaa and Timon in a Mellow Mood.

Mr. SABELLA: The Early Years. Greatest Hits.

Mr. LANE: Oh, sure. I'm sure they'll be Pumbaa and Timon, The Series.

LEON: Considering how big a hit Lion King is, that could very well be what they'll work on together next.

Scott Leon, CNN Entertainment News, New York.

The preceding text has been professionally transcribed. However, although the text has been checked against an audio track, in order to meet rigid distribution and transmission deadlines, it may not have been proofread against tape.

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