The Herald
US actor talks over Connery
14 September 2001
JIM McLEAN
HIS Scottish burr is famous the world over. Now it has earned Sir Sean Connery the title of sexiest male voice.
But the smooth-talking Edinburgh actor, and sexiest woman Kathleen Turner, have lost the race for overall best voice to rival actors James Earl Jones and Julia Roberts.
Sir Sean's sexy resonance may have helped him land the role of 007 and the title of world's most attractive man several times over. It sparked countless stand-up impersonations. However, a new opinion poll reveals that the former milkman's voice is too high-pitched to win the hearts of his American female fans.
In the first internet public opinion poll of its kind, conducted by the Centre for Voice Disorders at Wake Forest University, North Carolina, experts identified the best and worst voices recognised in America today.
Julia Roberts, Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer, the American news anchors, Barbra Streisand, the singer, and the film stars Meg Ryan, Mel Gibson, and Anthony Hopkins all ranked among the 10 "best" voices.
Acoustical research discovered that people have a preference for melodious, low-pitched voices and a hatred of screeching voices, which demonstrate high-frequency noise. At the other end of the spectrum, radio personality Howard Stern, the comedians Gilbert Godfried and Joan Rivers, and Mike Tyson were placed the 10 worst.
Among the men in the best category, the average speaking pitch is 126Hz - frequency of vibrations in cycles/second - which is within the normal pitch range for male speakers, between 110 and 130Hz. Sir Sean Connery's pitch was the highest at 158Hz, and Mel Gibson's was the lowest at 108Hz. In the worst category, the average speaking pitch for men was 242Hz, which is quite high. Gilbert Godfried had the highest-pitched voice.
For women, the average speaking pitch for the best voice was 201Hz - normal is between 200 and 230Hz. The speaking voice of Barbra Streisand was highest at 228Hz, compared with Julia Roberts' voice - the lowest at 171Hz. Screeching Roseanne Barr had the highest-pitched voice, rated at 377Hz, earning her a place in the hall of shame.
Among the worst of the females, the average pitch was 262Hz, a level ranked as high.
Best male singer was Frank Sinatra, while Barbra Streisand was best female singer. Sir Sean Connery and Julia Roberts scooped the best actor titles.
Dr James Koufman revealed the results of the voice poll at a meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - head and neck surgery - in Denver, Colorado. He said two-thirds of votes were from women.
The research reveals how a human voice affects us, he said. It also raised awareness of the problems of voice disorders.
"Those with voice disorders are often more disabled than those with hearing loss, a challenge to conventional wisdom."
Dr Koufman intends to publish the voice tests every year after interactive voting on the Voice Centre website.The 2002 voting will begin in January on the Centre for Voice Disorders website at www.thevoicecenter.com