How ‘Jerky Boy’ Became Voice of Mort Goldman on ‘Family Guy’

"Jerky Boys" creator, Johnny Brennan explained to us how he was discovered and what landed him a job as a voice on "Family Guy."

Brennan says his rise to fame happened in the 90s when tapes of his prank phone calls started being shared across the country and wound up on dozens of radio stations. At the time, the "Jerky Boys" was just a way to entertain his family on the weekends, but soon it landed him a record deal, a movie contract and a role on one of the most successful animated shows of all time.

You can hear all about Johnny Brennan's career and how he landed on "Family Guy" in this interview from The Boris & Robyn Show.

Before the Internet even existed, Johnny Brennan's audio recordings went viral. That's not an easy accomplishment, since back then people had to physically dub cassettes and hand them to one another. Brennan says that those original recordings became the biggest bootlegs of all time, with people everywhere trying to find out who was the person behind them.

One of those people was Seth McFarlane, the creator of "Family Guy." He was a fan from the very beginning and sought out Brennan when he learned Fox wanted to produce his show. Eventually the character of Mort Goldman was created and voiced by Brennan, but McFarlane originally had the comedian try out for a very different role, as he explains in the interview above.

Here's a sample of Brennan's work on "Family Guy."

Johnny Brennan will be appearing at the Hudson Valley Comic Con on May 7 and 8 at Gold's Gym in Poughkeepsie. He'll be greeting fans and signing autographs on both days. For more information, check out the official Hudson Valley Comic Con website.