It’s the voice they recognize, not the face

Children rarely recognize British-born actor Jim Dale’s face. It’s his distinctive, light-timbred, award-winning voice that reveals him to American fans as the narrator of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series.

At 12:01 a.m. today, Dale’s unabridged recording of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was released on tape cassette and CD simultaneously with the sixth book in the phenomenally popular series.

The 635,000-print run of the audiobook is the largest audio release in history, children or adult.

Reached at his Manhattan apartment on a recent morning, Dale described various entertaining encounters with young admirers. While ordering a hamburger at a fast-food restaurant, for example, he was approached by two “boggle-eyed” boys.

“You’re him, aren’t you?” they asked. He entertained them by ordering more food using the voice of Professor Dumbledore, the wise and gentle headmaster of Hogwarts, who is a listener favorite.

Young fans also frequently request Dobby, the oppressed house elf, as well as the gruff but lovable Hagrid, on whom Dale bestowed a Cornish accent.

Dale reads chronological chunks of the book to himself silently at night, then records the next day in a studio, usually going through 20 double-spaced manuscript pages an hour. He stops when he senses his voice tiring.

Although he has created more than 200 character voices, Dale has never listened to any of his audiobooks. “I’m too self-critical,” he said.

Listening Library publisher Tim Ditlow selected Dale in part because his English accent has been tempered by living in the States since 1980. American children sometimes find very strong English accents difficult, Ditlow says. (Actor Stephen Fry records “Harry” on audio in the United Kingdom.)

Although Dale had never recorded an audiobook before the first Harry Potter, Ditlow immediately knew when Dale came into the studio that he was born to read the series.

“Jim Dale is to the audio field what Baryshnikov is to ballet,” he said.

At 69, Dale is proud of his 53 years as an entertainer. The son of a pianist, he began touring English music halls at 17 as a comedian and later performed as a pop singer.

In 1970, he was invited by Laurence Olivier to join the British National Theatre, where he often performed Shakespeare, specializing in comic roles. He starred on Broadway in the title role of “Barnum,” continues to perform on U.S. and U.K. stages and has had film and TV roles (though not in any of the “Harry Potter” films).

Career honors include an Academy Award nomination for writing the lyrics to the title song for “Georgy Girl” (1966); a Tony Award for his lead role in “Barnum” (1980); a Grammy for his narration of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2001); and an Audio of the Year award for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (2004)

In addition, Dale is in the Guinness Book of Records for creating the most number of voices in an audiobook (134) for “Order of the Phoenix.”

Although a self-described “New York-aphile,” Dale was elated in 2003 when Queen Elizabeth II named him a Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his “Harry Potter” work.

The best part is the sense of leaving a legacy. The father of three sons and a daughter, and a grandfather to five, ages 6 to 21, he marvels that his great-great grandchildren will be able to hear his voice reading “Harry Potter.”

“I’m so thrilled,” he said. “I would have loved to have heard my grandfather’s voice.”