Yes, I know "who" he is. Haven't heard his "voice" before, nor was I up to date on his condition. I'm not a huge TV guy so I haven't seen or heard an interview in which to hear his voice. Don't watch the Simpsons either.... If I watch TV it is usually a History Channel program. I don't think I have to apologize for that either. So what? I have heard other people with speach synthesizers (that sound a heck of a lot more modern) so I think anyone saying "speach synthesizers are synonymous with Stephen Hawking" is just waxing poetically.

I'm not much of a physics buff and Sci-Fi is such a large genre that I must frequent other corners. I'm more of a fan of Herbert and Asimov myself. But I don't use my personal tastes as a litmus for what other Sci-Fi fans must be familiar with..... I'm watching MoSF because it sounded like something I would enjoy. The last episode was a lot better than the first 3, BTW.