RIP Wayne Allwine

[The Count]

Hello... It is my sad duty to inform everyone that Wayne Allwine, voice of Mickey Mouse since 1983, has unfortunately passed away this past weekend. He is probably the voice I most readily identify with Mickey. Guess all the Disney fans will now know and experience what we as Mupfans went through when Steve Whitmire took over as Kermit back in the early 1990's. It's a bit creepy that he died this weekend, but poetic as well, as that means both legendary performers and their main characters are now more connected.

Mr. Allwine, you will be greatly missed.
*Places a wreath for Jim's 19th death anniversary and another for Wayne nearby.

 

[The Shoe Fairy]

RIP Wayne. It's gonna be a strange, strange world without him voicing that famous mouse; And I wonder who will, if anyone can replace him.

 

[AnimatedC9000]

... oh my... the voice of Mickey... is dead... I can't believe it...

It's horrible to think about what this means to both the Disney productions and his own family... Russi must be taking this... oh, I hope that she's all right...

 

[Baby Gonzo]

Oh no! This news really put me in tears. I know people associate Mickey now with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but between Mickey's Christmas Carrol and House of Mouse, he was a great Mickey Mouse. My heart goes out to his family.

 

[Drtooth]

Sigh... I thought that name sounded familiar. It's so sad we lost a voice acting legend... but I bet it's even sadder that Russi Taylor lost a husband. My thoughts go out to her and Wayne's friends and family.

I will say to hear that the voice, albiet a recast, of the most famous cartoon character ever here and not somewhere on the news is kinda depressing.

I'm sure none of the kids who watch Micky mouse club house are going to notice.

Normally, I'd make a joke about that... but now's not the time or place.

 

[Son of Enik]

This is a sad day indeed...he shall be missed.

 

[Traveling Matt]

Very sorry to hear this news. Besides the simple charm of doing that famous falsetto so well, I think Wayne also gave Mickey’s vocal quality more underpinning and dexterity than perhaps either man before him: Jimmy MacDonald and Walt himself.

He will be truly missed.

 

[Princeton]

Little known fact- Allwine was Jimmy MacDonald's protege in the Sound Effects department at Disney.

Naturally, I'm sad to hear of his passing; he seemed like a genuine person. How old was he?

 

[The Count]

He was 62, from 1947-2009.

 

[Baby Gonzo]

62 isn't very old at all.

I was just thinking how strange it will be to hear Mickey recast. Something many people tend to forget is all of the shows at Disney World and Disneyland which involve Mickey. It's something that's almost unavoidable. There are some staples which I doubt are going to be changed anytime soon (such as Fantasmic and even the "Mickey" cameo in Muppet Vision 3-D) but with the Castle shows, parades, and special events in the park which all seem to change every few years, anything else will take some getting used to.

This isn't the thread to discuss any recasts, though I am simply saying, someone has some big shoes to fill.