Wayne Allwine, Voice of Mickey Mouse Since 1977, Dies at 62

MAY 20, 2009 TAGS: TV, MOVIES, CLASSICS ADD A COMMENT

The first voice of Mickey Mouse was, of course, Walt Disney himself. But in the decades after Mickey's debut in 1928, many a man have subbed in to give voice to that iconic rodent. Wayne Allwine, a voice actor who was trained by veteran disney sound man Jimmy McDonald (the second of the great Mickey voicers), held the role for over thirty years, producing commercials, jingles and a few movies to boot.

According to blogger Jim Hill, an expert in all things Mickey, Allwine got and held the role because he faithfully guarded Mickey's brand identity:

And though a number of folks did audition to be Mickey's official voice, it was Allwine who eventually landed the gig. Not so much because he'd actually been mentored by MacDonald (these two worked together for years in Disney's sound department). But -- rather -- because Wayne took the job seriously. He understood what he'd been entrusted with with Mickey Mouse and always did what he could to protect this character.

"What do you mean by 'protect the character?'," you ask. Well, as the official voice of Mickey Mouse, Allwine spent over 30 years in recording sessions. Where he'd invariably be handed copy that had been prepared by some Marketing executive who had no idea how Mickey actually sounded. Which is why -- in an effort to make this 70-year-old Mouse sound hip, happening & now -- they'd have written dialogue that had Mickey using trendy slang or making off-color jokes.

And as he was rehearsing this material, Wayne would quickly identify the problem areas. And then -- as politely as possible -- he'd work with the director & sound engineer at that session to rectify these problems. Make sure that what was being recorded actually sounded like something that this timeless character might say.

The 1983 movie, Mickey's Christmas Carol, a Disney adaptation of the Dicken's classic, was Allwine's coming out party as Mickey's voice. Skip ahead to 3:00 minutes in the clip below to here Allwine's portrayal.