Voice of Mickey Mouse, Wayne Allwine, dies

Wayne Allwine, an award winning sound editor and the voice of Disney’s Mickey Mouse since 1977 passed away on May 18 from complications due to diabetes. His wife, Russi Taylor, who provides the voice of Minnie was at his bedside.

Throughout his long career Allwine was best known for his work as Mickey Mouse in films like “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” (1983), “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988), “The Prince and the Pauper” (1990), the Oscar-nominated short “Runaway Brain” (1997) and the direct-to-DVD feature “Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers” (2004). His Mickey is also heard around Disney theme parks, at live events and on Radio broadcasts.

However, Wayne’s career was more than just a high-pitched pair of mouse ears. He was also an accomplished talent on his own. His sound effects editing can be seen… or rather, heard on “Splash” (1984) and “Three Men and a Baby” (1987) and for Paramount with “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989). He won an emmy for his work on Steven Spielberg’s series “Amazing Stories.” He also supplied several voices on the Simpsons.