Emmy Award winning voice actor, Wayne Allwine, who took over as the voice of Mickey Mouse in 1977 from Jimmy MacDonald, died Monday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles from complications related to diabetes, according to a release from The Walt Disney Co. He was 62.
Allwine provided the voice for Micky Mouse in the 1983 theatrical release Mickey’s Christmas Carol and remained the voice of Mickey until his death. There is no word on who will replace him.
Allwine was humble about providing Micky's voice, a role he took over from his mentor Jimmy MacDonald, "I get to take this wonderful American icon and keep it alive until the next Mickey comes along, and it will one day. It's holding him close enough to really love him, but not so close that when he leaves, it's gonna kill me."
A true Hollywood success story, Allwine's time at Disney started in 1966 in the mail room. He eventually moved into the sound effects department and then took on voice acting roles in addition to sound and sound effects editing roles.
Russi Taylor, Allwine’s wife of 20 years, has been the official voice of Minnie Mouse for 23 years.
Allwine is survived by his wife and five children.
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