The Voice of Mickey Mouse is Dead

The Hollywood Reporter has the news that,

"Wayne Allwine, who provided the voice of Mickey Mouse for the past 32 years, died May 18 at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles from complications due to diabetes. He was 62.

"Allwine's wife, Russi Taylor, who provides the voice of Minnie Mouse, was at his side at the time of his passing."

Much as we like Mickey Mouse, we are not likely to mourn the death of his voice, Wayne Allwine, skin-bound that we are. But it is a bit ofa whimsical fact, but hardly surprising, that his wife gave voice to Minnie Mouse (One imagines that playfully or wickedly, the duo shared some intimate moments in their animated voices... That would have been fun).

But as I said, this is hardly the kind of news that makes us sit up and note that a world has come to end. Only, looking around for a description of the much loved voice of Mickey Mouse, I found this observation by David English of Somerville, Mass., at The New York Times: 

"Mickey Mouse's helium-tinny voice may not have weathered the years as durably as Donald Duck's larynx-scrambled squawk, but I'd rather listen to Mickey reading ''The Waste Land'' in its entirety than sit through 10 minutes of the televised caperings of a certain magenta reptile."

Mickey Mouse rendering "The Waste Land", that would be something. If Mickey could do opera, why not poetry? Disney could have had a shot at it, I feel.

By the way, may Wayne Allwine's soul rest in peace- we are not heartless, despite all appearance to the contrary.