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Russi Taylor with a Minnie Mouse character Globe Photos / SIPA USA/PA Images
Globe Photos / SIPA USA/PA Images / SIPA USA/PA Images
RUSSI TAYLOR, DISNEY’S official voice of Minnie Mouse for more than three decades, has died aged 75, the entertainment giant has announced.
Taylor captured the heart and sound of Mickey Mouse’s counterpart on TV, in cartoons and film, and at theme parks.
“Minnie Mouse lost her voice with the passing of Russi Taylor,” Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement.
For more than 30 years, Minnie and Russi worked together to entertain millions around the world – a partnership that made Minnie a global icon and Russi a Disney Legend beloved by fans everywhere.
“We take comfort in the knowledge that her work will continue to entertain and inspire for generations to come,” Iger said.
Taylor died in Glendale, California on Friday, Disney said. The company did not give the cause of death.
Taylor had been Disney’s pick from a group of 200 candidates at a 1986 audition.
The Massachusetts native said she actually met Walt Disney as a girl, on a visit to Disneyland.
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“At one point during our chat, he asked me what I wanted to do when I grow up, and I said, ‘I want to work for you!’ So he said, ‘Okay!’ – and now I do!” she was quoted as saying in a profile released by Disney.
Life imitated art when Russi met her real-life Mickey in the 1980s: it was Wayne Allwine, who had voiced Mickey Mouse since 1977.
“Wayne was coming out of a session as Mickey for Totally Minnie. We met in the hallway. We just blended really well,” Taylor told the LA Times in 2014.
They wed in 1991 but generally “kept it quiet”.
“We didn’t want it to be about Mickey and Minnie being married. It was about Wayne and Russi being married. We had the best time. We laughed a lot. We were always singing. We always had music in the house.”
The duo stayed as close as their animated counterparts until Wayne’s 2009 death.
“I really want whoever comes after us to be aware of the history and the tradition, and to love the characters as much as we do,” she said of herself and Allwine.
“I never wanted to be famous,” she said. “The characters I do are famous, and that’s fine for me.”
In addition to Minnie Mouse and other Disney characters, Taylor was also the voice of Strawberry Shortcake and Pebbles Flintstone. She worked in television for decades, including on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Simpsons.
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Here’s hoping but it’s unlikely. The governor of Florida only imposed a lockdown there on April 1st as he had only recently learned the virus can be spread by people without symptoms. You can’t make this stuff up.
@Keith Fay: didn’t be blame New Yorkers for bringing the virus to Florida when he allowed idiot spring break seeking young people go wild and party without any consequences. He reminds me of the mayor from Jaws
Artemis Fowl moving to streaming was likely more to do with it’s bad pre-release screening reaction. Poor characters due to movie makers messing with the book and re-writing characters and parts that conflicted with the original.
If it’s not broke, don’t Woke it.
Cinema’s are empty for onvious reasons. I doubt that streaming platforms will pick up the production of big budget productions (beside the odd case) anywhen in near future.
Might be that the virus could kill the struggling cinema industry and with it big productions for good.
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