Wayne + Russi = Mickey and Minnie
1977. The release year for films such as The Rescuers, Freaky Friday, Pete’s Dragon, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It was also the year the Disney Studios was looking for a new voice talent for Mickey Mouse—after the retirement of the studio’s Sound Effects Head, Jimmy MacDonald, who had voiced the character since 1947, and had assumed the role from Walt Disney himself.
The studio hired Wayne Allwine, who began his career working in the Disney Studio mailing room, and later in the sound effects department under MacDonald’s mentorship. Allwine made his debut as Mickey Mouse in The All New Mickey Mouse Club in 1977, the first television revival of the Original Mickey Mouse Club (It aired on television from 1955-1958). Allwine’s first theatrical appearance as Mickey happened in 1983 when Disney produced Mickey’s Christmas Carol in which Mickey Mouse portrays Bob Cratchit.
Russi Taylor, on the other hand, began her career voicing the baby from Ted and Georgette’s marriage on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977). She also voiced Strawberry Shortcake in the characters first six original television specials. She won the role of Minnie Mouse in 1986, (succeeding Ruth Gordon and Janet Waldo (Judy Jetson’s voice)), beating more than 200 actresses for the part! Her debut as Minnie was in a special called DTV: Doggone Valentine in 1987. She met Allwine, at a recording session for a television special called Totally Minnie which aired in 1988.
Surprisingly, Taylor and Allwine fell in love—and became husband and wife in 1991. Together, they began voicing Minnie and Mickey together on a regular basis, from the television show Disney’s House of Mouse (2001-2003) to the direct-to-video movies Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999) and Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004) to the Magic Kingdom Park Atrraction, Mickey’s Philhar Magic, which opened at the Magic Kingdom in 2003. Taylor also succeeded Clarence Nash as the voice of Donald Duck’s three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, in the series DuckTales (1987-1990).
Besides Mickey, Wayne Allwine also voiced the Horned King’s Guards in The Black Cauldron (1985), and one of Professor Ratigan’s cronies in The Great Mouse Detective (1986). Around the time he voiced Mickey, Allwine also lent his talents as a sound effects editor to Disney/Touchstone-produced films such as Splash (1984) and Three Men and a Baby (1987). He continued to voice the character of Mickey Mouse for a total of 32 years until his untimely death on May 18th, 2009, due to acute diabetes, at the age of 62. His last performances as Mickey were in the video game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and in the “Goofy Babysitter,” episode of The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse which aired on television in 2011. Both programs of which were dedicated in his memory.
Around the time that she got the part of Minnie Mouse, Russi Taylor also succeeded Clarence Nash as the voice of Donald Duck’s three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie in ‘86. Besides that, she lent her voice to several direct-to-video sequels: Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True (2002), The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006), Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time (2007). In addition, she had voice parts on the television shows: Jake and the Neverland Pirates (2011-2016) Sofia the First (2012-2018). In addition to all of her Disney roles, Taylor also voiced Pebbles Flintstone in The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1980) and the character of Martin Prince in The Simpsons (1989-present). Taylor voiced the character of Minnie Mouse for a total of 33 years before she passed away of colon cancer on July 26, 2019 at the age of 75.
The romantic relationship of Mickey and Minnie Mouse represents a huge part of the legacy of Disney and it continues to stand the test of time. From the time they debuted together in the short Plane Crazy in 1928, to their more recent appearance together in the ABC television special Mickey’s 90th Spectacular in 2018, Allwine and Russell were a classic pair. Walt Disney is started their life together, but it was Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor who made the magic last!
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