There are few things better than a love story with a happy ending. Except for maybe a love story with a happy ending involving two iconic animated characters. That's right, it's Mickey and Minnie Mouse, or more accurately, the voice actors who played them for over 30 years, Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor.
After working his way up from the Disney mailroom to the sound effects department in the 1960s and early 1970s, Wayne Allwine became the voice of Mickey Mouse in 1977. He followed in the footsteps of his mentor, Jimmy MacDonald, who had voiced Mickey from 1947 and was also the head of sound effects for Walt Disney Studios. Prior to MacDonald, Mickey had been voiced by Walt Disney himself. For over three decades, Allwine provided Mickey’s distinctive falsetto for movies, TV shows, video games, theme parks, toys, and more.
Mickey’s longtime sweetheart, Minnie Mouse, was also voiced by Walt Disney when she first debuted in 1928, followed by a series of voice actresses including Marcellite Garner, Thelma Boardman, and Ruth Clifford. In 1986, the role of Mickey Mouse passed to Russi Taylor, who beat out over 200 other applicants for the job.
Soon after Taylor became the voice of Minnie Mouse, she and Allwine met while making the 1988 TV movie Totally Minnie. They fell in love and married in 1991. Both Taylor and Allwine were named Disney Legends in 2008, the year before Allwine’s death at age 62. He had been the voice of Mickey Mouse for 32 years, the longest-running voice actor to perform the role. Taylor would carry on as Minnie Mouse until her death in 2019, at the age of 75, the longest stint for any Minnie voice actress.
The House of Mouse:
- In addition to being a voice actor, Wayne Allwine was a sound effects editor and foley artist, contributing to films like Three Men and a Baby, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and The Great Mouse Detective. He was also a musician, playing instruments such as rhythm guitar, harmonica, and drums.
- Russi Taylor also provided the voices of Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck and Webby Vanderquack in DuckTales, as well as numerous characters on The Simpsons. Before becoming Minnie, she lent her talents to Pebbles Flintstone, Strawberry Shortcake, and Baby Gonzo.
- Allwine was succeeded in the role of Mickey Mouse by his understudy, Bret Iwan, while Taylor was succeeded as Minnie Mouse by Kaitlyn Robrock.
