Wayne Allwine, Voice Of Mickey Mouse, Dies

Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

And today's last word in business is farewell to a man who worked for more than 30 years to create a character that many of us know well.

(Soundbite of cartoon)

Mr. WAYNE ALLWINE (Sound Effects Specialist) (As Mickey Mouse): Listen to this, earn $999.99 for a mindless day's work. Oh, boy, I'm back in business.

INSKEEP: That's Wayne Allwine as the voice of Mickey Mouse. Mr. Allwine was a sound effects specialist who started off in the mailroom at the Walt Disney Company and went on to become only one of three people who was the voice of the famous cartoon mouse. One of those was Walt Disney himself. Now, in the years before his death at age 62 of complications from diabetes, he turned up in movies like, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." News of his death comes from his wife who once played Minnie Mouse.

Asked about the famous character, Mr. Allwine once said, Mickey is the real star. You just have to love the little guy while you have him, because he won't be yours forever.

That's the business news on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.