Mickey Mouse Voice Caretaker, Wayne Allwine, Gone at 62
May 26, 2009
Wayne Allwine, the most recent voice of Mickey Mouse, passed away on May 18, 2009 due to complications from diabetes at the age of 62. He and his wife Russi Taylor, the current voice of Minnie Mouse, met in studio over 20 years ago and were inseparable.
Although the two made quite a pair voicing the Disney icons (named as Disney Legends in 2008), they never lost sight of the fact that they were merely the stewards of a legacy, entrusted with taking care of Mickey and Minnie, humbly doing their work in the service of others to keep Walt Disney’s dream, and the spirit of the characters, alive.
Allwine was the voice of Mickey Mouse for 32 years, and enjoyed working on all kinds of projects with the voice cast, including the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse“.
The Voice That Rocks
April 22, 2009
Working on a shoe-string budget, production took place on 7th February 2009 in North Yorkshire near the City of York with what can be best described as a documentary without picture. It reveals the working life of the voice-over actor with commentary from talents who have voiced for the BBC, ITV, Discovery Channel and Disney.
The writer and producer, Kris Henderson said, “Because of the nature of the voice-over industry it was decided that we keep the long running tradition of ‘actor who does not appear on camera’ and produce the documentary without picture.
The Voice That Rocks is based on real-life stories about the voice-over industry in the United Kingdom, France, New Zealand and the United States. It is written and produced by Kris Henderson and stars Alan Bainbridge, Arthur Burton, Claire Dodin, Darren Altman, Finley Woods, Ian Pinnell, Bryan Cox, Bobbin Beam, Carl Welden, and Sini Manner. It has a proposed release date of 20th May 2009.
Source: Kris Henderson
Robert Axelrod to Headline at Anime Fest No Brand Con
April 20, 2009
Voices.com Premium member Robert Axelrod, who starred as the voice of Lord Zedd in the runaway hit The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, just finished a lead voice in Elye Sackmary’s video game Dawn of Darkness.
Axelrod used a Russian accent to create the role of Thanatos.
A veteran of the Anime and character voice acting scene, voicing roles on over 20 animated series, Robert Axelrod has remained an active part of the voice over community.
In addition, he also makes time to visit with his fans.
This weekend, Axelrod is headed to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to headline at the Anime fest No Brand Con, April 24-26, 2009.
No Brand Con is touted as Wisconsin’s Premiere Anime Convention.
Robert Axelrod will be joined by fellow voice actors Jason Griffith and Tiffany Grant who will also make appearances at No Brand Con.
Source: Robert Axelrod
David Sobolov Promoted Use of SAG talent in Videogames at GDC
April 8, 2009
Attention conference attendees: Kindly ignore that blood-curdling scream. It’s just a professional voice actor demonstrating the many ways to die in a videogame.
Screen Actors Guild actors attended the 2009 San Francisco Game Developers Conference March 23-27 at the Moscone Center, where SAG was an official event sponsor. Voice actor David Sobolov, most recently appearing as the arch villain the Arbiter in the top-selling videogame Halo Wars, and film and television on-camera actor Noah Segan, in San Francisco to shoot All About Evil, talked to developers and press about the benefits of using Screen Actors Guild members in games, which are growing increasingly cinematic in quality.
Voice Actors Shine in 3rd Annual Voicey Awards
March 26, 2009
Voice actors around the world are taking note of news hot off the press, released on Voices.com’s blog, through an article indicating who the winners are of the industry’s coveted Voicey Awards. Voice overs are spoken word recordings performed by voice actors, perhaps better known to the world as unseen narrators, breathing life into every digital medium imaginable.
The Voicey Awards pay tribute to works and contributions made over the year by individual and collaborating voice talent.
Connie Zimet Voiceover Artist Loses Battle with ALS
March 13, 2009
Sometimes sultry, sometimes snappy, sometimes over-the-top Noo Yawk shmoozy, jingle-singer and voice-over artist Connie Zimet promised that Coke was the real thing, that Honda wants you to be safe and that Norwegian cruises are “as far from the everyday as a ship can take you.”
In word and song, Zimet pitched thousands of products in her long career, including Apple computers, Fresca soda, Pall Mall cigarettes, Ajax scouring powder, Chevrolets and Godfather’s pizzas.
In the end stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease — she contracted bronchitis and died at home in Plantation on Tuesday. She was 67.
The versatile performer acted in Off-Broadway plays, sang in nightclubs and made records. She was the voice of Lucy on an album version of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and in 1971, as ”Connie Z,” narrated The Way to Become the Sensuous Woman for Atlantic Records. Published in 1969, the book — a first-person erotic manual by ”J” — was a classic of the sexual revolution.
Zimet grew up in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, the daughter of a traveling salesman and a one-time dancer. Her only sibling, a brother, drowned in childhood.
She began acting in local productions and summer stock theater at the age of 8, then went to New York at 17.
She studied interior design and acting, and signed with Colpix, Capitol and Todd record labels, according to Zach Ziskin, of Fort Lauderdale, her only child.
She was married briefly to composer/pianist Victor Ziskin, a Leonard Bernstein protégé.
When Zimet moved to South Florida in the mid-1970s, ”there was not much of a market here for voiceovers,” said Zach, a music producer who also does voice-over work.
“She was a pioneer who helped build the market. . . . The more she did it, the more opportunities opened up for her. And before she knew it, it was 20 years later and she was considered an expert in the field.”
Zimet led the Miami chapter of AFTRA — American Federation of Television & Radio Artists — from 2003 until last year. In 2004, at a workshop in New Orleans, she described the voice-over artist’s mission:
“You’re an actor when you’re doing a voice-over. So, find your character, your attitude, answer what your condition is, and the voice will come out the way it should be heard. Focus on intention.”
She suggested that hopefuls in the field “read everything aloud — magazines, newspapers, recipes. Yeah, it may bug your significant other or your pets, but they’ll get used to it. . . .”
Herta Suarez, AFTRA’s southeast regional director, said that “everybody I know here on both sides, producers and performers, claimed she really built this market. She was very busy herself, teaching voice lessons and doing voice-overs.”
When she taught, Suarez said, “people would just not want to leave because she was so entertaining.”
Zimet had a wide repertoire of tones and accents, all with a reassuring warmth: naughty to sweet, chirpy to silky, peppy to languid. She could do almost any character: little old lady, confidential gal-pal, shrieking harpy, Southern charmer, reassuring voice of authority.
”Whatever something called for, she was up for it,” said Zach, though at home, ‘she was never really `on.’ ”
Two years ago, Zimet began to stumble and fall, which she chalked up to bad knees, but replacement surgery didn’t help. In rehab, she couldn’t walk at all.
By early 2008, Zimet began losing functions in her arms and hands. In her final months, ALS stole the voice that made her career.
An Internet fundraising campaign enabled the family to buy a sight-recognition communications device that Zach said ”was truly a godsend” when his mother could no longer speak.
“She had it for the last month and was able to communicate with her eye movement.”
Zach plans to complete the the book his mother left unfinished: Connie Zimet’s Voice-over Tool Box. He also plans a celebration of her life in the coming months.
Source: The Miami Herald
Connie Zimet Medical Fund Will Give Voice to Voiceless Mentor
February 23, 2009
Connie Zimet, a well-known voice over coach and mentor based in Florida, is in the late stage of ALS, battling now not only for her life but the very ability to communicate with her son and those whom she loves.
There is hope for Connie to regain her ability to communicate, but she needs the support of the voice over community to realize that vital goal, with donations being accepted to offset costs for the purchase of special equipment that will allow her to communicate with her eyes using the aid of a computer.
Audie Nominations Made Public; Most Entries Received Ever
February 19, 2009
The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has announced finalists for the 2009 Audies competition. Winners will be announced at The Audies® Gala on May 29 at the New York Historical Society in New York City.
Michael Dobson is Batman in Batman: Black and White on iTunes
February 13, 2009
Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution recently announced the debut of the acclaimed graphic album “Batman: Black and White” in a motion comics series starring Michael Richard Dobson in the title role.
Getting Agents During Recessions Isn’t for the Faint of Heart
February 11, 2009
When the going gets tough, the tough get going, right?
As the global economy continues to struggle, voiceover talent are trying to find ways that they can get more voiceover work, many of which are trying to secure representation at agencies repping talent in New York and Los Angeles.
For some, finding an agent has been relatively easy, but for others, it’s been an ongoing parade of first impressions, demos posted in the mail and not much else.
