Wayne Allwine: A Celebration of Life
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Tony was followed by the Voice of Goofy, Bill Farmer, who said �I remember when I first met him, back in 1987, early 87. I was very new to town. I was very green. I was very nervous. And I met this very wonderful gentleman, who just.. It was like when you meet Wayne for the first time, you feel like you�ve known him for years and years. He was like the old comfortable pair of shoes. (Laughter) He just fit. He was like a brother to me. He embodied all the characters that Mickey has and that you think about and love was one of them. He loved people. He loved performing. He loved making others happy. I got to see him through the years go through a divorce, fall in love (in the background you could hear Minnie or rather Russi sigh), get married and that alone you�d tell people yes Mickey and Minnie are married in real life..They�d just, my God, it's just you couldn�t write this� He loved entertaining people. He loved making them laugh. He had a devilish sense of humor. He really did�Early in our careers Russi, Tony and I recorded ensemble like a radio play would be recorded. That soon ended because Wayne would crack everyone up and Russi especially would be on the floor. The director would be going Ok are we about ready to continue, you know, because she would be on the floor for ten minutes. So we had to quite often record our lines separately�.He was genuinely one of the finest, probably the finest man I have ever known in my life. He really was. He was the leader of our gang. We were and are like Mickey, Minnie, Russi is so much like Minnie. Donald is like Tony. Tony is like Donald. I have a lot of Goofy in me. And we were like an extended family, as close as any family could be. We�ll sorely miss him but his character will live on. His performances will live on forever. Years and years, millions and millions of people will be able to enjoy Wayne�s performances in all of the movies and television shows that we have done. So Wayne hasn�t left us. We�ll be hearing from him for a long long time. And I was looking up here tonight (at the screens where a picture of Wayne was being projected) and this looks like Wayne kind of giving a Hey I�m ok. (The audience was very moved by this and ahhed as a body.) And so I guess that�s about it. But just he was a hell of a guy and we�re going to miss him. But we�re also very blessed that we got to know him for the time that we did�.

Leonard Maltin commented � So many of us are very very fortunate but not everybody is, not everybody gets up in the morning and looks forward to doing what they have to do all day long. Wayne did and that is a great blessing in life. But I�ll tell you the blessing that we have besides being exposed to his talent and his wonderful warmth and sense of humor, here we are, we�re really sad that he is gone and he�s left us so soon but if I ask you to think right now about Wayne Allwine, you�re going to smile. Right? So that�s a gift, isn�t it, that�s a great gift and that�s what he�s left all of us.�

In an interview shown on the screen with Leonard, Wayne and Russi, Leonard asked them �How did you two became a couple in real life?� Wayne answered �We were working on a project with Bill Farmer, something that we had hoped to do for Radio Disney. And she noticed that one night I wasn�t going home and I noticed that she wasn�t going home, and we just went out to eat to talk about the project, that we were actually writing. And I got to know her better.� Russi broke in �It was just a just a total friendship. The next thing you knew we were just sort of like always together.� Wayne said �Yes, we�re together all the time. We�re just a couple.� �..

Roy Disney was the last but not the least as they saved the best for last. Roy said �You know I had to make a speech a few years back at some event and I had my own little speech made out on cards and I was the last guy. Finally at the end I�m going through my cards and the people ahead of me are making speeches and well that�s that card, its shot and that card's gone. So finally I�m up to the last guy and I get up to this podium and I said to hell with this stuff. (Then Roy threw his cards away!!!! to the sound of clapping.) because it's already there. But I kept thinking one of the things I remember most fondly is Wayne and Russi used to come by and see me every now and then. No matter who was in the room, I always knew they were coming because I heard Russi first. That voice carries through stone walls. In they would come and then we would have this amazing five way conversation, which would be me, Wayne, Mickey, Russi and Minnie. And you would never know who you were talking to and sometimes it would be both people in one sentence. But they were always the highlight of my day when they showed up. We all had big hugs and had a lot of love. And I think it�s been said over and over about love. That�s what these two were about, about the love between you two was really very special to see and know. But the love that you invested in these characters was so touching and so lovely to watch. I�ve just never seen anything like it. I�m not going to make you cry if I can help it (to Russi) but if you do, it's okay. Anyway we really are going to miss Wayne and we�re going to miss Mickey as well and I don�t know how that�s all going to go forward from here because we clearly have some thinking to do about that and get it right for the future. But the example that has been set and the work that has been down up to now is just astonishing. It�s all on the film. It�s just amazing to watch. That very first clip of Wayne just winging it for somebody with a camera, that was Wayne, that was like 24 hours a day, you know. And I�m sure he would come in and entertain you for awhile and he was as somebody said as good a comedian as any standup comic I ever saw, probably better than most. If you watched the comedy channel very much, you know. But there�s not of a heck of a lot left to say except that we love you. We�re going to miss Wayne but he will be with us as everybody has said for a long long time. God bless you, Russi.� Then Russi went to Roy where they exchanged hugs and kisses.

Don Hahn concluded with �Thank you, Roy. It means a lot to all of us, I think, to have you be here tonight in the first place. Well, there we have it. Wayne Allwine, mostly remembered to the public for his voice, his acting, his comedy, his heart and remembered to all of us for so many things that we have seen tonight. I know I speak for Russi and for Wayne�s family to say thank you to all of you for coming here tonight to pay tribute to Wayne and especially to Russi for helping us celebrate Wayne�s life with you. It means a lot to us as the extended Disney family. Thanks again certainly to Howard and to Scott and all of you who have worked really hard to put on this wonderful event tonight, great friends. And now as a closing tribute to Wayne, who has been with us tonight in so many different ways and will continue to be with us for a long time to come, we want to play a little last video to end our evening. And it�s a photo montage.� The video began with the music, When You Wish Upon A Star, which was a fitting finale to an inspiring evening.

At the end of the event for those few present, who had not had the opportunity to know Wayne and Russi personally, they had learned to appreciate that not only a great friend and family member of most of the people present had been lost but also a beloved friend to most of the world had also been lost. They learned that Wayne and Mickey Mouse were interchangeable, not only in voice but also in mind, heart and spirit, as are Russi and Minnie Mouse.