tfwiki: Once more, it is TFWiki’s sad duty to be the bearer of bad news, and report on the passing o
tfwiki: Once more, it is TFWiki’s sad duty to be the bearer of bad news, and report on the passing of Wally Burr. Wally was the voice director of the original Generation 1 animated series, as well as many contemporary shows like G.I. Joe, Jem, and Inspector Gadget. In addition to directing, he would occasionally step behind the mic himself, at times playing Jazz, Ratchet, Thundercracker, Shrapnel, and Seaspray - but his most notable performances on the show were as the boastful man-fish King Nergill, monarch of Sub-Atlantica, and the electrical imp Kremzeek.Born June 2, 1926, Walter Story Burr was proud to boast that he was the youngest tank commander in World War II, sworn in as a Second Lieutenant just two days after his 18th birthday. Though he thought the war would be over in a matter of months, and that he was signed up for a short adventure, he saw five combat campaigns, and was promoted to captain by the end of the war.As a director, he was a famously cantankerous perfectionist, who worked his actors hard to achieve exactly what he demanded, right down to the syllable. Michael Bell jokes that being directed by Wally was what killed Orson Welles! Though spoken of only with fondness by the performers under him, Burr’s grueling eight-hour recording sessions were reportedly a large contributing factor to 1987 voice actor strike, with performers demanding that sessions be reduced to a four-hour minimum.Wally met his wife to be, Kristene Wallis, in 1986, when she took his voice over class as a means of improving her directing skills. Eight years later, the pair re-established professional contact, until Burr pointedly let slip that he had recently broken up with his girlfriend. “That was it,” Wallis says. “I started pursuing him, and he let me pursue him… and the rest is history.” The pair were married in 1998, and remained together until his passing.Wally suffered a stroke in mid-2016 that left him unable to communicate, and has since resided in a nursing home. After a recent worsening of his condition, he passed away peacefully last night, July 9, 2017, at the age of 91. -- source link
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