Will Ryan, a voice actor who contributed to numerous animation projects, recently passed away on November 19th at age 72. Many will remember him as the voice of Petrie in Universal’s animated film The Land Before Time and Willie the Giant in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Born in 1949, Ryan began his performance career providing voices for short animated projects including Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore and the Oscar-nominated animated film Mickey’s Christmas Carol. He went on to have a recurring role in G.I. Joe: The Revenge of Cobra, G.I. Joe and Dumbo’s Circus.
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In 1988, Ryan voiced Petrie in Universal’s animated adventure film, The Land Before Time, which became a children’s classic. Also in the ’80s, he voiced roles in Teen Wolf, DuckTales, The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin and The Smurfs. He took on Willie the Giant in numerous Disney projects over several decades, such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and House of Mouse. He voiced Peg-Leg Pete in the Oscar-nominated animated short Mickey’s Christmas Carol, reprising the role 30 years later in the Mickey Mouse short, Get a Horse!, which was also nominated for an Oscar.
He’d go on to amass more than 100 screen credits in his nearly four-decade career, nabbing nominations from the Annie Awards and the WGA Awards, and winning a Behind the Voice Actor Award. Ryan was also nominated for an Emmy in 1998 as the producer of Outstanding Children’s Program contender The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, from Nickelodeon and The Jim Henson Company.
Will Ryan was truly a talented entertainer and remembered as a kind person among his friends.
Related: Actor Art LaFleur of the Santa Clause and Sandlot passes away
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Credit: Deadline News
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