Wayne Allwine, who died on 18 May, 2009, was the voice of Mickey Mouse for three decades and was married to the voice of Minnie Mouse.

He was the third person – after Walt Disney and Jimmy MacDonald – to play the character in various films and TV shows.

The American actor’s first appearance as Mickey was voicing the animated lead-ins for the American TV series, The New Mickey Mouse Club, in 1977.

His first appearance as Mickey for a theatrical release was in 1983 in Mickey’s Christmas Carol, an adaptation of the classic Dickens novel, A Christmas Carol.

The short animated film was the first new Mickey Mouse cartoon in 30 years and featured Mickey as Bob Cratchit. Allwine also voiced the man on the street at the start of the movie and the two weasels in the Christmas future scene.

Mr Allwine went on to provide Mickey’s voice for nearly every entry in the popular Kingdom Hearts series of video games and subsequent films featuring Mickey Mouse.

By the time of his death he had done the voice of Mickey for longer than anyone else. Walt Disney did it from 1928 to 1947, while Jimmy MacDonald voiced Mickey regularly between 1947 and 1953.

In addition to this work, Mr Allwine was also a sound effects editor on several films, including Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Innerspace.

He married Russi Taylor, the current voice of Minnie Mouse, in 1991 and they were both named Disney Legends in 2008, in recognition of their contribution to The Walt Disney Company.

Mr Allwine died due to complications from diabetes at the age of 62.