>It is with sadness that we report Walter “Wally” Burr, the voice director for the original Generation 1 Transformers cartoon and the 1986 Transformers the Movie, passed away yesterday, 9 July, 2017.
If you watched a cartoon in the 1980s, chances are, Wally Burr would have been the voice director, guiding the performances of the various actors to bring the show to life. His credits included not only the original Transformers, but G.I. Joe, Jem, Visionaries, Inspector Gadget, Dino Riders, Captain Caveman, Dynomutt the Dog Wonder, and the 1980s Spider-Man. His work, however, also saw him occasionally take to the other side of the recording booth, providing additional voices for some of the shows he directed; in the case of Transformers, he voiced Kremzeek, as well as Jazz, Ratchet, Seaspray, and Thundercracker in individual episodes when their regular voice actors were unavailable.
Many of us will remember Wally Burr for his work; for his reputation for perfection which has doubtless contributed to the timeless nature of many of the shows that he worked on, or simply for the happy memories of watching the shows that he was credited on working on. Some of us might remember having the pleasure of meeting him at his convention appearances.
All of us here at TFW2005 send our thoughts and best wishes to Mr Burr’s family during this time. And we come together with one voice to say, “thank you, sir, for making our childhoods so enjoyable”.
Kayden Flores
RIP
Julian Smith
hell be fine
Sebastian Brooks
He was responsible for directing some of the greatest voice acting in cartoon history. He could be a pain because of his perfectionism, but virtually every voice actor who worked with him remembers those times as one of the best experiences in their career.
One of the unspoken heroes of the cartoon voice over industry has passed away. RIP.
Liam Allen
He lived a good, long life.
Gavin Myers
He was a notorious hardass who kept the actors in for their fully contracted 8 hour recording sessions and made them do upwards of 40 readings per line. VAs hated him so much he's cited as responsible for the first voice actors strike, which resulted in the max recording session length being reduced to 6 hours among other concessions.
And you know what? He was awesome for it.
So many VAs today just sleepwalk through their recording sessions, in and out in under an hour, and won't read a line more than three or four times without pitching a fit. They never would have survived a director like Burr who made them fucking WORK for their check.
Dude kicked ass. And you know what? All his tough love paid off, as his shows almost uniformly had the best performances and line readings of the era.
Fuckin Maurice LaMarche complained about him during his young VA days and thought he was too strict. Then he grew up and delivered a public apology in 2013, admitting that Burr was just making him do his goddamn job.
Dude was also a mother fucking tank commander in World War II. He didn't take shit from whiney Nazis much less whiney VA celebrity wannabes. And fucker lived to be 91. Like any of us are gonna be lucky to make it out of our 70s, this dude was tough. Gonna miss him.
Charles Ross
F
Connor Gonzalez
hmm
Charles Bailey
Tfw when you grew up with national dubbing and don't the original VAs
Joshua Ramirez
Fuckin F man.
If he could find a way to salvage a dying Orson Welles into a planet eating robo-demigod, then he's all right in my book.
Christopher Myers
Fuck that's pretty awesome. We need more people like him in the world
William Martin
F
Cameron Flores
wrong board faggot
Isaac Wright
We talk about any Transformers here.
Jack Russell
Legit great eulogy, Sup Forumsmrade
I don't know if I'd give as much of a crap about Transformers as I do if not for this one man. Much respect.
Jason Miller
Did he ever do porn
His face seem familiar
Samuel Cooper
>Dude was also a mother fucking tank commander in World War II.
Not just any tank commander. He was actually the youngest person in US Army history at the time to attain the rank of tank commander.
Wally Burr lived a pretty amazing life, come to think of it.
Jonathan Sanders
Makes me sad he's gone.
TFCon starts the week a more solemn note.
Nolan Sanders
huh. F
Gavin Reyes
The animation in G1 may have aged poorly but the voice acting is timeless. Rest in peace Mr. Burr. You will be missed.
Brandon Butler
>some of the greatest voice acting in cartoon history > Transformers, but G.I. Joe, Jem, Visionaries, Inspector Gadget, Dino Riders, Captain Caveman, Dynomutt the Dog Wonder, and the 1980s Spider-Man > some of the greatest voice acting in cartoon history
Cooper Scott
Laterally who?
Liam Wright
He autographed my DVD of Transformers:The Movie. At the con panel all the VA's said pretty much what this thread was saying, he was a hard ass but you can't deny the quality of his product. I think it was Susan Blu that said "When he would read through script he would envision exactly how the line was delivered and you weren't leaving the both until it matched what was in his head."
