It's with a heavy heart that I write this post. Adventures in Odyssey fans are still dealing with the recent loss of the beloved actor Will Ryan, the voice of Eugene Meltsner. I know I haven't posted on the AIO Update for some time, but this seemed like the right opportunity to return with an opinion piece to pay tribute to a wonderful actor and a wonderful character. In this editorial, A Most Extraordinary Character, I look back at all the times we've had with Eugene, the fun times and the serious ones. I talk about what makes Eugene so special, and what he's come to mean to us fans over the years. Check out Editorial 37.
It’s a time of grieving and reflection for the whole Adventures in Odyssey community. It’s been four weeks since we heard the news that Will Ryan, the voice of Eugene, had passed away. As fans we feel for Will Ryan’s family and the AIO family of cast and crew who worked so closely with him for thirty-five years. We lost a giant in the voice acting industry and a pillar in the Odyssey community. We lost the voice of Eugene Meltsner, a character who we’ve grown to love over the years.
I don’t envy the position the AIO team is in right now as they grieve and discuss how to move forward. I know they would appreciate our prayers. And as we pray, let’s remember to give a prayer of thanks for all the joy Will Ryan brought us over the years through Eugene. That’s the purpose of this editorial. Let’s celebrate everything we’ve loved about Eugene, all the laughs, the borrowed colloquialisms, the ups and downs of his relationship with Katrina, and of course the ukulele tunes.
Eugene Meltsner is without a doubt a genius. He says as much in his first episode and he’s right. By age 9 he was in high school and by age 13 he was starting college. He was probably doing calculus when he was still in diapers. Math and science are his thing, but so is English. You know you’re an AIO fan when you start using words and phrases you learned from Eugene. His precision of language is impeccable. Eugene is the kind of person who will interrupt you to correct your grammar and has the perfect vocabulary word for any situation, and even the odd Latin phrase. He’s also incredibly inventive. As a child he develops a mini-excavator to help his father in archaeological digs. He also rigs the refrigerator to electrocute people in order to help his parents lose weight. I’m sure Leonard and Thelma weren’t too happy about that. You’d think little Eugene would have learned his lesson, but that doesn’t stop him from rigging the cash register at Whit’s End with electricity in Suspicious Minds (Album 8)...
I don’t envy the position the AIO team is in right now as they grieve and discuss how to move forward. I know they would appreciate our prayers. And as we pray, let’s remember to give a prayer of thanks for all the joy Will Ryan brought us over the years through Eugene. That’s the purpose of this editorial. Let’s celebrate everything we’ve loved about Eugene, all the laughs, the borrowed colloquialisms, the ups and downs of his relationship with Katrina, and of course the ukulele tunes.
Eugene Meltsner is without a doubt a genius. He says as much in his first episode and he’s right. By age 9 he was in high school and by age 13 he was starting college. He was probably doing calculus when he was still in diapers. Math and science are his thing, but so is English. You know you’re an AIO fan when you start using words and phrases you learned from Eugene. His precision of language is impeccable. Eugene is the kind of person who will interrupt you to correct your grammar and has the perfect vocabulary word for any situation, and even the odd Latin phrase. He’s also incredibly inventive. As a child he develops a mini-excavator to help his father in archaeological digs. He also rigs the refrigerator to electrocute people in order to help his parents lose weight. I’m sure Leonard and Thelma weren’t too happy about that. You’d think little Eugene would have learned his lesson, but that doesn’t stop him from rigging the cash register at Whit’s End with electricity in Suspicious Minds (Album 8)...