Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521235
96 M PS E . O R G gave Mark a list of about 25 things to try: gremlin guzzling beer, gremlin spinning on a ceiling fan, gremlin impersonating Frank Sinatra, gremlin flasher. And, in desperation, the one sound I knew would define the Gremlins, a signature gremlin laugh. "Without much fanfare, I put out a microphone and rolled tape. Mark had my laundry list and roared into each item, rattling off impressions and first instincts as he tackled everything. I was hearing interesting stuff, maybe even usable stuff, but it wasn't until he got to the gremlin laugh that the world changed. He started off slow, deep voices, and then … out of nowhere … it came, fully formed, fully finished. A sound that would not only define our movie but sinister mischief and mayhem anywhere we put it. "I am deeply indebted to Mark. He was an original. And not a journeyman, but a vocal artist whom I could count on in the trenches. We did countless sessions together for Gremlins and Gremlins 2, experimenting and taking risks… I mean, what does a dying gremlin sound like? Maybe let's pour some water down your gullet and see if you can laugh through that. Crazy stuff. "I miss him and his friendship and everything he contributed to the world, his family and friends and the art of cinema. I hope I hear that laugh echoing in the clouds somewhere, Mark Dodson and Mark Mangini with friends from Gremlins 2. Mark Dodson and Kirk R. Thatcher. someday. I'll know he's keeping everyone laughing." –Mark Mangini Mark and his fellow voice actors were joined on Gremlins 2 by actor- director Kirk Thatcher. Kirk shared this with me… "Mark Dodson was a good friend and a great human being! We met in the early '80s, both working at Lucasfilm where I was working in the creature shop at ILM and he was working on helping to build the Lucas ranch. We met auditioning to do creature voices on Return of the Jedi. Mark got the gig as the voice of Salacious and I did not! "The next time we crossed paths was on the first Gremlins movie. Besides painting and building gremlins, I also did puppeteering while filming. We would do scratch voices of the gremlins. I later learned that Mark became the voice of the majority of the gremlins, as Frank Welker did the voice of the main gremlin, Stripe. A few years later, Mark Mangini, who had been the sound designer on Gremlins and Star Trek 4, hired me, along with Mark to do most of the voices of the gremlins for Gremlins 2, the new batch. This is really where Mark and I became closer friends. Besides making all sorts of weird gremlin noises and voices during the day in four different languages, we would hang out at lunch and laugh our butts off! Here were two middle-class kids having a blast doing something we never thought we could get paid for! We would entertain ourselves by doing different impressions and Mark's range of voices always blew me away, in particular, his Rex Allen voice that he would do, parodying the old Disney nature shows. "Over the ensuing years, Mark and I would see each other at conventions and fortunately for me, in 2023, I had a really good hang with him after a convention we did up in the Bay Area. We spent a good two or three hours reconnecting, and realized we had a lot more in common than we ever knew before. We had very similar childhoods and a very similar approach to the entertainment business. I was quite devastated to hear that he had died as I was expecting to see him at least two or three times a year at conventions in the future. I was excited to go out and continue building our friendship based on silly voices, shared childhoods, and a love of making each other laugh. The world is a less funny, less fun place without you Mark, and you will be deeply missed by many for not only your amazing voice talent, but also your wonderful personality and friendship." –Kirk R. Thatcher RIP Mark ol' pal. I'll miss our fun nights of silly stories over drinks.