It is with great sadness that I relay the news that our own Voice Actors in the News staffer/contributor Doreen Mulman has passed away.
Even if you don’t recognize Doreen’s name, if you are a fan of voice actors you have surely seen her handiwork. Through her web imprint “Sites By Doreen” (leftforever.com), Doreen served as webmaster extraordinaire for the official websites of voice actors Frank Welker, Tara Strong, Laura Summer, Rino Romano, Mary Kay Bergman, Jean Vander Pyl, and a number of other official sites and fan pages/tributes for TV/stage/film stars as well as her favorite bands and artists, cartoons, and TV/film properties.
Dor and I crossed paths online in the late 90s thanks to our shared interest in animated cartoons, voice actors, and the Ghostbusters movie/TV franchise. She was one of the most passionate fans I have ever met of Ghostbusters (and I have met *a few*), and for more than 10 years served as creator/moderator for The Ghostbusters Fan Forum.
We never actually met in person although we both attended the 2000 San Diego Comic-Con — just managed to keep missing each other the whole weekend. And from the late 90s until the popularity of social media made e-mail seem irrelevant, I probably have hundreds of e-mails from her “DoReEgon” AOL address saved in my 15-year old Yahoo account full of late-night, back-and-forth discussions about our favorite cartoons and voice actors.
Doreen was also the first to accept my invitation to be a contributing staff member for Voice Actors in the News after the Facebook page launched in 2010. With Doreen’s many online endeavors promoting the work of cartoon voice actors, she was an ideal candidate for partnership in fandom. And it was a huge bonus that she was a wonderful, friendly, caring, generous individual, and also a really great friend.
Throughout her life, Doreen overcame a great deal of personal and family tragedies, numerous health issues, and emotional/physical heartache and pain and yet remained strong, proud and upbeat. And she was an inspiration to me as well. In fact, were it not for Doreen’s admiration and appreciation for the talented people who voice animated characters, this site — Voice Actors in the News — probably would not exist today. Her work as a fan inspired me to show my own love for the craft of voice acting by spending nearly 20 years of my life writing about the voice-over industry and the people in it.
When asked about her choice of “LeftForever” for her domain name (which she also used for Twitter @LeftForever), Doreen said it was because she wanted all her work “to be left forever on the web.” And she did indeed achieve such a legacy.
You haven’t left us forever, Doreen. You left your indelible fingerprints all over the web. I doubt that a day will go by from now on that I won’t see something online that reminds me your friendship, kindness, sense of humor, and and what an inspiration you have been to me.
And it’s a relief to know you will no longer suffer from health issues and constant aches and pains. Enjoy your well-deserved rest in peace, my friend, and say hello to Mary Kay Bergman for me.
– Craig Crumpton – Publisher/Chief Editor, Voice Actors in the News
* We will continue to update this article in Doreen’s memory, to include other memories from her family and friends. If you would like to add your tribute, please contact Craig via email: voiceroy @ yahoo.com (spaces have been added to avoid spammers).