This one's weird for me to write because it's the first pop culture death notice/tribute I've written about a person who was a friend of mine. I just found out that Maddie Blaustein died ten days ago and that news shocked the living shit out of me.I first met Maddie about a hundred years ago during my early days at Marvel Comics, back when she was still Adam "Addie" Blaustein, but didn't really get to know her until I started working in the DC Comics production department. She was one of the first people at that company to welcome me with open arms and was a delightful counterpoint to the place's sometimes-corporate pretensions, being a warm-hearted and funny transgendered fellow-oddball who also worked as a voice actor for cartoons and video games, perhaps most notably serving as the second actor to serve as Meowth on POKEMON and the entire Tusket family on ULTIMATE MUSCLE: THE KINNIKUMAN LEGACY.
Maddie passed away in her sleep after what has been described online and from the people I asked who also knew her as a short illness, so I have no idea what the cause was. All I know is that she was funny, talented, sweet and very kind to me, so I wish her nothing but luck on the next go-round.
Heidi MacDonald has more on Maddie over at The Beat, including reminiscences left by friends and former colleagues.
Aw, man.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Bunche.
Gee, Steve,
ReplyDeleteI am really upset to see that Maddie has passed. Too young. That is really tough. I knew him back when he was the most manly 'he' possible. There were no feminine qualities at all. I was encouraging when I ran into him in some sort of "interphase" thing at DC-- but it was far too brief and no way to really talk. And then time marched on.
When I knew him he Owsley's assistant. I admired his style, as I believe he, like myself, was a devoted spear carrier. Which I believe all assistant editors should be. Did you know that he pitched and wrote "Teenage Radioactive Mutant Hamsters?" I might even have gotten that correct. It was a gag issue that I think, Larry Hama put out.
Oh well, he/she was a good person. I hope she found some happiness as I understand there is often quite a bit of unhappiness involved in going through transgender stuff.
-Professor Brown