Jack Jenner

**John Eugene Jenner** (November 18, 1931 - July 23, 2021) was an American actor, voice actor, director, producer, singer, author, film critic, Vietnam veteran, activist and philanthropist. His acting career spanned nearly seven decades. He is remembered for his work during his six-decade career with Alamo Productions, which began in 1961 after he left the United States Army. He was a voice of Mickey Mouse not only for his impressive voice impersonation of him, but also because he shared the character's birthday.

## Early life and education

Jack was born in Montgonery, Alabama on November 18, 1931 to Amanda Begay (1900 - 1987), a flight attendant, and Angel Jenner (1906 - 1940), a restaurant worker. A year later, both parents married different people. Jack spent loads of time with his family and friends. Jenner suffered from childhood depression for a time with his father's death in 1940 from contracting the bubonic plague, at the too-young-to-die age of 34.

Jenner first began learning voices at ages 7 and 8, having been inspired from watching cartoons of Disney, Looney Toons and others. For his birthday(s), he did an impressive Mickey Mouse voice impression for the family, as his birthday was the same as Mickey's. He joined the drama club at Budding Rose Middle School and the wrestling team at St. Parker's High School. Jenner was cut from the team during his junior/senior year(s), so he joined a glee club in the place of sports.

In 1949, after graduating high school, Jenner started university with a major in music. He joined the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He also worked two years as the campus' research assistant, but quit in 1951 when he was diagnosed with high blood pressure from too much stress. Jenner graduated university in 1953.

## Early acting career and service in the Army

In 1953, Jenner became a voice actor for Groper Studios. He grew in popularity when he began voicing Mickey Mouse in some of the cartoons he did.

Jenner became a victim of controversy when his producer asked him to perform sexual favors for them to land a role. The producer was never exposed, let alone identified. The incident has also left a bad impression on the "Groper" name of the company.

During a trip to the recently-opened Disneyland in 1955, Jenner was lucky enough to meet Walt Disney. He showed off his Mickey Mouse voice, and Walt was highly impressed, and asked him to perform to the children for some of his stay.

In 1957, in order to avoid being drafted, Jenner left Groper Studios to join the US Army as an officer. He became First Lieutenant a year later, and was promoted to Captain in 1961. Alter that year, he received an honorable discharge. He became an anti-war activist due to the horrors he witnessed of the Vietnam War.

## Return to acting, prominence and activism

Following his discharge, Jenner became a voice actor for Alamo Productions. He obtained live-action roles in 1967. In 1976, Jenner achieved international fame when he starred in an anti-war drama to celebrate America's 200th birthday. Another outstanding performance of Mickey Mouse also helped him reach this goal.

Jenner joined many anti-war demonstrations during the sixties and early to mid seventies to protest against the Vietnam War. He even became friends with disabled veteran, activist and author Ron Kovic. Jenner played Kovic in a biographical film, though he had some competition when Tom Cruise also played Kovic in the 1989 film *Born on the Fourth of July*.

## Personal life

Jenner dated his middle school classmate Doutzen Hari from 1942 to 1944. Throughout the years, he sent her gifts to stay a kind friend to her.

In 1954, Jenner met Sydney Thrasher, who would become a computer programmer for Cocksure Foods, in a library. Their first child of five, son Cody, was born in 1956. In 1964, after ten years of dating and countless proposal rejections, Thrasher proposed to Jenner at a lighthouse. They married with no prenup and went to San Fransisco for their honeymoon.

Jenner was traumatized by the death of one of his daughters, Harper (born 1966) in a terrorist bomb explosion in 1981. He later granted interviews for a terrorism documentary, sharing his struggle to cope with his loss.

While Hari appreciated Jenner's gifts, Thrasher occasionally got jealous.

## Death

Jenner died on July 23, 2021, following a stroke. He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and adopted niece and nephew.