Don Messick Tributes

 On October 24th, 1997, Don Messick passed away at the age of 71 following a stroke. His passing was a huge blow to the animation world, and an outpouring of support from the community soon followed. Today, I'm sharing several of the great tributes that were put out in honor of the one and only Don Messick.

Here's a tribute from the year 2000 by Brett Rogers, a freelance writer who often wrote for Animation World Magazine. It also features some fantastic quotes from Messick, originally sourced from an interview Rogers conducted with him back in 1995. 

Scott Innes, who took over the role of Scooby-Doo following Messick's retirement and knew him in his later years, wrote this poem in honor of the vocal giant.

Hanna-Barbera themselves put out this touching piece in Don's memory, featuring Shaggy and Scooby-Doo in mourning. The artwork was drawn by Iwao Takamoto, a Hanna-Barbera mainstay and character designer for the Scooby-Doo cast.

Lastly, Mark Evanier, a man who has written many a comic book and cartoon, put together this extremely well written piece on Messick shortly after his passing. Though Don Messick passed away almost thirty years ago, his legacy will no doubt endure for years to come, and not simply because of his characters. It is the memories and the ways he impacted the lives of so many that I personally think will be his greatest legacy of all.