It is with great sadness I make this post. I was just notified by Lise Minovitz that her brother... and your friend and mine- Ethan Minovitz has passed away.
Honestly, I am just in shock. Ethan and I are very close in age, and I remember just last month wishing him a happy 50th. It just not seem possible...
I have known Ethan at least ten years. We have never met face-to-face, but we have become close. He has done more for me- and for this site- than you can ever know. For that, for his friendship, for his jokes and his insight, I am eternally grateful.
I am at a loss for words right now. I am not sure what to say, or what I will do going forward. I want to do something to commemorate Ethan and all he has meant to me, something that will commemorate him going forward. I do not know what.
For now, I will just remember, and appreciate Ethan for the good and great man that he was.
I'm truly shocked and saddened by this news. For the first time in a long time, I have no idea what to say. To me, Ethan was just as much a part of this site as Dave. He's been here longer than I have. We've never met in person, but Ethan seemed like one of the coolest guys in the world.
I am always enjoyed his great knowledge of animation and the entertainment industry and his sense of humor. I am always amazed in his knowing what involvement that was either widely known or in an obscure manner to the animation world that a recently deceased performer or creative staffer had...and writing the remembrance in a informative succinct well-worded style than I can muster.
Condolences to his family.
(This post was edited by artytoons on Feb 2, 2013, 5:44 PM)
I am shocked and truly at a loss for words. Ethan and I joined basically at the same time in in '03, him less than two weeks before me. He had just celebrated his 10th year on BCDB on the 29th of January. Mine will be n about a week, on the 11th. It will be infinitely sadder now because he won't be around to celebrate it with me.
I'm just want to say on behalf of not just myself, but the other administrators- Bruce and of course Dave, Ethan was one of the best people I've ever had the providence to work with here (or any forum). His knowledge of the subject was phenomenal, but his joy at being able to talk about animation and cartoon with like minded people was infectious. I will miss him, I think the entire BCDB is left that much poorer without him here.
Ouch, the matchless E. Minovitz, the eyes and ears of the animation industry, has gone on to help the angels keep track of it all.
Ethan was among the first to welcome me here, and has kept everyone wised up to cartoon developments anywhere. This man set the standard very high; enthusiasts will do well to emulate Ethan. I bow my head in respect of an excellent cartoon connoisseur; thank you, Ethan Minovitz, job well done.
Ethan has been such an important contributor to BCDB - both to the Database itself and to the Forum - that I too, feel shocked, as well as saddened, by his untimely passing.
Whenever I saw his Popeye avatar appear in a Forum Thread I would get a little buzz - not just coz I love the character, and of course, Ethan being Ethan, the image is from the very first frame of Popeye's animated debut appearance (not the newspaper picture, note, the first cel animation frame!) - but because he would have something interesting, informative or maybe just amusing to add to the debate.
And of course the News Thread was always my first port of call.
My commiserations to his family, and to Dave and everyone here at BCDB: we have indeed lost a dear friend.
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Back by popular demand - "La-la-La-la.. I can't hear you!"
(This post was edited by peterhale on Feb 3, 2013, 1:47 AM)
This is the second time that I've had to say goodbye to someone here at BCDB since I joined here in 2002, the other being Kevin, aka Cosmic Fool, and as with Kevin's passing, this comes out of nowhere and happens far too soon.
More than anyone else here with the possible exception of Dave himself, Ethan Minovitz was BCDB for me. He wore many hats here: news, facts, history, trivia, laughs, Ethan did it all.
But what I'll remember most about him is his fun, laid-back, easy going demeanor; he was one of the guys in charge here, but he never acted like a boss. He never leaned on you or gave you a hard time for expressing a candid opinion or flashed his Mod Badge in your face. He was always your friend, not the law, and I truly respected him for that. If all forum mods could be like Ethan, I'd never consider leaving a message board.
The show must and will go on, but I have to say that it will be strange coming here without Ethan's presence. He will be sorely missed.
He really was a major part of this website and one of the main reasons I enjoy coming here.
It's sad that he can no longer give us any more of his wisdom, but I'm happy that as long as this website remains available his words that he typed on here will be around a long time.
Dang...I basically feel like everybody else right now.
I don't know who remembers me from back when we were busiest here and on the old TTTP forums but my username was 60BloodyChamp60 for a long time. I was 1 of the ones who got really freaking hot when the PC/liberal/whoever else hated cartoons brigade was all over us about getting uncut cartoons on DVD.
We lost 1 of the pioneers in internet based cartoon fandom which was in large part responsible for getting alot of our cartoons back out there in better shape than ever.
This is shocking. I'm reading all of these fond and aching posts and everything everyone has said expresses genuine love and admiration. I can't believe it, and here's proof: I fully expect to see that Popeye avatar followed by the latest news. Please allow my humble echo to what's already been said: we'll miss you, Ethan.
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"If it's hot, don't sit on it." —NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg
I provided Ethan with several tidbits of cartoon news. He acknowledged those who sent him info, and always was well-informed when someone in the industry left us. So long, good friend.
Wow, I'm shocked. I've been away too long from you all, to hear this just breaks my cartoon heart. We'll miss you E. Sorry if I steal from the best, but I think it's applicable as I just can't express it any better than the Mel Blanc "speechless" tribute. B.
