Ken MacCaull

I barely knew him, but he had one of those personalities that made you feel like you were among his best buds. Easy to talk to, easy to laugh. Genuinely friendly.

I first met Ken MacCaull when I did some voice-over work for the animated Eckhart tv-series in his Westmanor studio in Slemon Park. He was the guy who did the recording. He seemed to be very good at his job.
When I went there the first time to record, I was nervous already. The professionalism of everyone involved made me even more nervous because that professionalism implied "this is a real thing." (as opposed to the half-assed, low-budget, seat-of-your-pants projects I'd been used to up to that point in my life). Everyone involved was great at making the experience pleasant and enjoyable. Ken, though, was the guy who, by his very being and nature, made me feel the most comfortable.
I got the sense that he took a liking to me. I suspect that a lot of people felt like that around him.
I was flattered when he told me that I was good at what I do and very professional and easy to work with. Flattered because he seemed honest about it, and his opinion seemed to be to respect.

After Eckhart, I'd see him occasionally, in passing on a street, or something like that. He'd always take the time to catch up on what I was doing, and vice versa. The last couple of years, we'd been working in the same building, so these casual stop-and-talk meetings had become more frequent.

The last time I spoke with him, we were talking about how great it'd be to give it all up and just go traveling. He said that's what he hoped to do when he retired.

Ken died unexpectedly last month. I was sad to hear that. Even though we were by no means close, he made me feel like we were closer friends than we were.

This is a picture of Ken, taken from The Buzz website: