Dale Herbest writes…
I loved Howard Morris's role as Gopher in the original Winnie the Pooh featurettes and I wonder if you could clear something up for me. I've heard from other fans that the reason he didn't reprise the character for The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is because he was under contract to Garfield & Friends at the same time and legally couldn't. I know you were just the head writer and V.O. director but do you know if that's true? I'm sorry he never reprised the role either way.
I do know if it's true and it isn't. Howie was free to work on any cartoon show…and I think he missed one recording session (with my permission) because another show needed him that day.
It is very, very rare that cartoon voice actors these days have any kind of overall contract, probably one that just says they agree to be available for a certain number of recording sessions and that they'll be paid some higher-than-most rate for their work. Most just sign a short contract for each episode we call them in for but I've never heard of any kind of exclusivity clause stopping anyone from working on another show. If it happens, it's very rare.
Did someone else take over the role of Gopher while Howie was still alive? If so, it would mean he couldn't do it for health reasons, he wouldn't do it for the money he was offered or someone at Disney decided they simply wanted someone else in the role. Paul Winchell was replaced as Tigger for at least two of those reasons if not all three.
