Kendra Bancroft/Madeleine Blaustein passes away

by Tateru Nino Dec 17th 2008 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Culture, News items, Second Life, Virtual worlds

It is with some regret that we note the passing of a notable, veteran Second Life user, the vivacious and witty Kendra Bancroft, better known in some circles as popular children's television and video-game English voice actress, Madeleine Blaustein.

Maddie joined Second Life in June 2004 and under the name Kendra Bancroft was a long time friend and compatriot of the well-known (if slightly infamous) Ulrika Zugzwang. She participated in Second Life politics, experimental democracy, protests, parties and virtual construction.

Maddie also gave unique voice to a variety of well-known cartoon, anime and video-game characters, such as Pokemon's Meowth, and Sartorius from Yi-Gi-Oh GX. She was, however, perhaps most notable for her building, vivacious wit, and her loyalty to her friends.

Maddie died in her sleep on 11 December, after a brief (but unspecified) illness at the age of 48.

Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.

Tags: anime, culture, kendra-bancroft, madeleine-blaustein, meowth, pokemon, sartorius, second-life, ulrika-zugzwang, virtual-worlds, yu-gi-oh, yu-gi-oh-gx

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Lucifer Baphomet said on 3:11PM 12-17-2008

thank you so much for your kind words, Tateru.

Kendra was a gem, and an amazing friend.

I'm going to miss her so much

Coyote Momiji said on 3:16PM 12-17-2008

Thank you, Tateru.

Kendra leaves a void no one can fill.

Coldbrand said on 2:13AM 12-18-2008

Meowth is dead? : ( That sucks.

Redhead said on 3:57AM 12-18-2008

Such an amazing mind and keen wit. The Universe is less now without her.

I will miss her until the day I die.

Gwyneth Llewelyn said on 6:29AM 12-18-2008

Kendra's two strengths — her amazing creative ability with an extraordinary talent, and the strong bonds she managed to forge with her friends — will never go away. Every day I log in I'm reminded by both, just by looking around myself.

Kendra's strong will is something that will remain for a long, long time — in SL's architecture, and in people's hearts. She was bigger than life, and will remain so in our minds.

Anonymous said on 11:17AM 12-18-2008

Dying at the age of 48, sucks =/ So young, she could of lived for another 40 years.

Tharkis Olafson said on 1:03PM 12-18-2008

You know, I love Massively.. I love your commentary Tateru. Also, I am sorry for the loss of what must have been a great friend of yours. (I personally have no idea who she is at all.) But... Since when did your column become the obituaries? This isn't news. This isn't opinion. People die in RL every day who were a part of SL. I have personally in just the last year, lost 5 people whom I have met in SL. 1 to Cancer, 1 to a psycho ex-boyfriend, 1 to an embolism following a horrific car crash, and the final one unfortunately took his own life. Do I miss them, yes, but I don't think a blog about games is the forum to express my feelings. Nor do I wish to read about them. Instead, a vigil or some sort of ceremony in-world seems more of an appropriate setting to grieve your loss.

Tharkis

Patchouli Woollahra said on 2:25AM 8-18-2009

The point of this article, I believe, was to honor the passing of one of the old guard. The unfortunate fact is that when you get enough people in a place for long enough, people die. This happens in any serious virtual world or MMO, and it will keep happening as long as immortality is not on the cards.

They write this sort of thing about important contributors in other MMOs listed on Massively. Why not Second Life?

Regardless, it kinda sucks - I hadn't realised Meowth was on Second Life in a way until now.

Tharkis Olafson said on 3:30PM 12-18-2008

Yeah I understand what you are saying Patchouli. But, nowhere in the article does it say just *what* contribution she made to SL. Except to say she knew Ulrika and participated in SL Politics. Neither of which are contributions. The way the article reads, she is merely a participant in SL. I can't believe this was the case, otherwise she would not have affected Tateru enough to write about her.

Gwyneth Llewelyn said on 9:19PM 12-19-2008

Tharkis, as for a cerimony of remembrance, one was made so far (probably a few more will be held): http://klauswulfenbach.livejournal.com/26604.html

For some of the real life work of Kendra/Maddie, you can take a look at the Wikipedia entry for her: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeline_Blaustein

For a short biography of most of her work in Second Life, see http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Kendra_Bancroft

aliasisudonomo said on 7:21AM 12-20-2008

Indeed, this IS news - in the same way the death of an important and well-regarded celebrity is news, since in SL Kendra was just that. I realize that ever since SLInsider was swallowed up by Massively the SL news has become a sideline compared to all the folks who want the news on their favorite online amusement partks and how this got buffed and this got nerfed... but allow the few faithful this!