I know this is out of nowhere as this blog only really updates these days as and when I gather content for it (i.e. whenever I have a nostalgic playthrough Left 4 Dead again) but I thought I should share this as a sign of thankfulness and respect.
Bill was without a doubt one of my favourite Left 4 Dead characters, and of course Jim French’s performance as his voiceover was a colossal part of that. My late best friend Audi and I (and most everyone from our friendship group back in the days that I played regularly) loved Bill, both unironically as the wonderfully flawed but lovable character that Valve wrote, and in a silly manner in which we’d abuse voice commands - or Bill himself as a computer-controlled character - to recharacterise him as a silly confused old man that we had to look after. While that may not have been the intent of his voicework, reinterpreting it all in that context made for hundreds of laughs over the years. I’m sure a lot of players can relate.
Rest in peace Jim French, and thank you for your great work and massive contribution to one of my lifelong favourite games.