Prolific Looney Tunes voice actor Eric Bauza, who was just recently heard in the hit film Coyote vs. Acme, has passed away. He was just 46 years old.
The news of Bauza’s passing was shared by his family with a post on Instagram. The family noted that Bauza’s death happened suddenly, while the Los Angeles County Examiner ruled the primary cause of death was hypertensive cardiovascular disease. Bauza’s family also said that more information will soon be released about what happened. For now, the comments section of theInstagram post is filling up with fans expressing their shock and sadness about the news, with many sharing memories of how pleasant he had been to everyone.
As the statement reads, “Eric Bauza, Emmy Award-winning voice actor and the modern voice of iconic Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, along with dozens of other beloved cartoon characters, has passed away suddenly. More details to come.”
Bauza became best known as the modern voice of Looney Tunes by portraying a variety of major characters in different animated films and TV shows. He played characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester, and many more. Most recently, he voiced Wile E. Coyote in Coyote vs. Acme, which was nearly shelved by Warner Bros. before being acquired by Ketchup Entertainment for a theatrical release.
Eric Bauza Won Three Emmy Awards for His Voiceover Work
Bauza was born on Dec. 7, 1979. After pursuing a career in animation, his first breakthrough role was as Stimpy in Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon, which put an adult twist on the classic Nickelodeon series. Bauza replaced Billy West as the voice of Stimpy. This helped set the stage for his career, where he would succeed other voice actors in taking over established characters. Bauza was particularly skilled at replicating voices and it was always a smooth transition when he took on these kinds of parts.
For his voiceover work, Bauza won three Children’s and Family Emmy Awards. These wins were for Looney Tunes Cartoons, Bugs Bunny Builders, and Teen Titans Go!. Outside of Looney Tunes, he has also voiced a variety of other well-known characters, including Woody Woodpecker, Puss in Boots of The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Fozzie Bear of Muppet Babies, Shredder of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Buster Bunny of Tiny Toons Looniversity, and Diddy Kong of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
On the big screen, Bauza also voiced several characters for the surreal horror movie Buddy, which was released in theaters in August on the same day as Coyote vs. Acme. He had also recently been doing voices for the animated shows Invincible and Avatar: Seven Havens. Bauza did a lot of work for video games as well, heard in recent titles like Battletoads, MultiVersus, and Date Everything!.