R.I.P Eric Bauza, voice acting heir to Mel Blanc

Born in 1979 to Filipino parents in Toronto, Bauza learned his love of the classic Looney Tunes characters from his father and grandfather. Eventually going to work at animation company Spümcø, Bauza took over the role of lovably gross cartoon cat Stimpy from Billy West before embarking on a full time voice acting career. His greatest fame came when he assumed voice duties for a wide swath of the classic Warner Bros. animation roster starting with Marvin the Martian in 2011’s The Looney Tunes Show before taking over the late Mel Blanc’s legendary cast of characters.

Over the years, Bauza adopted the well-known personas of everyone from Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Porky Pig, and the Road Runner, most of which he impressively performed in Space Jam: A New Legacy and this year’s infamously shelved success story Coyote Vs. Acme. In addition to his WB work, Bauza has memorably played multiple roles on Rick And Morty and its President Curtis spinoff, took over the title character from Antonio Banderas for The Puss In Boots Adventures, voiced various Ninja Turtles, Muppet Babies‘ Fozzie, Luke Skywalker in the Lego Star Wars series, and countless others. He also replaced Bob’s Burgers nemesis Jimmy Pesto after Jay Johnston’s firing and stepped into the role of crusty Bob Sr. originally played by Bill Hader. Most recently, the busy Bauza voiced Daffy Duck in the short Daffy Season, which will play before the Hader-voiced The Cat In The Hat on November 6.