Voice Actors & Animation Talent We Lost in 2026 — Remembering Six Incredible Performers Who Left an Unforgettable Mark on Animation. • 🖤 CATHERINE O’HARA — 71 MARCH 4, 1954 – JANUARY 30, 2026 The legendary actress was also an unforgettable animation voice performer, most famously voicing Sally and Shock in The Nightmare Before Christmas. Her animated résumé also included Chicken Little, Frankenweenie, The Wild Robot and numerous television roles. • ⭐ TOM KANE — 64 APRIL 15, 1962 – MAY 18, 2026 A legendary voice of the Star Wars universe, Kane portrayed Yoda and served as the iconic narrator of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He also voiced Admiral Ackbar and became beloved by Cartoon Network fans as Professor Utonium in The Powerpuff Girls. • 🌺 DAVEIGH CHASE — 35 JULY 24, 1990 – JUNE 17, 2026 Chase became part of Disney history as the original voice of Lilo Pelekai in Lilo & Stitch, later returning throughout the franchise. Anime fans also knew her as the English voice of Chihiro Ogino in Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Her performance as Lilo earned her an Annie Award. • 🤖 PETER CULLEN — 85 JULY 28, 1941 – AUGUST 26, 2026 Few voices in animation history were more instantly recognizable. Cullen originated the legendary voice of Optimus Prime in the 1984 Transformers series and continued portraying the Autobot leader across generations of films, television and games. He was also beloved as Eeyore in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh franchise. • 🐉 MIKE McFARLAND — 56 JULY 14, 1970 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2026 A hugely influential figure in English anime dubbing, McFarland voiced Master Roshi and Yajirobe in Dragon Ball, Buggy the Clown in One Piece, Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan and Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist. Behind the microphone, he was also an enormously important ADR director, writer and producer who helped shape English versions of Fullmetal Alchemist, Attack on Titan, One Piece and many more. • 🐰 ERIC BAUZA — 46 DECEMBER 7, 1979 – OCTOBER 25, 2026 Bauza became the defining modern voice of numerous Looney Tunes legends, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety and Marvin the Martian. His extraordinary career also included Foop/Irep in The Fairly OddParents, Tiger Claw in TMNT, Splinter in Rise of the TMNT, Puss in Boots and hundreds of additional performances. He won three Children’s & Family Emmy Awards during his remarkable career. 2026 Has Taken an Extraordinary Group of Performers Who Helped Give Voices, Personalities and Heart to Characters Loved Across Generations. Their Voices May Be Gone, but Their Work Will Continue to Live Through Animation Forever. 💬 WHICH CHARACTER OR PERFORMANCE FROM THESE LEGENDS WILL YOU REMEMBER MOST? #EricBauza #PeterCullen #TomKane

Happy 73rd Birthday to Robert Picardo! Born October 27, 1953, veteran actor and voice performer Robert Picardo celebrates his 73rd birthday today. Across more than five decades, his career has spanned science fiction, animation, television, film and video games. • The Doctor / EMH — Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek Online • AMAZO — Justice League / Justice League Unlimited • Harvey Dent / Two-Face — Justice League Action • Blackhawk — Justice League • Sebastian Krueger / The Shadowman / Robert McNamara — Call of Duty: Black Ops III • Professor Reddschift — Buzz Lightyear of Star Command • Milton — Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey • Puddingtown / Eyeball — Bravest Warriors • President / Puppet President — Cow and Chicken • Colonel Drab — Dumb and Dumber: The Animated Series Picardo’s defining role remains The Doctor, the Emergency Medical Hologram from Star Trek: Voyager. What began as a program designed for medical emergencies evolved into one of the franchise’s most beloved characters, with Picardo continuing to revisit the role across later Star Trek projects. Animation fans also know his distinctive voice from the DC universe, where he portrayed the immensely powerful AMAZO, the scarred villain Two-Face, and heroic pilot Blackhawk. #RobertPicardo #StarTrek #TheDoctor

Happy 43rd Birthday to Melanie Minichino — The Voice of Anya Corazon! Born October 27, 1983, American voice actress Melanie Minichino celebrates her 43rd birthday today. Her remarkably versatile career stretches across animation, video games, live action and commercial voice-over, with major characters from Marvel, DC, Disney, DreamWorks and beyond. • Anya Corazon / Spider-Girl — Marvel’s Spider-Man • Aunt May — Spidey and His Amazing Friends • Cat Grant / Silver St. Cloud — My Adventures with Superman • Ava — T.O.T.S. • April O’Neil — TMNT: Splintered Fate / TMNT: Empire City • Alice Hiiragi — Persona 5 Strikers • January Van Sant — Resident Evil: Resistance • Eva Alexander — Guardians of the Galaxy • Queen Isabella — The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show • Gloria Davila — Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales • Exuberant Witness — Halo 5: Guardians • Reyna — Gears Tactics • Shiva — Chocobo GP #MelanieMinichino #SpiderMan #SpiderGirl

Huntr/X’s “Golden” Has Officially Passed 2 Billion Streams on Spotify — After Becoming the First K-Pop Song to Win Both a Grammy and an Oscar! The song is performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI as the singing voices of fictional girl group HUNTR/X — Rumi, Mira and Zoey. “Golden” also spent 8 WEEKS at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first #1 by a female K-pop act, while spending 18 weeks atop the Billboard Global 200. #KPopDemonHunters #Golden #HUNTRX

Happy 87th Birthday to John Cleese! Born October 27, 1939, legendary British actor, comedian, writer and voice performer John Cleese celebrates his 87th birthday today. From Monty Python and Fawlty Towers to decades of memorable animated characters, Cleese has built one of comedy’s most extraordinary careers. • King Harold — Shrek 2, Shrek the Third & Shrek Forever After • Cat R. Waul — An American Tail: Fievel Goes West • Quincy Endicott / Adelaide — Over the Garden Wall • Bulldog — Planes • King Gristle Sr. — Trolls • Albert the Magic Pudding — The Magic Pudding • Dr. Glickenstein — Igor • Professor Kipple — Planet 51 • Otto Von Walrus — Arctic Dogs • Donner — Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer • Archie Vainglorious — Rally Road Racers • Ape — George of the Jungle Beyond voice acting, Cleese became a comedy icon as a founding member of Monty Python and as the unforgettable Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers. His acclaimed film career includes A Fish Called Wanda, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor. #JohnCleese #Shrek #OverTheGardenWall

‘Bleach’ Has Officially Finished Airing — 22 Years After the Anime First Began. The End of an Era. The BLEACH TV anime officially reached its conclusion with BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity Episode 50 — “DEATH & STRAWBERRY.” The finale aired in Japan at midnight following October 26, 2026, marking the end of Ichigo Kurosaki’s animated journey. The original BLEACH ANIME PREMIERED OCTOBER 5, 2004, eventually running for 366 episodes before ending its original broadcast on March 27, 2012. Fans then waited approximately 10 YEARS for the anime to return, with Thousand-Year Blood War finally premiering in October 2022 to adapt the manga’s previously unanimated final arc. THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR ultimately ran for 50 EPISODES across four parts — arriving in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2026 before finally completing the story. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE ‘BLEACH’ ARC OR MOMENT OF ALL TIME? #BLEACH #BleachTYBW #IchigoKurosaki

Chlöe Bailey Channels Meg Griffin From ‘Family Guy’ for Halloween!

‘Wildwood’ Opens With $11.6 Million Domestically — Marking Laika’s Second-Lowest Opening Weekend Ever for an Original Feature! 📊 LAIKA DOMESTIC OPENING WEEKENDS: The Boxtrolls — $17.28M Coraline — $16.85M ParaNorman — $14.09M Kubo and the Two Strings — $12.61M Wildwood — $11.60M Missing Link — $5.94M #Wildwood #LAIKA #BoxOffice

DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island has now grossed approximately $67.94 MILLION WORLDWIDE. • 🇺🇸 DOMESTIC — $36.67M • 🌍 INTERNATIONAL — $31.27M • 💰 WORLDWIDE — $67.94M The animated fantasy adventure carries a reported $80 MILLION PRODUCTION BUDGET. #ForgottenIsland #DreamWorks #DreamWorksAnimation

2026 Has Taken Three Legendary Voices — Tom Kane, Peter Cullen & Eric Bauza. • ⭐ TOM KANE — 64 April 15, 1962 – May 18, 2026 • 🤖 PETER CULLEN — 85 July 28, 1941 – August 26, 2026 • 🐰 ERIC BAUZA — 46 December 7, 1979 – October 25, 2026 #TomKane #PeterCullen #EricBauza

Happy 49th Birthday to Jon Heder! Born October 26, 1977, actor and voice performer Jon Heder celebrates his 49th birthday today. Best known for one of the most recognizable comedy characters of the 2000s, Heder has also built a surprisingly extensive career across animation and voice acting. • Napoleon Dynamite — Napoleon Dynamite film and animated series • Chicken Joe — Surf’s Up / Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania • Pickle — Pickle and Peanut • Reggie — Thelma the Unicorn • Napoleon Bonafrog — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles • Don Robertson / Multi-Farious — Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters • Bogey — My Sweet Monster • Tybalt — Pinocchio: A True Story • Hubert — Hedgehogs • Frankenstein — A Monsterous Holiday Heder’s career-defining role remains Napoleon Dynamite, the awkward Idaho teenager who became a pop-culture phenomenon following the 2004 cult comedy. He later returned to voice Napoleon in Fox’s animated adaptation. Animation fans also know him as the hilariously carefree Chicken Joe from Surf’s Up, the unpredictable Pickle from Disney’s Pickle and Peanut, and Reggie in Netflix’s Thelma the Unicorn. #JonHeder #NapoleonDynamite #SurfsUp

Too Many Goodbyes Already — 2026 Has Taken So Many Beloved Entertainment Figures • Catherine O’Hara • Guy Moon • Alexis Ortega • James Van Der Beek • Robert Duvall • Eric Dane • Masako Ikeda • Chuck Norris • Mary Egida • Rivera Roger Sweet • Ted Turner • Tom Kane • Anthony Head • Peabo Bryson • Oliver Tree • Daveigh Chase • Akihiro Miwa • Bonnie Tyler • Wai Ching Ho • Sam Neill • Brenda Fricker • Kaylee Hottle • Vincent Pastore • Hayden Panettiere • Dolly Parton • Tim Curry • Peter Cullen • Mike McFarland • Michael Forest • Eric Bauza Actors, voice actors, musicians, filmmakers and television legends — so many familiar faces and voices have already been lost in 2026. Their performances, characters, songs and creative legacies will continue to live on through the generations who loved their work. Rest in peace to all of them. Gone, but never forgotten. 🕊️💔 #InMemoriam #RIP #GoneButNotForgotten

‘Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical’ Was Back in Pre-Production Before Eric Bauza’s Passing — Making It One of His Final Projects. Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical had returned to pre-production before the death of legendary voice actor Eric Bauza on October 25, 2026, giving new hope to a Looney Tunes project that had previously appeared to be shelved. Bauza was attached to voice Daffy Duck in the revived production. He had previously revealed that he auditioned for the musical and originally booked both Bugs Bunny and Daffy, even getting the opportunity to sing as the iconic characters. #EricBauza #ByeByeBunny #LooneyTunes

Ric Bauza’s Cause of Death Revealed — The Beloved Voice of Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck Died From Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease at 46 Beloved voice actor Eric Bauza died at his home on October 25, 2026, at just 46 years old. According to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records reported by Variety, his cause of death was hypertensive cardiovascular disease. Bauza’s family had initially announced his sudden passing through his official Instagram account, remembering him as the Emmy-winning modern voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Throughout his remarkable career, Bauza became one of the defining modern performers behind the Looney Tunes, voicing characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn and many more. Bauza won three Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, helping carry some of animation’s most famous characters into a new generation. 🕊️ Eric Bauza — 1979–2026. His life ended far too soon, but the voices, laughter and characters he gave animation will continue to live on for generations. #EricBauza #RIP #BugsBunny

Eric Bauza Has Passed Away at 46 — The Emmy-Winning Voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Splinter & More Beloved Canadian voice actor Eric Bauza, one of the defining modern voices of the Looney Tunes, passed away suddenly on October 25, 2026, at just 46 years old. His family shared the heartbreaking news through his official Instagram account. • Bugs Bunny / Daffy Duck / Porky Pig / Tweety / Marvin the Martian & more — Looney Tunes • Foop / Irep — The Fairly OddParents franchise • Tiger Claw — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles • Splinter — Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles • Puss in Boots — The Adventures of Puss in Boots • Fozzie Bear — Muppet Babies • Woody Woodpecker — Woody Woodpecker • Rodolfo Rivera / White Pantera — El Tigre • Buster Bunny — Tiny Toons Looniversity Bauza became synonymous with a new generation of Looney Tunes, carrying forward characters made legendary by performers before him while putting his own energy into Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Tweety, Marvin and countless others. Beyond Warner Bros., his extraordinary range stretched across Nickelodeon, Disney, DreamWorks and more, from the dangerous Tiger Claw and hilarious Splinter to Puss in Boots, Fozzie Bear and Woody Woodpecker. 🏆 His work earned him three Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, recognizing performances in Looney Tunes Cartoons, Bugs Bunny Builders and Teen Titans Go! One of his final major chapters was Coyote vs. Acme, once again allowing Bauza to bring multiple classic Looney Tunes characters to life. Rest in peace, Eric Bauza — 1979–2026. His unmistakable voice and enormous contribution to animation will not be forgotten. #EricBauza #BugsBunny #DaffyDuck

Happy 39th Birthday to Griffin Burns — The Voice of Muichiro Tokito! Born October 26, 1987, American voice actor and musician Griffin Burns celebrates his 39th birthday today. With major roles across anime, video games and animation, he has become one of the most recognizable English-language performers of his generation. • Muichiro Tokito — Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba • Tartaglia / Childe — Genshin Impact • Prince Canute — Vinland Saga • Akira Fudo / Devilman — Devilman Crybaby • Vinegar Doppio — JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind • Shalnark — Hunter × Hunter • Jinta “Jintan” Yadomi — Anohana • Colt Grice — Attack on Titan • Taiyo Asano — Mission: Yozakura Family • Ryota Suzui — Kakegurui • Ritsuka Fujimaru — Fate/Grand Order • Tadano — Aggretsuko • Shinichi Kudo — Detective Conan films • G5 Iguazu — Armored Core VI #GriffinBurns #DemonSlayer #GenshinImpact

Happy 53rd Birthday to the Legendary Creator and Voice Actor Seth Macfarlane! What’s Your Favorite Seth Macfarlane Show — ‘Family Guy,’ ‘American Dad!,’ ‘the Cleveland Show,’ ‘the Orville’ or ‘Ted’?