It is with great sadness that we bring you news Eric Bauza, the Emmy Award-winning actor who gave us the contemporary voices of such iconic Looney Tu
It is with great sadness that we bring you news Eric Bauza, the Emmy Award-winning actor who gave us the contemporary voices of such iconic Looney Tunes characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn and many, many more besides has tragically died at the age of just 46. In a statement shared on Eric Bauza’s personal Instagram account, his family announced that the Canadian star passed away suddenly on Sunday October 26, with Variety‘s further reporting confirming hypertensive cardiovascular disease as the cause of death.
Born in Scarborough, Toronto on December 7, 1979, Eric Bauza — of proud Filipino descent — was, as much as anyone can be said to be destined for anything, destined to be the voice of a Looney Tunes generation. The misadventures of Bugs, Daffy and co formed an integral part of the bond between Bauza’s immigrant father and grandfather, and Bauza himself grew up mimicking the voices of his favourite characters as a Tunes-obsessed teen of the 1990s. By the time a fresh-faced Eric Bauza graduated Centennial College in 2000, he’d already interned at Ren & Stimpy animation house Spümcø, initially on the drawing rather than the voicing side of things. But by 2003, the charismatic Canadian, now a budding VA, found himself taking over the role of Stimpson J. Cat from Billy West in adult animated offering Ren & Stimpy “Adult Party Cartoon”.
Throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, Eric Bauza worked prolifically in the world of animation, building a reputation as one of the nicest guys in the business while lending his chameleonic vocal stylings to everything from El Tigre: The Adventures Of Manny Rivera to Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Fairly Odd Parents to Scooby-Doo to Ben 10 and beyond. It was with his role as Marvin The Martian in early 2010s animated sitcom The Looney Tunes Show that Bauza finally found a place among his beloved Tunes.
Over the last decade and a half, Eric Bauza forged a remarkable relationship with the iconic cartoon franchise that would see the actor make history as the first person of colour to voice Bugs Bunny; voice *deep breath* Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin The Martian and Pepé Le Pew in Space Jam: A New Legacy; win two Emmy Awards for Looney Tunes Cartoons and Bugs Bunny Builders (as well as a third, away from Tunes, for Teen Titans Go!); bring back the iconic Mel Blanc scream; and, in the last year, make a gigantic screen splash in both The Day The Earth Blew Up! and Coyote Vs. Acme, the latter of which Bauza vocally and tirelessly fought and advocated for the release of amid Warner Bros.’ attempts to bury the movie.
Elsewhere, in a career spanning over 400 voice acting roles in all, Eric Bauza’s active tones can be heard as the Toad General in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and its sequel, a whole slew of characters in recent American horror comedy Buddy, Master Mold in X-Men ’97, Puss In Boots in the beloved Shrek character’s spin-off animated series, and — in what will go down as his final feature film performance(s) — Gen, Button Wutton, and Sarangay in DreamWorks Animation’s 50th studio feature, Forgotten Island, which is currently in cinemas. Poignantly, Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical — a real passion project for Bauza that had previously been shelved by Warner Bros. — had re-entered pre-production just before the actor’s passing, making it the final project he was known to be working on when he died.
In the hours since news of Eric Bauza’s death has broken, tributes have been pouring in from all over for a true heavyweight of the form and friend to peers one and all. Leading the tributes has been The Book Of Life director Jorge R. Gutierrez, who first worked with Bauza right at the start of his career on El Tigre, remembers “a generational talent.” Taking to X, Gutierrez wrote: “Gracias, amigo. My life was immeasurably changed for the better by having met Eric Bauza in 2003. He just made everything he worked on better. A generational talent. A legend. I would write and design characters giddy thinking how he would bring them to life. And behind the scenes, an incredibly kind, humble and open-hearted good dude. How luck we all were to have been able to witness his talent shine. And boy did it shine!!! My heart goes out to his family and friends. Adios, amigo. You will never be forgotten.”
For over quarter of a century, across thousands of recording sessions, Eric Bauza gave his voice to some of the most memorable and iconic characters in the world of animation, bringing them indelibly to life with palpable excitement, endless enthusiasm, and a joy that was evident both in the work and in the way he spoke about and shared it with the world. His name will live on in the projects he leaves behind, and the legacy of decency, kindness, and advocacy for his fellow actors and artists he created in his time here. Our thoughts are with Bauza’s friends, family, and loved ones at this incredibly challenging time.
