On October 25th, Canada – and indeed the film and television industries as a whole – lost a bona fide legend and titan of voice acting, Eric Bauza, who passed away the age of 46. The coroner report identified hypertensive cardiovascular disease as his cause of death, a tragedy that his family have described as “sudden” in a public statement.
Bauza may not have been a household name, but he was amongst the most celebrated artists in the voice acting profession, as evidenced by the sheer outpour of reactions from fans and peers alike, who have conveyed an emotional mix of shock, condolences, and reverence.
While he boasts an extensive filmography during his over 25 years working in animation and voice acting, especially for someone as young as he was, Bauza is best remembered for voicing a sizeable chunk of the Looney Tunes characters during the 2020’s, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepé Le Pew, Porky Pig, Road Runner, Elmer Fudd, Tweety, and Marvin the Martian (the very first Looney Tunes character he voiced back in 2011), winning three Emmy Awards for his work with these timeless characters.
Eric Bauza was born into a Filipino-Canadian family and raised in Scarborough, a district situated in the northeast side of Toronto. As reported by CNN, referencing a statement by the voice actor’s talent agency, Bauza eventually moved from Canada to the United States to study and pursue animation, going on to initially work as a character designer. Director Adam Rosette fondly remembered meeting Bauza early in his career, posting on Instagram:
“Eric was my first friend when I moved to LA in 2010. We shared a desk at a small animation studio, drawing and laughing constantly. I’ll never forget the day he left to pursue voice acting full-time, and watching him go on to become an absolute legend.”
After making this transition and pursuing his ultimate dream, as Bauza had always been known for his uncanny ability to mimic classic cartoon characters, but even outside of being the in-house voice actor for Looney Tunes, he built a resumé so extensive that it is impossible to name them all. Nonetheless, some of his most notable credits would be TV characters such as Puss in Boots in The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Baby Fozzie in Muppet Babies, Master Splinter in The Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Luke Skyalker in Lego Star Wars, in addition to movie characters like Woody Woodpecker in the feature of the same name, Aquaman in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, and Diddy Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Bauza’s most notable recent work, though, was in the two Looney Tunes movies The Days the Earth Blew Up and Coyote vs. Acme, which were infamously shelved by Warner Bros. for several years for tax purposes, before the distribution rights were acquired by Ketchup Entertainment, who went on to release them, each receiving very positive reviews from audiences and critics who appreciated that these features ever got to see the light of day.
Despite the devastating loss of Eric Bauza, there is solace to be found in the fact that he lived to see the release of these accomplished movies that fans once thought were lost to the world, and of which he should be extremely proud. What’s more, Bauza recorded dialogue for two characters in The Simpsons, a show that had previously eluded him, with the episode set to air on November 15th, and the co-showrunner of the episode, Cesar Mazariegos, perhaps encapsulated Bauza best in his own words to Variety:
“Everything people have said about Eric, before and after his untimely passing, is absolutely true. He was so funny, kind, creative and just immensely talented…. He seamlessly dipped in and out of dozens of voices, both to give us options and just hilariously riffing while off-mic…. He was such a longtime fan of animation and kept saying that he felt like the luckiest guy in the world.”
Rest in peace, Mr. Bauza, for you shall be remembered not just as one of the greatest voice actors of our time, but also a decent human being who touched the lives of those he worked with in meaningful ways.