Eric Bauza, an Emmy-winning voice actor who was the modern voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other Looney Tunes characters, has died. He was 46.
The news was announced Sunday by his family via a post on his Instagram feed. “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,” the post reads.
It’s unclear when he died, but he was scheduled to attend the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s The Cat in the Hat on Sunday afternoon to support Daffy Season, a short that plays before the film, according to press documents.
Channing Dungey, chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. Networks, paid tribute to Bauza in a statement.
“Eric Bauza was a unique voice talent who brought joy and laughter to millions around the world. During his 15 years at Warner Bros. Animation,” she said. “He was the voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck among countless other characters. He followed in the footsteps of giants like Mel Blanc. Eric said that carrying on the legendary legacy of the Looney Tunes was among the greatest honors of his life. In addition to his incredible talent, Eric was a treasured part of our animation family. Our hearts go out to his loved ones.”
Bauza recently landed on The Hollywood Reporter’s inaugural Animation Power list and attended the corresponding event honoring those on the list. “Bauza has quietly become the voice of an entire cartoon universe,” THR’s Scott Roxborough wrote of the voice actor. “One of the successors to the legendary Mel Blanc as the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Marvin the Martian and a dozen more iconic characters, the Canadian actor outdid himself with Coyote vs. Acme, voicing everything from Bugs Bunny to Foghorn Leghorn and Tweety Bird.”
“A lot of talented folks worked really hard to make this film, and to be able to see it celebrated by so many people across the globe has really made the wait worth it,” Bauza said of the movie.
In the Looney Tunes film Coyote vs. Acme, which was released earlier this year, Bauza voiced several roles, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Porky Pig, Road Runner, Charlie the Dog, and more. Most of those roles, of course, originated with the late, legendary Mel Blanc. Bauza also brought several Looney Tunes characters to life in such productions as Space Jam: A New Legacy (voicing Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd and Marvin the Martian) and Looney Tunes Cartoons (Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck), among others.
Born December 7, 1979, Bauza was from Toronto but more recently was living in Los Angeles.
He started his career in animation as a character designer working with a few production studios in Hollywood, according to his bio on SBV Talent, which represented him.
He received Daytime Emmy, Children’s & Family Emmy and Annie Award nominations for his work as the title character in The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Fozzie in Muppet Babies and Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in Looney Tunes Cartoons.
Recently, he voiced roles in DreamWorks Animation’s animated film Forgotten Island.
His other TV credits include Unikitty, Archibald’s Next Big Thing, The Rocketeer, Ballmastrz: 9009, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Turtles, Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Breadwinners, Uncle Grandpa, Atomic Puppet, The Powerpuff Girls, The Fairly OddParents, Ultimate Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Guardians of the Galaxy, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Sanjay and Craig and Mighty Magiswords.
Bauza has voiced characters in The Book of Life and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. Bauza also was Woody Woodpecker in Universal’s animated film Woody Woodpecker.
According to his bio, Bauza has also voiced characters in commercials, including Lucky the Leprechaun for Lucky Charms cereal, Trix Rabbit for Trix cereal and Marvin the Martian for Nike and in the Walmart commercial “Famous Visitors.”