Joe Alaskey, the voice of beloved Looney Tunes characters such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, has died Wednesday in Los Angeles after a lengthy battle with cancer.
He was 63 years old.
Television writer and friend Mark Evanier confirmed Alaskey’s passing via a blog entry.
After listing all the characters who Alaskey brought to life (including Tweety, Sylvester and Marvin the Martian), Evanier wrote the following of his late acquaintance:
“The one I liked best was when he sounded like Joe Alaskey. He had a long, long list of voices but that’s the one I will miss the most.”
The voice actor inherited the roles of these iconic Warner Bros. characters from the legendary impressionist Mel Blanc after his passing in 1989.
Along with those in the Warner Bros. family, Alaskey also voiced Grandpa Lou Pickles in Rugrats and Stinkie in the movie Casper.
In a similar capacity, he specialized in voice matches for real-life people, supplying the voice for Richard Nixon in the Academy Award-winning movie Forrest Gump.
In 2004, Alaskey won a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on the cartoon show Duck Dodgers.
We send our condolences to the family members, friends and loved ones of Joe Alaskey.
