Since the death of original Looney Tunes voice talent Mel Blanc, several other actors have voiced Bugs Bunny and his other cartoon characters. But in recent years Eric Bauza has been Bugs in most of his onscreen appearances — including HBO Max’s Looney Tunes Cartoons, Bugs Bunny Builders, and 2026’s Coyote vs. Acme.
Bauza also voices many other Looney Tunes favorites. In 2024’s hilarious The Day the Earth Blew Up, Bauza played both lead characters — Daffy Duck and Porky Pig — and at different times and on different projects he’s also voiced Marvin the Martian, Pepe Le Pew, Sylvester, Tweety Bird, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, and more.
Which makes this news all the more shocking: Bauza has passed away at the age of 46. His family announced his death on his official Instagram account earlier tonight, writing…
“Eric Bauza, Emmy Award-winning voice actor and the modern voice of the iconic Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, along with dozens of other beloved cartoon characters, has passed away suddenly.”
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Bauza was born in Canada and grew up loving Looney Tunes and animation in general. His first voice credit was as Stimpy on 2003’s Ren & Stimpy: Adult Cartoon Party. His first work with the Looney Tunes came in 2011’s The Looney Tunes Show, where he voiced Marvin the Martian, but over time he gradually added more of the franchise’s characters to his repertoire.
Here’s a video where you can see Bauza in action, showing off his remarkable vocal dexterity:
Outside of Looney Tunes, Bauza’s notable credits include portraying Puss in Boots in The Adventures of Puss in Boots animated TV series spun off from the DreamWorks movies, voicing Splinter on Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and playing Fozzie on the recent Muppet Babies revival.
But that’s only a couple of shows he worked on; Bauza’s voice could be heard in everything from Big Hero 6: The Series to Star Trek: Lower Decks, to Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai to Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures to X-Men ’97. (He voiced the Sentinels.) He can currently be heard on the latest Avatar sequel series, Seven Havens. And only a few months ago he was heard doing a slew of Looney Tunes characters (including the Road Runner) in the wonderful Coyote vs. Acme.
It’s just a sudden, terrible loss.
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Gallery Credit: Erica Russell