The animation world is mourning Eric Bauza, the Emmy-winning voice actor who carried Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and many other Looney Tunes characters into a new generation. He was 46.

Bauza’s family announced on Instagram that he had “passed away suddenly.” He died at his Los Angeles home on Sunday, October 25, and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner listed the cause as hypertensive cardiovascular disease, according to Variety and BBC News.

Following in Mel Blanc’s footsteps

Few jobs in entertainment come with as much history as voicing Looney Tunes. The characters were famously brought to life for decades by Mel Blanc, and every actor who has followed has been measured against him.

Bauza became the go-to voice for a huge slice of the cast. Over the years he voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Road Runner and more. In 2021’s “Space Jam: A New Legacy” he voiced Daffy, Porky, Elmer and Foghorn, and he returned to several of those roles, plus Road Runner, in this summer’s animated hit “Coyote vs. Acme.”

In a statement reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Channing Dungey, chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. Networks, said Bauza “brought joy and laughter to millions around the world” and “followed in the footsteps of giants like Mel Blanc.” She added that Bauza had called carrying on the Looney Tunes legacy “among the greatest honors of his life.”

A fan who grew up copying the voices

Born in Ontario and of Filipino descent, Bauza was a lifelong fan of the characters he eventually played. In a 2021 interview with NBC News, he said he used to imitate the voices as a child.

“Looney Tunes transcends all languages and all cultures,” he said at the time. “It doesn’t matter what part of the planet you’re from. You get the comedy.”

That fan’s-eye respect for the material was a big part of why audiences and colleagues embraced his performances. He did not try to reinvent the characters; he protected them.

Far more than Looney Tunes

Bauza’s range extended well beyond Warner Bros. He played Toad General in 2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and its sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which the BBC noted is among the highest-grossing films internationally this year. He also appeared in the recent release “Forgotten Island.”

Between 2022 and 2025, he won three Emmy Awards for outstanding voice performance in television series, according to the BBC, a rare achievement for any voice actor.

Carrying characters across platforms

Modern Looney Tunes work is not limited to theatrical films. The characters appear in TV series, streaming specials, video games, theme parks and commercials, and keeping their voices consistent across all of those projects takes a performer with remarkable range and stamina. Bauza’s ability to switch between a fast-talking duck, a stuttering pig and a laid-back rabbit, sometimes in the same recording session, was a big reason he became so central to the franchise in recent years.

Why voice actors matter

Voice actors often work in near anonymity, even when their performances are heard by millions of children and adults every week. Bauza was part of a generation of performers who became known to fans through conventions, behind-the-scenes clips and social media, helping audiences see the craft behind the cartoons.

His sudden death at 46 has prompted an outpouring of tributes from fans who grew up with his voices and from colleagues across the animation industry.

The bottom line

Eric Bauza spent his career giving new life to some of the most famous characters in entertainment history while building an impressive résumé of his own. For a generation of kids, his was the voice that said “What’s up, Doc?” That’s a legacy few performers ever get.

Image: 1967-1969 Looney Tunes Opening Title Card by Aria1561 via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark 1.0