Eric Bauza, modern voice of Looney Tunes characters, dies at 46
[October 27, 2026]
By JAKE COYLE
Eric Bauza, the award-winning voice actor whose performances of Bugs
Bunny, Daffy Duck and many more characters made him the modern voice of
Looney Tunes, has died. He was 46.
Bauza died suddenly late Sunday, his family said in a statement. The Los
Angeles County Medical Examiner reported that he died at his home from
hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
Beginning in 2001, Bauza amassed more than 400 voice acting credits in a
career that gave voice to beloved characters in animated Looney Tunes
series including “Puss in Boots,” “Muppet Babies,” “Avatar: The Last
Airbender,” and countless others. He won three Children's and Family
Emmy Awards, from 2022 to 2025.
“Looney Tunes will always have a special place in my heart,” Bauza said
in an interview with The Associated Press this year. “I watched them on
Saturday mornings originally. It's not just the voice but the overall
aesthetic has influenced me as an artist.”
Raised in Scarborough, Ontario by Filipino immigrant parents, Bauza
found his passion for voice acting as a teenager. In high school, he
would deliver the P.A. system morning announcements in various cartoon
voices.
In voicing Looney Tunes characters, Bauza faithfully and reverentially
channeled Mel Blanc. So great was his affection for Blanc that, in
conversation, he would even toss out an impression of Blanc outside the
recording booth. Bauza last year told The New York Times: “Mel Blanc is
like the voice of God for me.”
Bauza's Looney Tunes work included such feature films as “Space Jam: A
New Legacy” (2021), “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie”
(2024) and this year's “Coyote vs. Acme.” That film, in which Wile E.
Coyote takes the Acme Corporation to court for its defective products,
became a modest cause célèbre after Warner Bros. opted not to release
it.
After an outcry from fans, partly stoked by Bauza, the film eventually
found a distributor in Ketchup Entertainment and surpassed $100 million
at the worldwide box office. While the film was in limbo, Bauza argued
for its release at the 2024 Annie Awards, in the voice of Daffy Duck.
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Eric Bauza poses for a portrait to promote the film "Coyote vs.
Acme" in Los Angeles on June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello,
File)
 “He’s the go-to cartoon character
above anyone else when it comes to begging and pleading,” Bauza
explained. “It seemed appropriate.”
Before becoming one of the most recognized personalities in the
often anonymous field of voice acting, Bauza pursued working in
animation production. After graduating from the film program at
Toronto's Centennial College, Bauza first worked as animator and
character layout artist. Initially, he did voice acting on the side.
Channing Dungey, chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S.
Networks, called Bauza “a unique voice talent who brought joy and
laughter to millions.”
As a voice acting professional, Bauza sometimes chafed at
celebrities brought in to replace him in bigger-budgeted
productions. Bauza occasionally voice-matched for stars including
Bill Hader on “Bob's Burgers” and Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots.
“From my experience working several times in the feature film
format, there's always the reminder that it is ‘temporary dialogue’
and ‘Chris Pratt will be voicing all the Looney Tunes in this
feature film' — no, just kidding,” Bauza told The AP.
But even in productions where A-list stars took the spotlight, Bauza
said there was still room for “nine-to-fivers like me” to color in
the scenery. Bauza, who seldom went more than a few minutes without
slipping into the voice of Bugs or Daffy or some other character,
was rarely anything but grateful at being part of the Looney Tunes
legacy.
“The Looney Tunes were here before I was born and they're definitely
going to be here long after I leave this realm,” he said shortly
before the release of “Coyote vs. Acme.” “I just feel like the
luckiest guy.”
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