Eric Bauza, the voice actor who gave Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck their modern sound, has died at 46. His family announced the news Sunday in a post on his Instagram account, saying he had died suddenly and that more details would follow, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
It was not clear when he died. According to press materials cited by THR, Bauza had been expected Sunday afternoon at the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's The Cat in the Hat, to support Daffy Season, a short screening ahead of the film.
Following Mel Blanc
Taking over characters made famous by Mel Blanc was a daunting assignment, and Bauza handled it for years. Beyond Bugs and Daffy, he gave voice to Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Road Runner, Pepé Le Pew and Foghorn Leghorn, across projects including Space Jam: A New Legacy, Looney Tunes Cartoons and this year's Coyote vs. Acme, Deadline reported.
His Looney Tunes Cartoons work earned him the first Children's and Family Emmy for Outstanding Voice Performance in an Animated Program in 2022. He took that award again in 2024 for Teen Titans Go!, and in 2023 won the preschool voice performance Emmy for Bugs Bunny Builders.
"He followed in the footsteps of giants like Mel Blanc," Channing Dungey, chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, said in a statement reported by Deadline. She noted his 15 years at Warner Bros. Animation and said Bauza had called carrying on the Looney Tunes legacy one of the greatest honors of his life.
A career of many voices
Bauza's range ran well past Looney Tunes. He voiced Stimpy, an animated Luke Skywalker, Puss in Boots, Bam-Bam Rubble, Woody Woodpecker, Two-Face, Bane, Jimmy Olsen and Aquaman, and worked on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Rick and Morty, Phineas and Ferb, SpongeBob SquarePants, Muppet Babies, Star Trek: Lower Decks and X-Men '97. His voice also turned up in commercials as Lucky the Leprechaun and the Trix Rabbit.
Born Dec. 7, 1979, he began in animation as a character designer according to his bio with SBV Talent. He had recently been named to The Hollywood Reporter's first Animation Power list and had voiced roles in DreamWorks Animation's Forgotten Island.
Reporting sources: Deadline, “Eric Bauza Dies: Emmy-Winning Voice Of Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck & Much More Was 46” · The Hollywood Reporter, “Eric Bauza, the Modern Voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Other Iconic Characters, Dies at 46”.