Eric Bauza, Voice of a Generation of Looney Tunes, Dies at 46

LOS ANGELES — Eric Adrian Bauza, the Emmy Award-winning voice actor who gave his voice to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, and Marvin the Martian, died suddenly on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 46.

His family announced the news on his Instagram account, saying simply that he “has passed away suddenly” and that more details would follow. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner ruled the manner of death as natural, with hypertensive cardiovascular disease listed as the cause. Other significant contributing conditions included sleep apnea and class 2 obesity.

A Filipino Story Told in American Cartoons

Though born in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, on December 7, 1979, Bauza’s identity was shaped by the Filipino immigrant experience in ways he spoke about often and proudly. Both of his parents came from the Philippines, and he described growing up in a household where Looney Tunes were the shared cultural thread between his father and his grandfather — a bond that would ultimately define his career.

Bauza later immigrated to the United States, settling in Los Angeles to pursue animation and voice acting, and became a fixture of the American animation industry. Over a 25-year career that accumulated more than 421 acting credits, he was widely recognized as a Filipino American voice actor — a descriptor he embraced. In interviews, he credited his Filipino upbringing, including the cadence of his parents’ English, as an inadvertent training ground for the vocal versatility that made him one of the most in-demand voice actors in the business.

“People of Asian descent remain rare in this industry,” he told NBC News in 2021, adding that his career trajectory “couldn’t have happened without his immigrant family.”

A Career of Iconic Voices

Bauza’s breakthrough came when he took over the role of Stimpy on Ren & Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon. From there, he built a resume spanning El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, The Fairly OddParents, Coconut Fred’s Fruit Salad Island, G.I. Joe: Resolute, Superjail!, Ben 10: Omniverse, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

In 2020, he became the modern voice of Bugs Bunny, following in the footsteps of the legendary Mel Blanc. That role earned him his first Emmy, with two more to follow: for Bugs Bunny Builders (2023) and Teen Titans Go! (2025). He also voiced multiple characters in Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) and Coyote vs. Acme, the latter of which was among his final projects.

Beyond voice work, Bauza was a stand-up comedian who performed at the Laugh Factory, a former animator and storyboard artist, and the host of Stay Tooned, a CBC Gem documentary series on the cultural impact of cartoons.

The animation industry reacted with an outpouring of tributes. Channing Dungey, Chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group and US Networks, issued a statement honoring Bauza’s contributions to the studio’s most beloved characters.

Bauza is survived by his wife and son.