Fraggle Rock Voice Actor Stu Rosen Dies at 80

Emmy and Peabody Award-winning voice actor and children's programming figure known for his work on Fraggle Rock, MASK, as well as for Dusty's Treehouse, Stu Rosen has died. Rosen passed away early Sunday morning following a battle with cancer. He was 80.

As reported by Deadline, Rosen's family confirmed his passing.

"This is a very sad day for my family and I," Rosen's cousin Donna Siegel wrote on Facebook. "My wonderful, colorful, fantastic cousin, Stu Rosen died this morning. My heart is broken and I'm sure anyone who has ever met him feels the same way. What a character he was.

"He was the one I wrote about a few months ago that I gave a birthday party for....but it was really a going away party because he was dying of cancer. I told you all that it was the best party I have ever given."

Rosen starred in and created Dusty's Treehouse, a children's program similar in style to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Captain Kangaroo. The series, which featured Dusty (Rosen) and his custom built treehouse which served as a conduit for various educational adventures, ran from 1970 through 1980. The series won eight Emmy's and even appeared in reruns on Nickelodeon.

In addition to Dusty's Treehouse, Rosen worked on various animated series, including MASK, Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, Biker Mice from Mars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He also served as voice director as well as gave his voice to Jim Henson's animated series, Fraggle Rock.

Rosen's credits also included many additional popular animated series, including Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men, Spiderman: The Animated Series, Phantom 2040, and Superman: The Animated Series. Outside of work on animated series and as a voice director, Rosen also had a few live-action roles, specifically in television series Rome and The Huntress.