Tom Kane, Voice of Yoda in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Dies at 64

Tom Kane, the iconic voice actor from the likes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The Powerpuff Girls, has sadly passed away at the age of 64. Kane suffered a stroke in 2020, which eventually led to his retirement, and the actor’s death comes from complications as a result of that, per TMZ. His rep, Zach McGinnis, told the outlet in a statement: “Though his voice may now be silent, the characters, stories, and love he gave to the world will live on forever.”

Among his varied voice roles, Kane will be remembered by many for his work on The Clone Wars, where he served as the show’s narrator and the voice of Yoda, bringing new life to one of the franchise’s greatest characters. On The Powerpuff Girls, he provided the voice of Professor Utonium. McGinnis added: “Beyond the incredible career was an extraordinary man. Tom was a devoted husband and father who, alongside his wife, built a loving family of nine children – three biological and six welcomed through adoption and fostering.”

Remembering Tom Kane, A Legendary Voice Actor

Even if Kane’s contributions were solely limited to Star Wars, he would still be considered a legendary voice performer. His work as Yoda in The Clone Wars (and Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars prior to it) perfectly captured one of the franchise’s most iconic heroes, and in addition to the Jedi and the narrator, he also voiced Admiral Yularen, ultimately appearing in a total of 132 episodes. The actor also voiced Admiral Ackbar in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, provided additional voices in every other Star Wars movie of the Disney era, and featured in over 30 video games, including Star Wars: Battlefront and Knights of the Old Republic.

Like Star Wars, his own voice acting career goes all the way to 1977, as he started out when he was just 15-years-old. One of his first official TV credits arrived as the announcer on Who’s the Boss? in 1992, and he’d later go on to serve as announcer at the Academy Awards on four separate occasions (2006, 2008, 2011, and 2013). As well as narrating The Clone Wars, he also voiced Narrator Smurf in 2011’s The Smurfs, a role he reprised in two later installments.

His work as Professor Utonium on The Powerpuff Girls, the creator and father of the eponymous trio, was a crucial aspect of the series, with Kane bringing a lot of warmth to the role. He also voiced HIM, Talking Dog, Stanley Whitfield, and several other roles across the series’ run. Another of his most notable roles was as Darwin in The Wild Thornberrys, which he reprised in both The Wild Thornberrys Movie and Rugrats Go Wild.

The actor has left his mark on several other enormous franchises alongside Star Wars, with voice roles in multiple Marvel series, as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings video games, and as Jim Gordon in Batman: Arkham Asylum, as well as providing voices for several Disney theme park attractions. It’s the kind of incredible voice acting legacy you just have to marvel at, and he leaves behind an indelible legacy that touched so many beloved shows and properties.

Kane is survived by his wife, Cindy, and their nine children. Our thoughts and condolences go out to them, his friends, and his many fans at this time.

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