In a growing list of celebrities we have lost this year due to cancer, we now have Joe Alaskey. You’ll be hard pressed to recollect his face or remember his name, but if you hear his voice, you are bound to know exactly who we’re talking about.
Alaskey, who passed away at the age of 63, was the voice artist behind the legendary Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester the cat, Yosemite Sam and Marvin the Martian among many others.
His was the voice behind for Foghorn Leghorn in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Grandpa Lou Pickles in the show Rugrats, Stinkie from the film Casper, and Plucky Duck on Tiny Toon Adventures.
But it wasn’t always cartoons. He also provided the voice for Richard Nixon in the critically acclaimed film Forrest Gump.
He was hired by Warner Bros in 1989 to take over from famed voice artist Mel Blanc, who passed away that year.
Did you know Alaskey used to sing everyday to keep his larynx supple?
Alaskey voiced Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in Looney Tunes: Back In Action:
Here’s Mirror‘s tribute to the legendary voice:
In the 1990s, he got a Looney Tunes character of his very own, playing Plucky Duck in Tiny Toon Adventures and its spinoff The Plucky Duck Show: