Joe Alaskey, the actor who lent his voice to bring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and other Looney Tunes characters to life, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. He was 63.
Alaskey succeeded Mel Blanc as the voice of many popular cartoon characters after
Blanc's death in 1989, according to CNN.
"He took it so seriously, it meant so much to him — it was a heavy responsibility,"
Trish Alaskey, the voice actor's niece, told the Los Angeles Times. "He loved the characters — he loved Mel — and it was very important to him that they came off the right way."
Alaskey won an Emmy in 2004 for his work on Cartoon Network's "Duck Dodgers." Other voices include Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Plucky Duck, and Grandpa Lou Pickles on “Rugrats,” as well as Yosemite Sam in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” He also voiced political personalities, including Richard Nixon on “Forrest Gump.”
"He was known to his fans as 'The Man of a Thousand Voices' and is remembered by loved ones as a kind, quick-witted man who brought laughter and joy to every room he entered," his family said in a statement.
Along with his work as a voice actor, Alaskey was also a writer, with works including a memoir, “That’s Still Not All, Folks!!,” a horror novel, “Frater Dementis,” and a collection of short stories.
Fans and colleagues shared their condolences on Twitter.