Tom Kane Dies at 64 From Stroke Complications After Voicing Yoda and Prof. Utonium
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · May 18
Tom Kane Dies at 64 From Stroke Complications After Voicing Yoda and Prof. Utonium
15 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · May 18
Tom Kane, the veteran voice actor behind Yoda in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and Prof. Utonium in "The Powerpuff Girls," died Monday at a Kansas City, Missouri, hospital. He was 64.
A 2020 stroke left Kane unable to speak or write, forcing his retirement in 2021; his talent agency said he died from complications tied to that stroke.
Kane built a decades-long animation and game career that also included Woodhouse on "Archer," Mr. Herriman on "Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends," and voices such as Magneto, Ultron and Disney World’s monorail announcer.
Born in Kansas in 1962, he started voice work as a teenager and became Lucasfilm’s Yoda in 1999 after earlier game roles, later narrating and voicing multiple characters across "Clone Wars" projects.
His death closes a career that stretched from local ads to major franchises; Kane is survived by his wife, Cindy, and their nine children.
With Tom Kane gone, what is the future for the iconic character voices he left behind?
After a stroke silenced his famous voice, how did Tom Kane spend his final years?