Joe Alaskey, Voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Dies at Age 63

On February 3, Emmy-winning voice actor Joe Alaskey died from cancer at age 63. During his career, Alaskey lent his voice talents to several well-known cartoon characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, Grandpa Lou from The Rugrats, Marvin the Martian, Foghorn Leghorn, and Plucky Duck from Tiny Toon Adventures.

Alaskey was a stand-up comedian before he took over for Mel Blanc—the original voice of Bugs Bunny and several other beloved characters— in 1989. During the two and a half decades since, Alaskey added over 100 movie and television credits to his resumé, including non-cartoon work, like the role of Richard Nixon in Forrest Gump (1994). Alaskey was also a published author. In 2009, he penned and illustrated an autobiography titled That's Still Not All Folks, and in 2016 he published a novella and a book of short stories.

Fans of Alaskey's work have been leaving messages of appreciation and respect on Twitter since learning of his death. Check out a couple below, as well as a throwback video of Alaskey showing off some of his voices while being interviewed by The Yellow Mic in 2008.