SAN FRANCISCO, CA – FEBRUARY 27: Tom Kane attends Star Wars: The Clone Wars “The Lost Missions” (available Exclusively on Netflix March 7th), Screening Event at Letterman Digital Arts Center on February 27, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/WireImage)
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Tom Kane, a prolific voice actor who voiced Yoda and other characters in several Star Wars animated projects and Professor Utonium in The Powerpuff Girls, has died.
Kane died on Monday at a hospital in Kansas City, Mo., after suffering stroke complications, his representative told TMZ.
Among the voice actor’s 270-plus credits in movies, television and video games, Kane voiced Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto in Wolverine and the X-Men, Ultron in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Darwin in The Wild Thornberrys.
Kane’s death was also announced in a Facebook post by his appearance agency, Galactic Productions, which called Kane “a legendary voice actor whose work shaped the childhoods and imaginations of millions around the world.”
“From his unforgettable performances in Star Wars to countless animated series, documentaries, and games, Tom brought wisdom, strength, humor, and heart to every role he touched. His voice became part of our lives, our memories, and the stories we carry with us,” the post reads.
The post also touched on Kane’s life outside of work.
“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. That compassion and generosity defined who he was just as much as his remarkable talent did,” the post continued. “Though his voice may now be silent, the characters, stories, and love he gave to the world will live on forever.”
Born Thomas Kane Roberts on April 15, 1962, in Overland Park, Kan., Kane said in an interview on the fan blog Star Wars Interviews in 2010 that he landed his first gig in voiceovers for commercials when he was a 15-year-old living in Kansas City. His first credited screen appearance was as an announcer in a 1992 episode of the sitcom Who’s the Boss.
Actor Tom Kane, the voice of Yoda, at the US premiere of “Star Wars The Clone Wars” in Hollywood, California on Aug 10, 2008. AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo by ROBYN BECK / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
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Tom Kane Started Doing ‘Star Wars’ Voice Work In The Mid-1990s
A few years after Tom Kane began his voiceover career in showbiz, he began working for Lucasfilm in the mid-1990s and became a mainstay for many of the studio’s Star Wars projects.
“I got started at Lucasfilm just doing miscellaneous small parts for their video games. I guess I was actually on the very first they ever did, it was called The Dig I think,” Kane told Star Wars Interviews in 2010. “Just goofing around, I would read other parts to show off. One day they were doing some TIE Fighter game. There were the voices of Yoda and C-3PO, I read them and they hired me to do them.”
In addition to voicing Jedi Master Yoda in the 2008 animated feature film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, he voiced the character in 132 episodes of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series over seven seasons from 2008 to 2020. Kane also voiced Yoda for several other Star Wars video games and animated series, as well as other notable franchise characters including C-3PO, Qui-Gon Jinn, Boba Fett, Bib Fortuna and Admiral Ackbar.
Kane also voiced Admiral Ackbar in the 2018 live-action Star Wars sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi. Also on film, Kane provided the voice of Dr. Loomis (originally played by Donald Pleasence) in the 1998 film Halloween: H20.
Also among Kane’s credits were the voice role of Mr. Herriman in the animated hit series Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Lord Monkey Fist in Kim Possible and Dante in Team Knight Rider.
Kane’s daughter, Sam, wrote on Facebook in 2020 that her father suffered a stroke that left him unable to speak. Kane’s IMDb profile, however, has about a half-dozen credits listed for the voice actor from 2021 to 2025, with the last being the narrator for the documentary JFK Assassination: Declassified Theories.