Eric Bauza, the Voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Has Died at 46, With More Than 400 Roles and Three Emmys

Eric Bauza died on Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 46. His family announced the news on his Instagram profile, and the Los Angeles County medical examiner's records give the cause: hypertensive cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure that damages the heart for years - an illness that rarely hurts until it's too late.

The name may mean nothing to you. The voice certainly does. Bauza was the modern voice of Bugs Bunny - known to generations in the Balkans as Duško Dugouško - and of Daffy Duck. Behind his microphone also spoke Tweety, the Road Runner and Elmer Fudd - nearly the whole Looney Tunes gang.

The numbers show how hard he worked: more than 400 voice roles, five Emmy nominations and three wins in the children's and family programming categories. Beyond the Warner Bros. characters, he voiced roles in "Avatar: The Last Airbender", "Alvin and the Chipmunks", "Rick and Morty", "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated", "Fanboy & Chum Chum" and "Ben 10: Omniverse".

He didn't start out behind a microphone. Born in 1979 in Scarborough, Toronto, he first worked in Los Angeles as a character designer. He started voice acting in 2001. He built his career quietly, role by role, while only his colleagues knew his face.

At the time of his death he was working on two projects: "Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical" and "The Dragon Masters". His voice was also heard recently in "Coyote vs. Acme". The studio will now have to find a new Bugs Bunny. How many people will notice the voice is different?

That's the fate of voice actors: they do their job best when nobody thinks about them. Bauza carried one of the most famous characters in the world, and many of his listeners saw his face for the first time in the news of his death.