Eric Bauza, the Emmy-winning voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, has died suddenly at 46 from hypertensive heart disease, shocking the animation world.
USA TODAY reported that Bauza died Oct. 25 at his residence. A Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office report obtained by the paper listed the cause as hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
His family announced the news the same day in an Instagram post, saying he “has passed away suddenly.”
Hypertensive heart disease develops when long-running high blood pressure damages the heart, according to a Cleveland Clinic description cited in the coverage. Bauza was 46.
Manager Judy Coppage spoke to CBS Los Angeles after the news broke. She described a performer known for range and warmth on and off the mic.
"Eric was a unique and versatile voice actor who was loved by everyone he knew and worked with."
Coppage did not soften the blow.
"His sudden passing is a shock to all of us, and he will be deeply missed. It's a profound loss for his family, the animation industry and his fans."
USA TODAY also reached out to her for comment.
Bauza grew up in Ontario, Canada. A Los Angeles Philharmonic biography noted that his father and grandfather helped introduce him to cartoons early.
He graduated from Centennial College’s radio, television and film production program. Before he became a full-time voice actor, he worked as an animator and character layout artist. That path later showed up in a 2020 Animation Scoop interview cited in the reporting.
He built a long list of work. Credits topped 400 and included Puss in Boots in “The Adventures of Puss in Boots,” Baby Fozzie in “Muppet Babies,” and film roles in “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” and “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie,” per IMDb information referenced in the story.
The Warner Bros. characters defined him for a wide audience. He voiced Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck across modern “Looney Tunes” projects and took home Children’s & Family Emmys for that work, in 2022 for “Looney Tunes Cartoons,” in 2023 for “Bugs Bunny Builders,” and again in 2025 for playing both icons on “Teen Titans Go!”
Bauza did not treat the job lightly. In that 2020 Animation Scoop interview, he said stepping into the Warner Bros. roles was “insanely intimidating and nerve-racking.”
"You're under the microscope of generations of people that know these characters better than you do."
That is the quiet pressure behind American cartoon icons that have outlasted fads, studios, and trends. Someone has to keep the timing sharp and the characters honest. Bauza did that work in plain sight for years.
Classic “Looney Tunes” figures remain part of shared culture for parents and kids alike. The people who protect that craft rarely become household names themselves. When one of them is gone at 46, the gap is real.
Bugs and Daffy will keep showing up on screens. The craftsman who took their voices seriously will not. That is the measure of the loss.
