Tom Kane, the prolific voice actor whose body of work included popular turns as Darwin on The Wild Thornberrys, Yoda on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and as Prof. Utonium on The Powerpuff Girls, sadly passed away on Monday, May 18. He was 64.
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| Tom Kane | tomkane.com |
Kane died at a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri following complications from a 2020 stroke. He was surrounded by family.
Kane's death was announced by his talent agency, Galactic Productions. “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,” it said in a statement. “His voice became part of our lives, our memories and the stories we carry with us.”
"Though his voice may now be silent, the characters, stories, and love he gave to the world will live on forever," Kane's rep Zach McGinnis told TMZ. "But 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."
Kane suffered a stroke in 2020 that left him unable to speak or write. He retired in 2021 but did manage to attend the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention in Kentucky in March, reuniting with the Powerpuff Girls cast in his first public appearance in years.
Kane provided the mellifluous voice for the long-suffering valet Woodhouse on the FX animated series Archer, taking the role over from the late George Coe in 2014; played the rabbit Mr. Herriman on Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Lord Monkey Fist on Kim Possible and the smart chimpanzee Darwin on The Wild Thornberrys; and portrayed Magneto and Ultron for Marvel projects.
Born on April 15, 1962, in Overland Park, Kansas, Thomas Kane Roberts started voice acting when he was 15 and attending Shawnee Mission South High School. “I started calling local advertisers and offered my services. It didn’t occur to me anyone got actually paid for it,” he said in a 2010 interview.
Kane graduated from the University of Kansas in 1984 and began at Lucasfilm handling miscellaneous small voice parts for its video games starting in 1996. He took on Yoda for the first time in a game released in 1999.
He continued as Yoda on the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars in 2003, in the 2008 Clone Wars film (where he also voiced Admiral Yularen) and for many other projects over the years. He also provided the wartime-like narration that kicked off each Clone Wars episode.
“I didn’t work on being Yoda,” he said. “I saw the movies 53 times, so the voice was very much in my head. Everybody tries to do Yoda, not just voice-overs but everybody. I was doing stuff for LucasArts and I was goofing around and reading Yoda lines and what I didn’t know was that Frank Oz [the original voice of Yoda] was directing a movie. They recorded it and played it for George [Lucas], and I’ve been Yoda ever since.”
Meanwhile, Kane voiced the dorky dad Prof. Utonium (and the villain HIM) on Cartoon Network’s The Powerpuff Girls from 2016-19. (He first handled the role for a 2008 short.) Kane also lent his voice to characters such as Evil Eric in CatDog, Dean Cain in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, and Lorenzo Suave in The X's, as well as various characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra (Judge Hotah), Angry Beavers (including Oxnard Montalvo, Mayor and Jack Stagger), Power Rangers S.P.D. and Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man.
Kane also served as the voice of the Walt Disney World Monorail System and was also the narrator of the Happily Ever After fireworks spectacular at Magic Kingdom. He also served as the the announcer for several Academy Award broadcasts.
Kane has also been part of other major franchises, including Magneto in Wolverine and the X-Men and Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Ultron in Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and Robot Chicken.
Additionally, Kane was known for narrating a handful of Disney and Pixar film trailers including Cars.
Back in March, Tom reunited with his Powerpuff costars for a viral convention moment, when Tara Strong (Bubbles), E.G. Daily (Buttercup) and Cathy Cavadini (Blossom) joined him at the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention. He captioned a photo at the time, "Reunited with my girls!!"
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| Tom Kane, Tara Strong, E.G. Daily and Cathy Cavadini in March 2026. | Credit: EG Daily/Instagram |
"We were SO happy…so emotional to be back with our professor," Strong commented at the time. "It’s been way too long beautiful friend 🩷🩵💚🤍 our hearts are filled with joy to be back together with you & to hear your beautiful voice slowly coming back brought tears to our eyes. You are an angel on earth, always have been."
In the gaming industry, Kane has provided his iconic voice for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Call of Duty: WaW and Black Ops I – III. You can read more about Kane’s work on his official website, tomkane.com.
Actor Roger Clark, who played Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption II, remembered Kane as "one of the first voice actors to approach me" after the video game released, in a social media tribute. "Sad day," he wrote. "May he rest in peace and may his beautiful family never forget his love."
Survivors include his wife, Cindy, whom he married in 1982, and their nine children, six through adoption and fostering.
Following the news of Kane's passing, many off his former colleagues paid tribute to the late voice actor:
It is with heavy sad heart to share our amazing #powerpuffgirls father @TomKaneVO has passed away💔
— RealEGDaily (@RealEGDaily) May 18, 2026
We love you so much tom #RIP @tarastrong @CatCavadini @cartoonnetwork #buttercup #bubbles #Blossom pic.twitter.com/j5GMiVYBhw
Rest in peace, Professor ❤️ Thank you, Tom Kane, for lending your voice to the father of three perfect little girls and bringing The Force to millions of fans. You'll live on in our childhood memories forever. pic.twitter.com/g8l5lCfchi
— Cartoon Network (@cartoonnetwork) May 18, 2026
#wildthornberrys premiere 😞 #TomKane pic.twitter.com/qoJoZuKYM2
— tara strong (@tarastrong) May 19, 2026
'Bubbles' voice actor Tara Strong paid tribute to 'Professor Utonium' voice actor Tom Kane following his passing:
— Complex Pop Culture (@ComplexPop) May 18, 2026
"They say there’s no such thing as a perfect man… those people never met Tom Kane... I love you, Professor. You were the best dad, the best human, and I feel so… pic.twitter.com/42g3WfyDD6
Posted by Craig today - RIP Tom Kane, you were the perfect Dad to three little superhero girls… pic.twitter.com/aWYjfLNdQJ
— Brian A. Miller (@bfredmuggs) May 19, 2026
R.I.P. Tom Kane, April 15, 1962 - May 18, 2026
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, TMZ, People (II), Animation World Network.
