It’s hard to believe.

A friend, an actor, an animator, one of the funniest people I knew. This past weekend Eric Bauza appeared on a panel I moderated for the Lightbox Expo in Pasadena. He was vibrant and alive. To demonstrate a classic piece of Looney Tunes comedy he performed as Bugs Bunny doing the square dance call from HILLBILLY HARE, while the classic cartoon ran on a large screen beside us, to an packed room full of hopeful artists, cartoonists and budding voice over performers. Eric was inspirational to many. He had a gift. Several.

I can’t believe I’m writing these words. Eric Bauza. Rest In Peace.

Bauza passed away apparently in his sleep, of natural causes, on Saturday night. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner Report is online here.

This is heart-breaking for many of us.

Here’s a clip from the recent Coyote Vs. Acme featuring Eric as Bugs Bunny:

The follow is from the press notes for the film. It’s actually a great tribute to Eric:

Wile E. Coyote might not have a voice, but he has many animated co-stars who do. The man now responsible for most of them is Eric Bauza, a celebrated voice artist and ball of uproarious energy who has honed his craft to the point he’s a multiple Emmy award winner.

But while Bauza has long been called upon to orally articulate the Looney Tunes characters, it has never been a privilege he’s taken for granted. “Any time I get to voice these characters, I always say that I’ve gotten to take the Cadillac out for a spin,” Bauza says. “And I always promise not to scratch it – and to put some gas back in the tank.”

Bauza in fact started out as an animator but first got the keys to that Cadillac more than 20 years ago, when he voiced Marvin the Martian on TV, in Duck Dodgers. “When I was an animator, I was always that guy who was sitting in the studio doing impressions of the people around me,” Bauza recalls. “But it goes back a lot further. When I was a kid, around nine years old, I used to run around doing impressions of Bugs Bunny and other characters. My parents probably thought I was possessed by the devil. You know, like, ‘I know Eric is in his room by himself, but I can hear 20 other people in there!’”

Bauza is profoundly proud of what he does. “To be part of these characters’ amazing legacy is incredible,” he says. “I’m just a custodian for now of how they’re taken care of. I won’t be the last person to voice them and I’m very aware of that.”

While Daffy Duck will of course be making a splash – and, let’s face it, some noise – in Coyote vs. Acme, alongside Wile E. Coyote and a whole host of others, from Granny to Elmer Fudd, it’s fans of Fudd’s nemesis who will have a special treat when they finally get to see Coyote vs. Acme in theaters. Because, as Bauza confirms, the laidback, wisecracking rabbit is about to get his best entrance of all time.

“Oh, man, what a scene that is!” Bauza teases. “I remember when I first did it, on the table read on Zoom. All these famous faces – John Cena, Lana Condor, Will Forte – were there in little boxes on my screen. I started doing Bugs and all their faces changed immediately. You know, I’m just some young Filipino guy from Canada, so I don’t think anyone was expecting that voice to come out of me. And they loved hearing it. That’s the power of Bugs Bunny – and all these guys.”

Forte laughs when he is reminded of that table read. In part because of how “almost otherworldly” he says it was to hear all these voices come down the line. “But it was also quite therapeutic,” he deadpans. “Until that point, whenever I would read the script, I’d be there doing all the different voices myself. That can drive you a little crazy.”