Tom Kane, ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Powerpuff Girls’ Star, Left Nearly Unable to Speak After Stroke

Cartoon voice-over legend Tom Kane suffered a stroke in November of 2020, his family has just revealed, leaving him mostly unable to speak. Kane’s daughter Sam explained the situation to fans on his Facebook page this week, saying that her father is mostly unable to communicate verbally. Fans were devastated to hear this news about the voice artist behind beloved shows, including Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Archer and The Powerpuff Girls.

Kane’s daughter told fans that her father is still “very much himself” following his stroke, but said that his prodigious speaking voice is not working right now. Kane reportedly suffered a left side stroke, meaning that he has weakness in the right side of his body and damage to the speech center of his brain. His family has found speech, occupational and physical therapy to help him in his recovery, and after two months, they are hopeful that he will gain his lost functions back. However, Sam stated plainly that neurologists believe Kane will never be able to do voice-over work again.

“My dad still remains in good spirits and his extreme stubbornness has helped him already show improvements in speech,” she wrote. The post has amassed hundreds of comments and reactions from fans, most wishing Kane and his family well through this difficult ordeal.

Kane is one of animation’s most beloved and prolific voice actors, with a career spanning nearly three decades now in movies, TV shows and video games. Some of his best-known work was in the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series, where he provided the narrator’s voice, Jedi Master Yoda and Admiral Yularen, among others. In 2017, he provided Admiral Ackbar’s voice in Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi. He provided voices for Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as well.

Kane is also a familiar voice for fans of 1990s cartoons, where he played HIM and Professor Utonium on The Powerpuff Girls, Darwin on The Wild Thornberrys, Lord Monkey Fist on Kim Possible and Oxnard Montalvo on The Angry Beavers. In film, Kane is best-known for playing Dr. Loomis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and then in Halloween Awakening: The Legacy of Michael Meyers.

Kane’s credits are most prolific in video games, where he has worked at a breakneck pace for years across various franchises and genres. His most recent roles were in the hit Ghost of Tsushima, and he has a new release coming up in Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, scheduled for release in early 2021. Fans continue to send support to Kane on social media.