‘Fairly OddParents’ Actor Dead at 66: RIP to Jim Ward

Early ‘00s Nickelodeon kids are mourning the loss of Jim Ward.

The beloved Fairly OddParents voice actor passed away on Wednesday due to complications from advanced Alzheimer’s, his wife, Janice, told TMZ. He was 66.

Ward was best known for voicing news anchor Chet Ubetcha and Doug Dimmadome, owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome, on the Nickelodeon animated series. At the time of his passing, Ward was being treated at Silverado Beverly Place Memory Care in Los Angeles. His former co-host at The Stephanie Miller Show confirmed his passing on X.

“One of the saddest messages I have ever received from the amazing Mrs Jim Ward: Our wonderful ‘voice deity’ as Steph anointed Jim Ward, passed away today at 10:45AM,” Miller wrote. “Can you let Steph know? Thanks, Janice.”

Ward was born on May 19, 1959 in New York, New York. He began acting in 1976 when he landed a minor role in the ABC Western How the West Was Won. His big break in voice acting came in 1993 with the role of Spider-Man in the video game Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin. From 2001 to 2017, Ward provided the voices of Chet Ubetcha, Doug Dimmadome, and various other characters on the Nickelodeon series The Fairly OddParents.

He’s also done numerous voices on Danny Phantom, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Ben 10, Biker Mice from Mars, Wolverine and the X-Men, and New Looney Toons, and voiced Casper’s uncle Stretch in 1997’s Casper: A Spirited Beginning and 1998’s Casper Meets Wendy. Ward is also known for voicing Captain Qwark in the Ratchet & Clank franchise. Additional credits include Inside Out, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the English dub of Spirited Away, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and Catscratch.

Jim Ward was the co-host of the nationally syndicated liberal talk show The Stephanie Miller Show from 2004 to 2017. In 2021, he ultimately retired from acting and voice acting due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease and COVID-19. Ward’s final voiceover role was in the action-adventure game Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed as additional voices. The year before, he voiced Captain Qwark one more time in Ratchet  Clank: Life of Pie.

Ward’s death comes on the heels of another Nickelodeon favorite. Comedian Jeffrey Garcia, known for his voiceover role as Sheen on Jimmy Neutron, was pronounced dead on Wednesday after being taken off life support on Tuesday, according to TMZ. Garcia was dealing with several medical emergencies, including a brain aneurysm earlier this year and a stroke a few weeks ago. He was admitted to the hospital on Monday for difficulty breathing, with his lung collapsing on Tuesday before being put on – and eventually taken off – life support.