Tom Kane, 1962 – 2026

Voice actor Tom Kane, 64, died of a stroke on May 18. I know him from his work on the delightful Powerpuff Girls, in which he played the heroic Prof. Utonium and the villainous HIM. Kane also provided voices on a whole lotta stuff I have never seen: Star Wars: The Clone Wars 9, Wolverine and the X-Men, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Kim Possible, The Angry Beavers, and The Wild Thornberrys. Oh wait, I lie—he also provided several voices on one of my favorite shows, Archer. Beginning in 2012, he was also voice of the Walt Disney World Monorail System, and was the announcer for several Oscars broadcasts. “Never done any exercises,” Kane told Reddit. “Wouldn't even know what they would be. Generally with men, the more you abuse your voice the richer it sounds. I draw the line at smoking though.” He added that Prof. Utonium (“a dorky dad who loves his kids. That's pretty much me”) was the easiest role to do, as it was so close to his own deep, mellifluous voice.