On Sunday, October 25, Eric Bauza's family announced that he had passed away. He was only 46 years old. 

We are devastated by the loss of Eric, someone who was so committed to keeping the joy of classic cartoons alive.

His role as the modern voice actor for classic Looney Tunes characters brought joy and laughter to audiences around the world. And to many in the animation world, he was a friend who was always willing to uplift the voices of other voice actors, animators, and animation historians.

"Eric Bauza's undeniable talent brought new life to voices generations have loved," said Neal Sabin, Vice-Chairman of Weigel Broadcasting. "His talent, humor and deep respect for the art form helped ensure that the magic of classic animation continued to resonate across generations. While his passing is an enormous loss to the animation community, the joy he brought to audiences through these beloved characters will forever continue and always remind us of him."

He wasn't just someone who acted in cartoons, but he truly lived and breathed animation. 

Before Bauza was a voice actor, he was a kid in Toronto whose father had introduced him to Looney Tunes. His father had bonded over a love of Looney Tunes with Bauza's grandfather, who Bauza never got to meet. He always hoped his grandfather would be proud of his work in continuing the Looney Tunes franchise.

Bauza began his animation career as an intern at Spümcø, Inc., where he later became a production assistant and eventually landed his first voice-acting role on The Ripping Friends.

From there, his voice acting career exploded with roles in El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, The Fairly OddParents, Superjail!, Ben10: Omniverse, and many more cartoons. His voice acting career spanned over four hundred cartoons and video games.

His first role in the Looney Tunes universe was voicing Marvin the Martian in The Looney Tunes Show in 2011. From there, Bauza expanded his repertoire of characters and starred in nearly every Looney Tunes production, including The New Looney Tunes, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Tiny Toons Looniversity, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A  Looney Tunes Movie, and, most recently, Coyote Vs. ACME. Bauza voiced almost all of the Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn, Road Runner, Elmer Fudd, and more. 

While Bauza will be best remembered as Mel Blanc's successor, he also worked hard to help bring other classic cartoon franchises back to life with new iterations, including Woody Woodpecker, Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry, and The Flintstones. 

Bauza once spoke about why Looney Tunes connects with so many people around the world, saying, "Looney Tunes transcends all languages and all cultures. There are some cartoons that don't even have English-speaking parts in it. There are some Looney Tunes cartoons that are pantomimes. It doesn't matter what part of the planet you're from. You get the comedy."