Star Wars Clone Wars’ Yoda Voice Actor Suffers from Stroke
Voice actor Tom Kane, best known as the voice of Yoda in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, has suffered a stroke, leaving him unable to do voice work. The 58-year-old voice actor is best known for voicing the diminutive Jedi master in both the Clone Wars movie and series and the recent Star Wars Holiday Special released on Disney+. Kane also voices Qui-Gon Jinn in that special, adding another iconic character from the universe to his resume.
Kane also played Admiral Ackbar in several Star Wars properties, including video games like Star Wars: Battlefront, and even voiced the Mon Calamari in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, marking his live-action Star Wars debut. He's also voiced characters like Admiral Yularen in various properties. Kane also has extensive experience voicing characters outside of the Star Wars universe, with his credits including several video games, Marvel animated series, and other animated shows like Archer and The Powerpuff Girls. He remains a favorite of Star Wars fans, though, thanks to his long association with the franchise, stretching back almost two decades.
Now, Kane's daughter, Sam, has revealed he suffered a stroke two months ago in a post on his Facebook page. The sad news confirms that while Kane is mentally fine, he is suffering many common symptoms following a stroke, including the inability to communicate correctly, verbally or via writing and reading. Sam says the family is hopeful he'll regain his ability to communicate properly but has been warned by doctors that he may never be able to do voice work again. She also shared some photos of Kane with his family. You can see the post below:
The sad news will be a blow for Star Wars fans, who will undoubtedly have been exposed to Kane's work at some point during the franchise's history. His impact as Yoda is particularly of note, having voiced the iconic character over the past decade-and-a-half in over 130 episodes of The Clone Wars, as well as playing the narrator. He was also the first voice actor to play Yoda in an official Star Wars film besides Frank Oz.
His voice credits stand at over 250 projects, stretching back to the early 1990s when Kane was just 30. To think that his career might be cut short by the illness is incredibly sad, and the outpouring of love and support on the Facebook post shared by his daughter proves his impact on the world of entertainment. Hopefully, he proves his doctors wrong and can return to voice work at some point. But even if he doesn't, his work as Yoda on Star Wars: The Clone Wars assures his legacy.
Source: Tom Kane/Facebook