R.I.P., Tony. You Were Awesome.

Today is a sad, sad day in animation and video games.

…actually, yesterday was a sad, sad day in animation and video games.

For it was then that Mr. Tony Jay, Veteran Royal Shakespeare Actor and esteemed voice artist passed on.

Tony Jay leaves a vast legacy of work in television, voice and film, with appearances with Arnold Schwartzenegger, Danny Devito, Woody Allen, Karl Malden, Kim Bassinger, Dan Ackroyd to name a few. His television performances include Beauty and the Beast (as the arch-villain Paracelcus), Golden Girls, Murphy Brown, Hunter, Bob Newhart, Night Court, Star Trek, Lois and Clark, Sisters and recently Burning Zone. His work in voice acting includes Mighty Max, Bruno the Kid, Tale Spin, Savage Dragon, Reboot and many more. His role as Judge Frollo in Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame”, a role that has been been critically acclaimed as “probably the best Disney villain to date”.

Shere Kahn from TaleSpin, MegaByte from Reboot, and even the Narrator from World of Warcraft.

As someone who has looked into voice acting and would still like to give it a shot, and someone who’s simply a fan of the performances these people give, I feel Mr. Jay was without equal. He had a unique sound and delivery, one I doubt we’ll see replicated any time soon, and he was a favorite of mine.

At one point, there was a question of whether or not ReBoot would ever continue. Now there is a greater question, that being if it would even be right to continue it.

He will truly be missed.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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