Sequel (Voices in Heaven 2): nostalgicchills.deviantart.com…

PLEASE READ
I know to add Robin Williams to a new installment of this series if i ever do another one, pleeeeasse stop commenting this over and over again, it’s getting annoying!
And I know there are HEAPS of characters with deceased voice actors that are not on this list, keep in mind there wasn’t much room to add more characters than the ones you see above. So please no comments about who i’ve missed, i may do more of this and add the ones that aren’t here - but until then, please don’t bother listing forgetten characters :)

This is a tribute to various voice actors behind famous (animal) animated characters who have sadly passed away. All except one are obviously Disney characters. So, without further adieu; i’ll go through each character and the voice actor behind them. Briefly describing a bit about each actor and the cause of their deaths.

Sarabi (The Lion King, 1994)
This of course addresses Sarabi’s sudden and unexplained disappearance from the sequel. Sarabi was voiced by Jamaican actress Madge Sinclair (1938 - 1995). A well respected actress mostly known for her many TV roles and appearances including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Me and My Boys etc. Unfortunately, In the early 1980’s, Madge was diagnosed with Leukemia. Despite this, she continued to work; outliving the doctors’ predictions by several years. Until she lost the battle on December 20, 1995. She was 57 years old.

Zira (The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, 1998)
I bet most of you didn’t know about this one, neither did i until fairly recently. Zira was voiced by famous actress Suzanne Pleshette. Her sultry voice can be recognised instantly, you may also know her voice as Yubaba/Zaniba from ‘Spirited Away’ (2001) which coincidentally also has the voice actor behind adult Kovu (Jason Marsden) as Haku and Lilo (Daveigh Chase) as Chihiro…weird, but moving on. After beginning her career in theatre, Suzanne began appearing in films in the early 1960’s. Including Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’. After many years in the business, appearing in many TV shows, films and theatre productions, she retired from acting in 2004. In 2006, Pleshette began her battle against Lung Cancer. Despite her efforts, in the early evening of January 19, 2008, she sadly lost the fight. She was 70 years old.

Thomas O’ Malley (The Aristocats, 1970)
Voiced by the American legend Phil Harris. Back in the day, Phil Harris was an American singer, songwriter, radio star, jazz musician, actor, and comedian. He is mostly remembered nowadays for his voice work behind not only Thomas O’ Malley, but other Disney characters as well. Such as Baloo from ‘The Jungle Book’ and Little John from ‘Robin Hood’. It was his suave singing voice for Baloo’s song ‘The Bare Necessitites’ that introduced Harris to a new generation of young fans who knew little to nothing about his former radio fame. However, ‘The Aristocats’ was the last of his Disney voice acting career. In 1989, Harris returned to Disney to once again voice Baloo, this time for the TV series ‘Talespin’. But after a few recording sessions, Disney felt that he was too old to voice him and so he was replaced by Ed Gilbert. In 1995, Phil suffered a fatal heart attack at his Rancho Mirage home. He was 91 years old.

Duchess (The Aristocats, 1970)
Voiced by famous actress Eva Gabor. A Hungarian-born American actress, she was widely known for her role on the 1965-1971 TV series sitcom ‘Green Acres’ as Lisa Douglas. You may also recognise her voice as Miss Bianca from ‘The Rescuers’ (1977) and ‘The Rescuers Down Under’ (1990). Gabor had great success as an actress in film, broadway and on television. She was also successful in business, marketing wigs, clothing, and beauty products. Eva Gabor died in Los Angeles on 4 July 1995 from respiratory failure and pneumonia, following a fall in the bathtub in Mexico, where she had been on vacation. She was 76 years old.

Peg (Lady & The Tramp, 1955)
Yeah, if you really think about it - this shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. The film was from 1955, all of the actors would have been at least in their 30’s at the time, no doubt age would have taken its course by now…and it has.
American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer and actress Peggy Lee was the voice behind Peg, but also behind Darling, Si and Am as well. In Peggy’s time, she wrote music for films, acted, and created conceptual record albums—encompassing poetry, jazz, chamber pop, and art songs. Lee continued to perform throughout her old age, sometimes in a wheelchair. After years of battling poor health, she retired in the year 2000. Peggy Lee eventually died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack in 2002. She was 81.

Lady (Lady & The Tramp, 1955)
Voiced by the Disney voice veteran Barbera Luddy. Giving her voice to many Disney animated films such as: Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, 101 Dalmatians and many ‘Winnie the Pooh’ featurettes. Unfortunately, not much else is known about this actress. Her career was active from 1925-1977. Until her death from Lung Cancer at the age of 70.

Tramp (Lady & The Tramp, 1955)
Voiced by American entertainer Larry Roberts. After serving in World War II. Roberts went to LA for a vacation, he ended up staying there to help organise the Circle Theatre. In 1949, Larry went on to create and become part owner of the Players Ring, a very prominent Hollywood theatre group of the time. Thus begininng his acting career. Larry was soon discovered for the role of Tramp at some point whilst onstage when a Disney storyman saw him performing. Soon, Larry was a popular guest on many variety shows in the early days of television. Larry retired from show business in the late 1950’s to join his uncle in the ladies’ clothing business, until he died from AIDS-related causes on July 17, 1992. He was 65 years old.

Scuttle (The Little Mermaid, 1989)
Voiced by Amercian comedian Buddy Hackett. Buddy was mostly known as a nightclub comic, particularly in Las Vegas, where he first performed in 1952 and soon became one of the biggest headliners in that city’s history! Soon, he moved from nightclub comic to Hollywood actor and TV star. Playing in films such as Paulie, The Music Man, The Love Bug, and of course The Little Mermaid. Hackett passed away on June 30, 2003 due to a stroke caused by diabetes. He was 78.

Winnie The Pooh (The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, 1977)
Winnie actually kind of represents virtually ALL of the original Winnie the Pooh cast. All of the voice actors, except the voice behind Christopher Robin have since passed away. So the voices of the characters you hear now, are just imitations of the real thing. Of course, Hollywood does this all the time with classic characters, so this isn’t too shocking.
The original Winnie the Pooh was voiced by Sterling Holloway. A very popular Amercian voice actor who you will find in many classic Disney animated movies. A career led from dozens of entertaining performances to world-wide familiarity as his voice became a Disney legend. Voicing such characters as: Kaa (The Jungle Book), Roquefort (The Aristocats), Adult Flower (Bambi), Mr. Stork (Dumbo) and Chesire Cat (Alice In Wonderland). However, it was his voice as Winnie the Pooh that became his trademark role. Holloway died on November 22, 1992 of a cardiac arrest in a Los Angeles hospital, aged 87. He was cremated and his ashes were buried at sea.

Ducky (The Land Before Time 1988)
I saved the most tragic one for last. The only non Disney character in this deviation, but upon learning about her voice actor’s death - i felt that she deserved a tribute too.
Yes, as if ‘The Land Before Time’ wasn’t depressing enough, after reading this, you may never watch this film the same way again.
We all remember Ducky, with her energetic personality and trademark saying “Yep Yep Yep” you either loved or hated this character. I can see both sides of the argument, but please if you hate the character, at least have some respect for her voice actress. Who met an untimely, and ultimately gruesome death.
Ducky was voiced by Judith Barsi, an American child actress who began her career in television. Appearing in commercials, and guest starring in many TV shows, she later appeared in various films such as Jaws: The Revenge, All Dogs Go To Heaven and of course The Land Before Time. Ducky being her personal favourite role to play. Unfortunately, poor Judith didn’t even live long enough to see the film’s release. As Judith’s career success increased, Judith’s father Jozsef became increasingly abusive as his jealousy, mental illness and alcoholism worsened. He repeatedly threatened to kill Judith and her mother Maria. Her mother alerted Child Protective Services to the issue, but not much was done to resolve the problem.
On the night of July 25, 1988, Jozsef shot Judith in the head while she was asleep in her room, and then shot his wife Maria as she ran into her daughter’s bedroom, hearing the gunshot. Jozsef spent the next two days wandering around the house. On July 27, he poured gasoline on the bodies and set them on fire. He then went into the garage and shot himself in the head with a .32 caliber pistol.
Judith was only ten years old.

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R.I.P to all the great actors listed here. You’re in a better place now, and your talent will live on for generations to come. :heart:

Sarabi, Zira, Winnie the Pooh, Lady & the Tramp, Peg, Duchess, Thomas O’ Malley, Scuttle (c) Disney
Ducky (c) Don Bluth