Jim Ward, a beloved voice actor known for his work on “The Fairly OddParents” and “Ratchet & Clank,” has died.
Stephanie Miller, Ward’s former radio co-host on “The Stephanie Miller Show,” wrote on X Wednesday, “One of the saddest messages I have ever received from the amazing Mrs Jim Ward: Our wonderful ‘voice deity’ as Steph anointed Jim Ward, passed away today at 10:45AM. Can you let Steph know? Thanks, Janice.”
The veteran voice performer passed away on Wednesday at a Los Angeles-based memory care facility after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive brain disorder. He was 66.
Ward’s acting career started back in the ’70s, when he landed a minor role in the “How the West Was Won” TV series. He continued acting, landing parts on various shows and films, including “Diff’rent Strokes,” “Tapeheads,” “Patty Hearst,” “McDonaldland,” etc.
However, he nabbed his first big voice acting break in 1993 with the leading role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the video game “The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin.”
From there, Ward went on to become a prominent voice performer for animation and video games, including voicing Captain Qwark for the “Ratchet & Clank” franchise and Doug Dimmadome/Chet Ubetcha for Nickelodeon’s “The Fairly OddParents.”
He notably won the Daytime Emmy Award in 2009 for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his work on the “Biker Mice From Mars” revival.
Other TV credits include “Danny Phantom,” “My Life as a Teenage Robot,” “Ben 10,” “Wolverine and the X-Men,” “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” and “New Looney Tunes.” He also lended his voice for a number of Star Wars video games and several Warner Home Video projects, including “Batman vs. Two-Face,” “Superman: Red Son,” “Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders” and “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.”
He can also be heard voicing characters in several blockbuster animated features, such as 2017’s “Despicable Me 3,” 2016’s “The Secret Life of Pets,” 2015’s “Minions,” 2015’s “Inside Out,” 2013’s “Despicable Me 2,” 2013’s “Monsters University,” 2012’s “The Lorax,” among countless other titles.
Ward is survived by his wife Janice, mother Marilou, sister Natalie, brother-in-law Evan and his two nephews.
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