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Late voice actor Eric Bauza to debut on The Simpsons in two roles on Nov. 15

Eric Bauza, the Looney Tunes voice actor who died on Oct. 25 aged 46, will make his Simpsons debut posthumously, voicing two characters in the Nov. 15 episode "Dream Scenari-Moe".

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Variety
Image: Deadline

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Voice actor Eric Bauza, who died on Oct. 25 at the age of 46, will make a posthumous debut on The Simpsons, voicing two characters in the episode "Dream Scenari-Moe". Mixed · 2He plays restaurateur "Mr. Fong" and newspaper editor "Harry Metsali"; the episode airs Sunday, Nov. 15, on Fox at 8 pm. Left · 1Cesar Mazariegos, co-executive producer and co-showrunner of the episode, told Variety the show asked Bauza to play two "New-Yorky" characters and that he recorded in two sessions, moving between dozens of voices to give the writers options.

Left · 1Mazariegos said Bauza signed the show's Wall-of-Fame with a drawing of Bugs Bunny, which is how the team learned he had started as an animator. He also said the team had bumped into Bauza at last month's Creative Arts Emmys and had hoped to have him back again. Mixed · 2Deadline, citing Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office records, reports Bauza died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease. The manner of death was ruled natural, with sleep apnea and class 2 obesity listed as contributing conditions. Variety also gives the cause as hypertensive cardiovascular disease. Mixed · 2Bauza had more than 400 acting credits, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Porky Pig and Road Runner, heard this year in Coyote vs. Acme. His other work includes Avatar: The Last Airbender, Rick and Morty and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Mixed · 2Other guest voices in the episode include Meg Ryan as "Sam" and James Austin Johnson as "Dr. De La Manana". In the logline, Moe enrolls in a sleep study that gives him romantic-comedy dreams, but his fantasy comes at "a nightmarish price". Left · 1Variety adds tributes. Mazariegos called the loss "devastating" to Bauza's young family, to animation fans and to an industry he said is "hobbled by greed and AI". Sunil Malhotra, the new voice of Apu, shared on Instagram a congratulatory message Bauza sent him days earlier and described Bauza as generous and kind.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Variety leads with a tribute-driven angle: Bauza's long-sought Simpsons dream coming true just before his death, told through the episode's showrunner and a fellow voice actor.
Emphasis
Quotes from co-showrunner Cesar Mazariegos, anecdotes of the recording sessions, Sunil Malhotra's tribute, and industry concerns over greed and AI.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not give the medical examiner's details on contributing conditions.
Charged language
“untimely passing”“devastating loss”“stunned the animation community”
For example
“stunned the animation community — including “The Simpsons” writers who had just worked with him.” — Variety
“To his young family, to a generation of animation fans, to an industry that’s being hobbled by greed and AI.” — Variety

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Deadline gives a short, factual report: the casting, air date and logline, plus the official cause of death.
Emphasis
Credits, episode details and the medical examiner's findings.
Leaves out or plays down
Has no comments from the Simpsons producers or colleagues and no detail on the recording.
Charged language
“unexpected death”
For example
“The manner of death was ruled natural, and the report lists sleep apnea and class 2 obesity as contributing significant conditions.” — Deadline

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

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