Voice actor Tom Kane, known for his work on various entries in the “Star Wars” franchise, suffered a stroke two months ago that left him largely unable to speak, according to a Facebook post written by his daughter.
“He had a left side stroke that gave him right sided weakness and damage to the speech center of his brain,” the post shared to his Facebook page on Wednesday reads. “This means right now he cannot efficiently communicate verbally, nor read or spell. He is still competent and very much himself, but can only get out a few words right now.”
The stroke has currently rendered Kane unable to do his job as a voice actor. During his career, Kane has lent his voice to “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” delivering lines for numerous characters including Yoda, as well as the blockbuster film “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” where he voiced Admiral Ackbar.
The voice artist also worked on Cartoon Network’s “The Powerpuff Girls,” FX’s “Archer” and many video games, like the “Call of Duty” franchise and several Star Wars and Marvel games.
“As many of you might know about strokes, it is possible for him to gain these functions back and we have found him excellent care in Kansas City for speech, occupational, and physical therapy, but for now, we have been warned by his Neurologist that he may not do Voiceovers again,” the post reads.
But Kane has made progress in bringing back his speech, thanks to therapy and “extreme stubbornness,” the post adds. He can deliver a few words at a time now and is in an optimistic mood.