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