Star Wars voice actor Tom Kane suffers stroke

Kane voiced Yoda in The Clone Wars series and Admiral Ackbar in The Last Jedi

Voice actor Tom Kane, best known for his roles in Star Wars films and TV series, has suffered a stroke.

According to a Facebook post by Kane’s daughter, Sam, the stroke occurred around two months ago, and left Kane unable to “efficiently communicate verbally, nor read or spell”.

“Our family wanted to share why my dad has been MIA,” she wrote. “About two months ago he had a left side stroke that gave him right sided weakness and damage to the speech centre of his brain. 

“He is still competent and very much himself, but can only get out a few words right now… My dad still remains in good spirits and his extreme stubbornness has helped him already show improvements in speech. He is fully on board with me sharing this and he will see anything you guys post.”

A prolific actor, Kane, now 58, voiced Jedi master Yoda in the Star Wars animated series The Clone Wars, returning to the role in other productions.

He also voiced the cult franchise favourite Admiral Ackbar in Rian Johnson’s 2017 entry Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, and has appeared in other roles in several Star Wars video games and series.

Outside of Star Wars, Kane has appeared in animations including Archer, Powerpuff Girls and Robot Chicken.

In the Facebook post, Kane’s daughter revealed that his neurologist told him he may not be able to act in voice-overs again.

However, he is receiving “excellent care in Kansas City for speech, occupational, and physical therapy”.