Canadian voice actor Dale Wilson, best known for voicing multiple characters in the English dub of Dragon Ball Z, has died aged 74.
In a post shared on his Facebook page, his wife Gail shared the news of Wilson's passing. "It is with an aching heart that I must tell you. Last evening Dale moved on from this Earthly existence," she wrote. "Having lived with metastasized prostate cancer and Parkinson’s disease for many years, he was ready. He was my heart, my soul, my North Star. In the words of Bonnie Raitt, 'He taught me how to live….how to be myself……and how to give.”'I know he has for many of you as well. And I know he treasured each one of you; his relatives, friends and fans."
Wilson was a prolific voice actor from the late '80s through to the early '00s, working on countless animated shows including ReBoot, Street Fight, X-Men Evolution, and Stargate Infinity. His most famous role, however, came when he provided the voice for multiple characters in the first-ever English dub of Funimation's legendary Dragon Ball Z series by Ocean Productions. He played Kami, King Yemma, Android 8, Goz, and, most notably, Cell.
Other dubbed productions he worked on included Cardcaptors, multiple Transformers shows, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and the acclaimed 1999 anime film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade.
The news comes less than a year after the influential manga creator behind Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama, died at age 68. His passing inspired tributes from creatives around the world, including the creators of One Piece and Naruto, and rapper Big Sean.