Tom Kane

Thomas Kane Roberts was born on 15 April 1962 in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. He began voice work at 15 while at Shawnee Mission South High School, after hearing an American Heart Association radio spot he thought he could improve, calling the advertiser and landing the job. He then called other local advertisers to offer his services, later saying it had not occurred to him that anyone actually got paid for it.

Kane graduated from Shawnee Mission South High School in 1980 and from the University of Kansas in 1984. The university later featured him in a KU Alumni profile video.

Kane worked in commercials, trailers, promos and radio before becoming one of the busiest voices in animation and games. His Lucasfilm work began in 1996 with Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, followed by The Curse of Monkey Island and many Star Wars games, and he first voiced Yoda in Star Wars: Yoda's Challenge Activity Center. He voiced Yoda and C-3PO in the 2003 Clone Wars micro-series, then Yoda, Admiral Yularen and the opening narrator across all 132 episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 to 2020), and Admiral Ackbar in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). In television animation he was Professor Utonium and HIM (The Powerpuff Girls), Darwin (The Wild Thornberrys), Mr. Herriman (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends), Lord Monkey Fist (Kim Possible), Oxnard Montalvo (The Angry Beavers), Magneto (Wolverine and the X-Men), Ultron (Next Avengers, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes) and Woodhouse (Archer, from 2014). His game roles included Gandalf, Professor X, Odin in Thor: God of Thunder and Takeo Masaki in Call of Duty Zombies. He announced the AFI Life Achievement Award twice and the 78th, 80th, 83rd, 84th and 90th Academy Awards, became the voice of the Walt Disney World Monorail in April 2012 and announced season two of The Eric Andre Show.

Kane married Cindy Roberts in 1982 and they remained married until his death. They had three biological children and welcomed six more through adoption and fostering. After years in Los Angeles the family lived in Overland Park, Kansas, where Kane worked from a home studio. Fellow voice actor Roger Clark recalled being invited into Kane's home and meeting his big, welcoming family.

Kane described his Yoda as something that came from love of the films rather than technique. "I didn't work on being Yoda," he said. "I saw the movies 53 times, so the voice was very much in my head." He told Star Wars Insider that being entrusted with the character was "such an honor." Dave Filoni recalled that Kane was selfless with the fan community and showed up for fans whenever he could.

In late 2020 Kane suffered a stroke that caused significant weakness on the right side of his body and damaged his ability to speak, read and write. His daughter Sam shared regular updates on Facebook, and in September 2021 she announced his retirement, writing that the damage to his speech center was too severe. In March 2026 he appeared at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention in Kentucky, reuniting with The Powerpuff Girls stars Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and E. G. Daily.

Kansas City voice artist Matt Wiewel placed Kane alongside Don LaFontaine and Mel Blanc. Lucasfilm said his voice ushered an entire generation of fans into Star Wars animation, and Dave Filoni called his narration the spirit of the Clone Wars. Cartoon Network's farewell to the voice of Professor Utonium was one of the most shared posts on the day of his death. His recordings remain in Disney parks, games and the animated series he helped define.

Kane received an honorary award at the Clio Entertainment 50th anniversary celebration in December 2021. He received multiple Behind the Voice Actors Award nominations, including for ensemble work in television and video games, supporting performance and narration.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Yoda, Admiral Yularen, narrator, 2008 to 2020); Star Wars: Clone Wars (Yoda, C-3PO, 2003); Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Admiral Ackbar, 2017); The Powerpuff Girls Movie and The Powerpuff Girls 2016 (Professor Utonium); The Wild Thornberrys and The Wild Thornberrys Movie (Darwin); Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (Mr. Herriman); Kim Possible (Lord Monkey Fist); Archer (Woodhouse); Wolverine and the X-Men (Magneto); 9 (The Chancellor, 2009); The Smurfs (Narrator Smurf, 2011); The Curse of Monkey Island (Captain Rottingham); Call of Duty Zombies (Takeo Masaki); Walt Disney World Monorail announcer (from 2012); Academy Awards announcer (78th, 80th, 83rd, 84th, 90th).

Tom Kane died on 18 May 2026 at a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, surrounded by his family. He was 64. The cause was complications of the stroke he suffered in 2020. His agency Galactic Productions announced his death on Facebook. He was survived by his wife Cindy and their nine children. Funeral and burial details have not been made public.