Star Wars voice actor Tom Kane suffers stroke
Kane voiced Yoda in The Clone Wars series and Admiral Ackbar in The Last Jedi
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments