Veteran actor (and cartoon voice actor) Tony Jay died last Sunday following micro-surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor from his lungs. His age is unknown but it is believed he was born in the mid-thirties.
Tony was an unusual player in the pool of voice talent. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in England, he was the possessor of a magnificent baritone voice that he put to good use in countless commercials and cartoon shows. He was heard in hundreds of animated shows, features and video games, usually playing villains. The list includes Mighty Max, Tale Spin, Reboot, Buzz Lightyear, Bruno the Kid and the 1995 Fantastic Four cartoon series, for which he supplied the voice of Galactus. His standout role was probably that of the evil Judge Frollo (seen above) in the Disney Studios' version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Tony also had a very busy on-camera career that included roles in movies (including Love and Death and Twins) and television programs (including Lois and Clark, Twin Peaks and Beauty and the Beast) but his greatest pride was in his numerous stage appearances.
I only knew Tony casually, meeting him twice under what were probably unfortunate circumstances. A few years ago in an interview, he was quoted as making some rather ungracious remarks about his fellow voice actors. I don't recall the specific lines but the essence of them — which Tony suggested was yanked out of the intended context — was that he was a real actor and the others voicing cartoons were in some lower sphere of talent. Both times I encountered him, I was in the company of another voice actor who'd taken umbrage at the quote and testy words were exchanged…though, I must say, in magnificent tones. Neither moment was, alas, a propitious one for getting to know Tony Jay.
You can get to know more about him — and hear some samples of what the man could do before a microphone — at his website. An obit notice appears on this page.