It is with great sadness to report that Erik Bauersfeld, the voice of Admiral Ackbar in The Return of the Jedi died Sunday of natural causes at the age of 93. Coolwaters Productions first contacted USA Today about the voice actor’s passing. Stating, “Erik will be deeply missed by his friends and family at Coolwaters and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
Although he will be remembered by Ackbar’s famous phrase, “It’s a trap!” Bauersfeld was amused by his character’s catchphrase and fame surrounding a voice acting role that only took an hour to produce. The then 89-year-old spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle in 2011 and said that it took people years to figure out it was him voicing the famed Rebel Alliance commander.
Bauersfeld also voiced another character in Return of the Jedi; Bibb Fortuna who was one of Jabba the Hutt’s henchmen. Bauersfeld also made a triumphant return in The Force Awakens. as Admiral Ackbar.
Besides his work for the Star Wars franchise which included film credits, video games, and voice acting on Clone Wars, Bauersfeld also appeared in the 2001 Steven Spielberg film, A.I. and worked at Berkeley, CA’s progressive radio station, KPFA for over 3 decades as a radio producer.
(Via USA Today)
