Garfield Voice Actor Passes Away
Lorenzo Music, famous for providing his voice to Garfield, passed away on Saturday, August 4. He was 64 years old, and suffered from cancer. Music started in the entertainment industry as a writer on classic sitcoms like SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and THE BOB NEWHART SHOW. While working as a writer on RHODA, Music lent his voice talents as the unseen, perpetually intoxicated doorman, Carlton. He even went on to voice the pilot episode of the animated spin-off series CARLTON, YOUR DOORMAN, which failed to be picked up but won an Emmy for best animated special. His voice-over career truly started while doing CARLTON. Music came up with an idea for a live-action series set in an animation studio. He went to Hanna-Barbera Studios to do research, where he was asked by a casting director to audition for a role on PAC-MAN. He would go on to voice characters for THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS and THE GUMMI BEARS. But his real claim to fame came when he was cast as the voice of Garfield, the wisecracking orange cat from comic strip fame.