As a rumoured new Star Fox game looms, Jock Blaney, the original voice actor for the villainous Wolf O’Donnell, has died.
Back in 2020, voice actor Rick May, who was most famous for his video game roles such as Peppy Hare in N64 game Lylat Wars (aka Star Fox 64) and the soldier in Team Fortress 2, died after contracting the coronavirus.
Now, Nintendo fans are in mourning once more, having learned another of Star Fox’s voice actors has passed away, with the death of Frank ‘Jock’ Blaney.
Blaney provided a number of performances in Star Fox 64, such as Fox’s old friend Bill, but his most noteworthy role was as Wolf O’Donnell, one of the game’s major antagonists and Fox’s arch-rival.
His other credits include appearances in the two No One Lives Forever games by Monolith Productions, from the early 2000s, and a couple of point ‘n’ click adventure games for children, from Humongous Entertainment, such as Spy Fox.
Aside from that, he did a lot of radio work as well as voiceovers for America’s Test Kitchen on PBS, which he contributed to for 21 seasons.
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According to his obituary, Blaney died peacefully in his home on March 19 at the age of 76, though word of his passing only became widespread recently, via this remembrance piece from K2 Radio, a Wyoming-based radio station where Blaney once worked.
‘There are some voices you never forget. Not because they’re loud. Not because they demand attention. But because they earn it. Jock Blaney had one of those voices,’ it reads.
Unsurprisingly, a thread on the Nintendo subreddit is filled with fans paying tribute by quoting his most memorable lines from Lylat Wars, including the classic ‘Can’t let you do that, Star Fox.’
‘It’s amazing how a part of someone can still last after they’re gone. A piece of their life, their spirit, is in the game. And we can go see them whenever we want,’ says SkysEeevee.
‘So sad to hear this. I love Star Fox 64 and his voice work was great. RIP,’ adds Marshmallow-owl32, while others honour Blaney as their favourite voice actor for Wolf in the series.
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While Blaney never reprised the role for any subsequent Star Fox games, fans are sure to feel bittersweet should Wolf re-appear in the new game that’s rumoured to be in development.
The source of that rumour, noted insider NateTheHate, said Nintendo plans to launch it in the summer and has since claimed that the game will be announced before the end of April, perhaps even this week.
Given Nintendo’s recent track record, any such announcement will likely be made via the Nintendo Today app rather than a full Nintendo Direct. Nintendo has had a lot of them this year but none of them have announced any new first party exclusives.
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