Chris Ayres, ‘Dragon Ball’ voice actor, dead at 56
Veteran voice actor Chris Ayres, who worked on numerous iterations of the “Dragon Ball” franchise, died Monday, his girlfriend announced.
He was 56.
“Chris, I miss your face. I miss your voice,” Krystal LaPointe wrote Tuesday on Twitter. “I miss your hugs and I cannot even begin to comprehend that I will never walk in a doorway again and hear ‘Hey, beautiful girl.’”
An official cause of death has not been released for Ayres, who had battled end-stage cardio obstructive pulmonary disease, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Ayres voiced Frieza on many projects within the animated “Dragon Ball” franchise, including on the “Dragon Ball Z Kai” series and in multiple video games.
The most recent of his 203 acting credits came in 2021, with him lending his voice to “The Dog Park: Prank Calls” short.
LaPointe said Ayres died “peacefully,” surrounded by loved ones.
“I hope that wherever you are, the first thing you did was take a long, deep breath with your perfect lungs and danced again,” LaPointe wrote. “I hope you saw a lot of people and animals that I know you missed so deeply.”
Ayres’ death was also mourned by Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim,” the programming block that airs “Dragon Ball.”
“RIP Chris Ayres,” reads a tweet from the programming block. “Frieza Forever.”