Original Crash Bandicoot voice actor Brendan O’ Brien dies aged 60
Voice actor Brendan O'Brien, who was best known as the original voice of Crash Bandicoot, has sadly died aged just 60.
O'Brien was part of the Naughty Dog team when it first got cracking on Crash Bandicoot in the 1990s.
Not only did he voice the titular character, but he also lent his vocal talents to characters like N.Gin, Dr Neo Cortex, Dr Nitrus Brio, and Tiny Tiger across the first three games.
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The current voice actor for Crash Bandicoot is Scott Whyte, who has been in the role since Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time.
No known cause of death has been reported as of yet, though a memorial post on Legacy.com states that Brendan passed away on 23 March, 2023.
Paying tribute to O'Brien, the official Crash Bandicoot Twitter page shared a link to the voice actor's Legacy.com page and announced the heartbreaking news to fans.
"Sharing our sincere condolences to Brendan O’Brien’s loved ones for his passing," their tweet read.
"He was an incredible talent who brought Crash Bandicoot and other Crash characters to life. He will forever live on in the hearts of Crash fans."
And fans flooded the replies with sweet messages remembering O'Brien's contribution to the game.
One fan wrote: "The man is a legend, bringing us such incredible characters alongside the most iconic single word voice line in any video game ever."
A second tweeted: "Rest in peace, legend. Brought so much vibrancy to the characters to help make the games what they are."
And a third noted: "Absolutely devastating. His voice was a huge part of my childhood. Thank you for everything, Brendan. Rest in peace, legend."
According to Legacy.com, Brendan was born to entertainers Edmond O'Brien and Olga San Juan in Hollywood, California, and attended Loyola High School.
The memorial remembers Brendan as someone who was musically gifted, and performed at 'every high school event in the southland' before going on to perform with top music professionals in the industry.
It also makes a special tribute to his Crash Bandicoot years, reading: "One of his proudest moments was coming up with the original voices for the Crash Bandicoot video games during the Naughty Dog years of 1996 to 2004.
"He encouraged nostalgic Crash fans in their own pursuits and loved signing their memorabilia.
"Like music, designing character voices for animation, radio and video games came naturally to him."
Brendan leaves behind his wife of 23 years, Ingrid K Behrens.
Ali Condon