I remember when Stephen Hillenburg passed away, and someone kindly said, "I'm sorry you lost your friend." I was immediately taken off-guard because even though he gave me my first full-time job, help launch my career as both an animator and illustrator, and was my boss for 2 years, we didn't, you know... hang out. We weren't by normal standards, really "friends." Now Eric Bauza has passed away and I long to hear the words, "I'm sorry you lost your friend." No, Eric and I never really crossed paths in the literal sense. (If I had been smarter, we would have hired him on the Replacements. ) The animation community may seem vast, but it is, in fact, surprisingly small. I think that's why we all feel this earthquake right now. Like something rare and beautiful was just ripped from our hands. I want to encourage you to read John "F" Fountain's X post about this (@fountaincartoon), but he basically brings up the fact that voice talent and animation artists rarely co-mingle. Bauza was different. He started his career as an artist and just happened to be so wonderfully talented at voiceover that he couldn't be ignored. But what made him so great was that even though he soared to fame, he remained humble. He was a friend to us. He was kind. He was human. He loved the craft as whole. I wasn't a friend to him, but he was a friend to me... to all of us who, for some reason, want to make zany cartoons for a living. And I am heartbroken. 💔