History DiedDuringProduction / WesternAnimation

* '"WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'':

* It's currently unknown if ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonsLooniversity'' will follow in the footsteps of fellow WB reboot ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'' and [[RoleReprise bring back some of the original cast]] or go in [[TheOtherDarrin a different direction]] like another [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017 animated reboot]]. Either way, Plucky and Hamton will need to be recast due to Creator/JoeAlaskey's death in 2016 and Creator/DonMessick's death in 1997.
** The Japanese dub of the original series suffered from this when Hamton's first voice actor, Yo Yoshimura, suffered a hemorrhage. He was replaced by Junichi Sugawara.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Philece Sampler, who played several minor characters and Sabine Cheng, suffered a fatal heart attack on June 30, 2021, while the show produced new episodes.

* It's currently unknown if the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' reboot, ''Tiny Toons Looniversity'' will follow in the footsteps of fellow WB reboot ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' and [[RoleReprise bring back some of the original cast]], or go in [[TheOtherDarrin a different direction]] like another [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017 animated reboot]]. Either way, Plucky & Hamton will need to be recast due to Creator/JoeAlaskey's death in 2016 and Creator/DonMessick's in 1997.

* Creator/DreamWorks employee Kelly Asbury died at the age of 60 from stage 4 cancer while he was working on several projects, among them the ''WesternAnimation/UglyDolls'' TV series. Asbury having to take a break as a result of his condition might explain why that series was in DevelopmentHell at the time. This also might affect the casting of the voices of some of the minor characters that were voiced by him, but given that most TV series based on movies with {{Celebrity Voice Actor}}s, such as most of [=DreamWorks=]'s Creator/{{Netflix}} originals, usually get [[TheOtherDarrin recast]], that would probably be the most likely scenario.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}'' experienced it twice, with both Creator/LenCarlson (original voice of Buzz) and Creator/GilbertGottfried (voice of Digit since the series' premiere), who passed away on January 26, 2006 and Apri1 12, 2022 respectively. After Carlson's death, Buzz was recast with Philip Williams, and as for Gottfried, Creator/RonPardo is set to take over as Digit afterwards.

* ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseFunhouse'': Will Ryan, who played Willie the Giant, died on November 19, 2021, after a short battle with cancer. As he was a recurring character on this show and ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseClubhouse'', it is unknown what will happen to him.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}'' experienced it twice, with both Creator/LenCarlson (original voice of Buzz) and Creator/GilbertGottfried (voice of Digit since the series' premiere), who passed away in 2006 and 2022 respectively. After Carlson's death, Buzz was recast with Philip Williams. As for Gottfried however, Digit's fate is yet to be resolved.

* Ted Bastien, director of ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'', died of cancer while its' tenth season was in production.

** For the Portuguese dub of ''Total Drama'', ''Total [=DramaRama=]'' was in production when Ana Lucia Menezes (who voiced Bridgette in both the original series and the spinoff) passed away on April 20, 2021. Even more shockingly, Iara Riça, who was Courtney's first voice, passed away a week later on April 27. While Hannah Buttel was already voicing Courtney (Iara had retired from dubbing in 2020, because she was rejected from various dubbing studios), Bridgette's role would be recast for the rest of the franchise.

* ''Zootopia+'', an animated series based on ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'', was announced on December 10, 2020, the ''same day'' veteran actor Creator/TinyLister, who played AdvertisedExtra Finnick, passed away. Ultimately, Finnick was relegated to a silent cameo in the first episode.

* ''Zootopia+'', an animated series based on ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'', was announced on December 10, 2020, the ''same day'' veteran actor Creator/TinyLister, who played AdvertisedExtra Finnick, passed away. It remains to be seen if Finnick will undergo ChuckCunninghamSyndrome (since he was a SatelliteCharacter who only had less than five minutes of screentime in the movie) or be recast for the new show (as RecycledTheSeries-type shows often do).

** Also previously averted with Victor Aaron, the original voice of John Redcorn. Aaron's only appearances as Redcorn were in the season one episodes "Order of the Straight Arrow" and "Luanne's Saga." Aaron died in a car accident shortly after recording his lines. As a result, "Order of the Straight Arrow" was dedicated in his memory and the crew decided to hire [[TheOtherDarrin another voice actor]] (Johnathon Joss) for John Redcorn rather than drop the character (as he was too important to drop at the time; after all, he was the guy who was dating Dale's wife, Nancy).

* Creator/MaryKayBergman, who originally voiced most of the female characters on ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' (including Sharon Marsh, Sheila Broflovski, Carol [=McCormick=], Liane Cartman, Mayor [=McDaniels=], Wendy Testaburger, etc.) commited suicide after years of being plagued with depression and an anxiety disorder (which she mostly hid from her loved ones) just after finishing recording her parts for the show's third season. "Starvin Marvin In Space" and "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" were dedicated in her memory. She was replaced by Eliza Jane Schneider and Creator/MonaMarshall for future episodes (and Schneider herself was replaced by Creator/AprilStewart later on, though not for tragic reasons).

* Acclaimed comic book writer Dwayne [=McDuffie=] died during the early production stages of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'', which resulted in a new series producer in Derrick J. Wyatt, who proceeded to undo a number of both [=McDuffie's=] and franchise creators Creator/ManOfActionStudios' creative decisions (such as demoting Gwen and Kevin to extras, unceremoniously sinking the base-breaking Ben/Julie ship etc.).
* Bill Scott was the voice of Gruffi, Toadwart and Sir Tuxford in ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears''. When he died after season 1, Creator/CoreyBurton took over as both Gruffi and Toadwart while Roger C. Carmel became the voice of Tuxford. When Carmel died at the end of the second season, Brian Cummings was given the role.

* Inverted in-universe in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', when some of the League members end up in an alternate reality where Green Lantern's boyhood comic book heroes, the Justice Guild, are real. It is surmised that the writer of that comic had a telepathic "link" with this world, allowing him to chronicle the Guild's adventures. That comic was cancelled long ago, but not because the author died; the WORLD did, with the Guild being annihilated by a nuclear bomb, and (almost) everything the League has seen was an illusion created a mutated RealityWarper.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}}'': In 2003, the titular character's second voice actor, Jaclyn Linetsky, died in a car crash on the way to the taping of an episode of ''Series/FifteenLove'' (see Live Action TV) while new episodes were still in production. Caillou has a new voice actor since this incident, with the change in voice actors also resulting in a change in his personality in the series proper.

* Andrea Arruti, who had three roles in Latin American dubs of cartoons at the time (Sid Chang on ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'', Star Sapphire in ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperheroGirls2019'' and Poppy in ''WesternAnimation/TrollsTheBeatGoesOn''), suddenly died at the age of 21 on January 11, 2020 of pneumonia.

* Caio Cesar, the Brazilian voice of Boots in ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'', was shot in the line of duty in September of 2015, just as the show's final episodes were slated to be broadcast in the country. He was replaced by Allan Arnold.

* Creator/JohnRitter, the voice of ''WesternAnimation/CliffordTheBigRedDog'', died of an aortic dissection he suffered on the set of ''Series/EightSimpleRules'' while the third season of ''Clifford'' was in the planning phases, including a GrandFinale where Clifford got married and had puppies. Rather than recast the role, the show wound up getting the kibosh and was spun-off into ''WesternAnimation/CliffordsPuppyDays''. His final role was ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Stanley}} Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up]]'', which came out two years after his death.

** Albert Jelenic, who was a minor character in several episodes of the show, died of natural causes in December of 2019. He managed to finish his lines for ''Where Exactly on the Globe is Carl Sanpedro?'' before his death.

** The Japanese dub of the original series suffered from this when Hamton's first voice actor, Yo Yoshimura, suffered a hemmorage. He was replaced by Junichi Sugawara.

* The creator of ''WesternAnimation/BoltsAndBlip'', the prominent Canadian animator Andy Knight, passed away in 2008, or two years before the show made its world debut on Creator/{{Teletoon}}.

* With the passing of Norm Spencer on August 31, 2020, it remains to be seen as who will voice Cyclops in ''WesternAnimation/XMen97'', Creator/MarvelStudios’ upcoming revival of ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries''. The death of Creator/DavidHemblen on November 16, 2020 will also necessitate Magneto to be recast.
* ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseFunhouse'': Will Ryan, who played Willie the Giant, died on November 19, 2021 after a short battle with cancer. As he was a recurring character on this show and ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseClubhouse'', it is unknown what will happen to him.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wallykazam}}'': J.R. Horne, who voiced Stan Of The Swamp, died on January 14, 2016 due to complications from an operation. The episode "The Bathmobile" was dedicated in his memory.

* Creator/KevinConroy, the long time voice actor of ComicBook/{{Batman}} since ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', passed away on November 11, 2022 from intestinal cancer while the latest ''Batman'' cartoon to have him as the staring role, ''Batman: Caped Crusader'', was still in production. Even if the show does get SavedFromDevelopmentHell, it's unknown how much of his lines Kevin was able to record prior to his passing.

* Creator/KevinConroy, the long time voice actor of ComicBook/{{Batman}} since ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries',' passed away on November 11, 2022 from intestinal cancer while the latest ''Batman'' cartoon to have him as the staring role, ''Batman: Caped Crusader'', was still in production. Even if the show does get SavedFromDevelopmentHell, it's unknown how much of his lines Kevin was able to record prior to his passing.

* Creator/KevinConroy, the long time voice actor of ComicBook/{{Batman}} since ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' passed away on November 11, 2022 from intestinal cancer while the latest ''Batman'' cartoon to have him as the staring role, ''Batman: Caped Crusader'' was still in production. Even if the show manages to get out of DevelopmentHell, it's unknown how much his lines Kevin was able to record prior to his passing.

** Frank Sinatra Jr.'s character was retired following his death in early 2016.

** In the Latin American Spanish dub, [[WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow Donna Tubbs-Brown]] was voiced by Toni Rodriguez. After Rodriguez passed away from cancer in April 2021, Donna's role was recast for the rest of "Family Guy."

* Creator/KevinConroy, the long time voice actor of ComicBook/{{Batman}} since ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' died suddenly on November 11, 2022, while the latest ''Batman'' cartoon with him as the staring role, ''Batman: Caped Crusader'' is in production. Even if the show manages to get out of DevelopmentHell,it is unknown if Kevin managed to record all his lines prior to his passing.

** Creator/ChristineCavanaugh, Chuckie's first voice actress, died of leukemia in December 2014. However, she had retired from voice acting in early 2001, with Creator/NancyCartwright having replaced her in the interim.

** Albert Jenic, who was a minor character in several episodes of the show, died of natural causes in December of 2019. He managed to finish his lines for ''Where Exactly on the Globe is Carl Sanpedro?'' before his death.

* ''DiedDuringProduction/SpongeBobSquarePants''

* Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor both died when productions involving Franchise/MickeyMouse were in production (with Wayne's death happening during the production of ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseClubhouse'' and Russi's happening during the production of both ''WesternAnimation/MickeyAndTheRoadsterRacers'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse2013 Mickey Mouse]]'').
** Taylor had also recorded all but two of her character's lines for the [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney World Halloween fireworks show]] ''Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Fireworks'' and ''Minnie's Wonderful Christmastime'' for ''Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party'' in 2019. After her death, [[FakeShemp the remaining lines were recorded by another, unidentified actress.]] The Halloween Dance Party ''Mickey's Trick & Treat Dance Party Show'' at DCA [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m8wYgk_z-o&feature=emb_title were all recorded by an unidentified actress.]] She barely averted this by having recorded all of her dialogue for the Disney On Ice show ''Road Trip Adventures'', which premiered a month after her passing. ''Ride/MickeyAndMinniesRunawayRailway'' is also her final performance as WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse. Kaitlyn Robrock has since taken over the role of Minnie.

** Creator/JoseLavat, who voiced Grandpa Pig in the Mexican Spanish dub, died in May 2018 during the dub of Season 5. He was replaced by Cesar Arias, who died in December 2020 after the dub of season 6. He was then replaced by Eduardo Tejedo.

** Frank Sinatra Jr.'s character was retired following his death early in 2016.

** After Creator/AdamWest's passing, the episode "Adam West High" addressed his passing; in the episode, the town of Quahog votes for a new mayor and renames the town's high school in his honor. The new mayor would eventually end up being a new character named Wild Wild West, portrayed by Creator/SamElliott.
* In 2017, Nickelodeon announced the TV movie ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZimEnterTheFlorpus'', a spin-off of the fan-favorite Nicktoon. However, Lucille Bliss, who played Miss Bitters in the original show, died in 2012. Creator/CandiMilo had previously voiced Miss Bitters in the 2008 video game ''[[VideoGame/NicktoonsUnite Nicktoons: Globs of Doom]]'', owing to Bliss's failing health, while the special itself would ultimately have her appear as a silent cameo in a fantasy sequence.
* ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLifeStaticCling'' premiered over 20 years after the [[WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife original series]]' conclusion, with Kevin Meaney (who provided the voice of Widow Hutchison) passing away in 2016 in the meantime. The actual special averts this by making Widow an unvoiced cameo in a crowd shot during the scene where the characters attend the premiere of the reboot of ''The Fatheads''.