George Lowe, 'Coast To Coast' Voice Of Space Ghost, Has Died At 67
The Adult Swim regular had been dealing with health problems for a couple of years
As Conan O’Brien celebrates a well-received Oscars hosting, the world of late night talk has lost a legend. Veteran voice actor George Lowe, a comedian who had been the voice of Space Ghost since Cartoon Network launched the character’s talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast in 1994, had died at the age of 67.
Longtime friend “Marvelous Marvin” Boone’s Facebook post broke the news, or at least its containment, with a tribute that said “I’m beyond devastated. My Zobanian brother and best friend for over 40 years, George Lowe, has passed away after a long illness. A part of me had also died. He was a supremely talented Artist and Voice actor. A true warm hearted Genius. Funniest man on Earth too. I’ve stolen jokes from him for decades. He stole some of mine. He was also the voice of Space Ghost and so much more. Pweeloto.” Adult Swim wrote “RIP George Lowe. “I was dead long before you were born, and I’ll be dead long before you die.” 💔“
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George Edward Lowe was born on November 10, 1957 in Dunedin, FL. Lowe got his first radio job with local station WWJB at 15 years old. Lowe did occasional voice-over work for TBWS and Cartoon Network throughout the late 1980s to mid 1990s, the latter presumably through bumpers considering how few original series the network had before he landed Space Ghost for Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The series parodied talk shows and too featured live-action celebrity guests, hosted by the character originally created for the Hanna Barbera series Space Ghost. Coast to Coast ran for over 109 episodes from 1994 to 2004 on Cartoon Network with a 2001 move to the fledgling Adult Swim. It was then revived for 17 episodes from 2006 to 2008 on the GameTap video game service.
While not every subsequent appearance of the character was voiced by Lowe (most notably Batman: The Brave and the Bold where original voice Gary Owens reprised the role), a lot of them were. There was the spinoff Cartoon Planet, The Brak Show, where Lowe also voiced Dad, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, Robot Chicken, Perfect Hair Forever, the 2011 video game Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion and the Jellystone! episode “Space Con”, which seems to be his last performance as the character. There were even appearances on TBS’s Dinner and a Movie showing of Spaceballs and the Donny & Marie talk show. In general, Lowe was all over Adult Swim with roles on Sealab 2021, Aqua Twen Hunger Force, Assy McGee, Squidbillies, 12 Oz. Mouse, other episodes of Robot Chicken and Perfect Hair Forever, and an episode of American Dad!, an acquisition but still fits. The network posted outtakes from the tenth anniversary special, where he’s suited up in live action, in tribute to him. He was also known for doing other press stunts in full costume, with or without the character’s whited eyes.
Space Ghost Coast to Coast contributing writer MC Chris addressed fans’ concern in July 2023 regarding Lowe’s conspicuous social media absence. He confirmed Lowe had health problems including an aortic dissection that required intubation twice, and a nurse looking after him at his home in Florida saying “We came close to losing him”.
Andy Merrill, Adult Swim’s voice of Brak on Coast to Coast, Cartoon Planet, and The Brak Show, was “sorry” to share the news. “It’s a sad day at Williams Street,” said Michael Ouweleen, who had been in the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim sphere going back just about as long as Coast to Coast had existed, from creating Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, which placed Hanna-Barbera hero Birdman as a lawyer much like Coast to Coast’s talk show had Space Ghost as its host, to now being president of both networks. “You all knew him as Space Ghost (and all his other characters), but we knew him as himself, a true character in his own right, one that left an indelible mark on all of us at Adult Swim. Wherever you are, George, we hope you are getting enough oxygen.”
Subsequently, the network has made three separate schedule changes in tribute. First an hour of Coast to Coast this Thursday at 12:30 AM, consisting of “Kentucky Nightmare”, “Flipmode”, “Baffler Meal”, and “Eat a Peach”. Cartoon Planet, which already has the full 5 PM Checkered Past hour on Fridays, takes over the rest of the week next week only. Checkered Past had been reduced to the single hour it was originally announced to run at the start of the year. The Aqua Teen episode scheduled for this week and the Robot Chicken this Sunday and the next have been changed to episodes with him. And finally, Coast to Coast replaces Robot Chicken at 1:00a / 4:30a weekdays for the next two weeks. A sample of his final performance can be watched below.
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