The voice behind one of television’s most beloved cartoon characters has gone silent.
Francisco Reséndez, the legendary Mexican voice actor best known for bringing Scooby-Doo to life for generations of Spanish-speaking fans, has died at the age of 85.
Reséndez spent more than six decades in the entertainment business, building an extraordinary career as both a voice actor and dubbing director while helping introduce some of America and Japan’s biggest shows and characters to audiences across Latin America.
Affectionately known as “Don Paco,” Reséndez became especially famous during the 1980s for voicing mystery-solving Great Dane Scooby-Doo.
His Scooby-Doo credits included episodes of The Scooby-Doo Show and The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show, along with several animated movies.
Fans also heard his unmistakable voice in Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School and Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf.
But Scooby wasn’t his only famous role.
Reséndez also voiced Mario in Donkey Kong and Commander Dot Pixis in Attack on Titan, showing the remarkable range that helped make him a giant of Latin American dubbing.
Behind the microphone, Reséndez played another major role in television history by directing some of the early Latin American Spanish dubs of The Simpsons.
News of his death quickly sparked an outpouring of grief from fans who grew up listening to his work.
“He brought so much personality to those iconic roles. Truly a massive loss for the industry,” one person wrote on X.
Another heartbroken fan wrote that Reséndez had made their childhood mornings memorable and given them their favorite cartoon character of all time.
“He gave a lot of memories to people,” another fan said.
Others struggled with yet another loss of a beloved entertainment figure.
“Why are all the heroes dying??” one person asked.
Reséndez’s death comes just days after the entertainment world lost another legendary voice actor.
Peter Cullen, best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise and Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, died Aug. 26 at his Los Angeles home. He was also 85.
Cullen’s family said he died peacefully surrounded by loved ones and asked fans to honor his legacy by showing compassion, integrity and loyalty to others.
For countless fans, Reséndez leaves behind a similarly powerful legacy.
His voice became part of childhood for generations of Spanish-speaking viewers — and helped turn characters like Scooby-Doo into international icons whose appeal crossed languages, countries and decades.
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