‘Ratchet & Clank’ Voice Actor Jim Ward Dies at 66 Following Alzheimer’s Battle

Prolific voice artist Jim Ward, celebrated for his defining roles as Captain Qwark in the ‘Ratchet & Clank’ franchise and Doug Dimmadome in ‘The Fairly OddParents’, has passed away. His wife Janice Ward confirmed that the actor died in Los Angeles after a long struggle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and related complications.

Ward’s career spanned over two decades of high-profile work in animation and video games, where he became a fixture for his versatile baritone and comedic timing. He voiced the self-aggrandizing superhero Captain Qwark in Insomniac Games’ ‘Ratchet & Clank’ series, a role he originated in 2002 and reprised across multiple sequels and the 2016 feature film adaptation. His television credits were equally extensive, including the roles of the Dimmsdale tycoon Doug Dimmadome and the breaking news anchor Chet Ubetcha in Nickelodeon’s long-running hit ‘The Fairly OddParents’.

In the realm of action animation, Ward portrayed the X-Men leader Charles Xavier in the 2009 series ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ and voiced multiple alien forms, such as Diamondhead and XLR8, in the ‘Ben 10’ franchise. His video game filmography included significant parts in ‘Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater’ as Director Granin, ‘Wolfenstein’, ‘Destroy All Humans!’, and ‘Red Dead Redemption II’. He received a Daytime Emmy Award in 2009 for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his work as Eyemore in the revival of ‘Biker Mice from Mars’.

Beyond the recording booth, Ward was a prominent figure in radio as the longtime co-host of ‘The Stephanie Miller Show’. He utilized his mimicry skills to provide impressions of political figures and celebrities for the program from 2005 until his retirement in 2017. Host Stephanie Miller paid tribute to her former colleague on social media, describing him as a ‘voice deity’ whose brilliance defined the show’s comedic edge for over a decade.

Ward’s health had been a subject of public concern since his departure from the industry, with his family revealing the severity of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and a subsequent battle with severe infection complications in 2021. He spent his final years in a memory care facility in Los Angeles, where his condition prevented him from continuing the voice work that had cemented his status as an industry veteran.