It has been confirmed that voice actor Brice Armstrong has passed away at 84.

The news comes via the Mary Collins Agency Facebook group, revealing he passed away on January 10th of natural causes.

Armstrong started his career in radio in 1964, before moving onto voice-overs for commercials in the late 70s to early 80s. The Mary Collins Agency had high praise for Armstrong’s work.

“James Earl Jones once told Brice, “I wish I had your vocal control.” But even though he was a gifted voice actor and announcer, he was so self-effacing you might never know it was his profession. Always camera-shy, Brice would only allow his photo be taken from the back or side, usually at a mic. He was known for his “big announcer” voice, along with an ear for celebrity impressions. One of our early promotions for Brice—and as his friends knew, he eschewed almost any attention or promotion—asked, “How could you get Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, Ed Wynn, Bela Lugosi and Johnny Cash in the same studio at the same time? Simple. Call Mary Collins and ask for Brice Armstrong.” “

That “big announcer voice” was most likely the reason Armstrong earned the role of the narrator in Dragon Ball and the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z, along with the ever self-assured Captain Ginyu, and Lord Slug.

Christopher Sabat (Vegeta, Piccolo, and Yamcha in Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super) was also quoted in the Facebook post as saying “Brice was the kindest, funniest person I’ve ever known. He was always humble, never in a bad mood–not the attitude you’d expect from such an industry legend.”

Armstrong’s other roles included Richard Keller in Half-Life, Miss Etta Kette in the Barney the Dinosaur shows, and Tim Marcoh in Fullmetal Alchemist; in addition to other voices for Dragon Ball GT, the Lupin III movies, Detective Conan, and Fruits Basket. 

He was inducted to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2004 (cite: Anime News Network), and retired in 2009.