Thea White, a voice actress, best known as playing Muriel in Courage the Cowardly Dog, has died at age 81.
White’s brother John Zitzner confirmed her death on Facebook with a video the iconic voice actress recorded before her surgery with the following caption.
“My sister recorded this prior to her surgery. She fought. She left us today at 11:05.”
Last week, Thea White had surgery to remove a tumor in her liver at the Cleveland Clinic. The surgery was reportedly successful; however, White passed away after a subsequent surgery.
Her official cause of death is unknown; however, it appears that the voice actress passed away due to complications of surgery.
Following the sad news of Thea White’s death, many fans paid tribute to her iconic character Muriel Bagge on social media.
Courage the Cowardly Dog is a Cartoon Network animated series created by John R. Dilworth.
The series features an abandoned dog found by Muriel, voiced by Thea White, who lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, Eustace Bagge.
The iconic series ran for four seasons and had 52 episodes.
Fans pay tribute to Thea White
Following the news of Thea White’s death making its way into social media, numerous fans paid tribute to the actress and the iconic role she played as Muriel.
Many fans chose to share their favorite moments from the animated series and praised White’s talent.
One Twitter account shared a moment in the Cartoon Network series where Muriel found Courage and brought him back to their home.
In paying tribute to Thea White, one fan hoped to hear the actress in her last performance of Muriel in the upcoming Scooby-Doo and Courage the Cowardly Dog crossover.
“That was news I didn’t want to return…May Thea White RIP, she was an amazing woman and voice actor, being one of my childhood voices too. We will get to hear her once more for the Scooby-Doo & Courage crossover. I will be getting the movie regardless but especially for her!”
A Twitter user shared a clip of a hilarious scene from the iconic animated series.
Another Twitter user took time to remember the voice actors of Eustace Bagge, who Lionel Wilson played for the first three seasons and Arthur Anderson in the fourth. Both actors have passed away.
A voice actor also heaped praise on the late Thea White’s talent.
Who was Thea White?
Thea White was born in New Jersey and began her acting career as a child.
She retired from acting when she met her husband, Andy White, in 1983 but returned when she was offered the role of Muriel Bagge on Courage the Cowardly Dog.
After the series concluded in 2002, she reprised her role several times, including a video game and, most recently, a Scooby-Doo crossover project that is yet to be released.