At the age of 72, the Grammy-winning artist Lou Rawls died Friday, due to cancer. Diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2004 and brain cancer in May 2004, the talented singer died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where we was placed last month for cancer treatment. At the time of his death, Rawls’ wife Nina was at his side. He is also survived by children Louanna Rawls, Lou Rawls Jr., Kendra Smith and Aiden Rawls. For a look at the many animated roles Rawls served, please click “More”.

Rawls was featured in a number of animated productions. He sang in several Garfield specials, including: Here Comes Garfield (1982), Garfield on the Town (1983), Garfield in the Rough (1984), Garfield’s Halloween Adventure (1985), Garfield in Paradise (1986), and A Garfield Christmas Special (1987). In addition, the singer sang for the likewise comic-inspired television miniseries This is America, Charlie Brown (1988).

For DiC Entertainment’s Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990-96), Rawls took a turn as a vocal actor, lending his recognizable voice to the character of Dr. Rice. The next voice acting role he took came in the form of Bat for the series Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995-98). For Nickelodeon, Rawls voiced postal service worker Harvey in Hey Arnold (1996-99) and a Newborn Baby in The Rugrats Movie (1998). Also in 1998, Rawls appeared in the cast of Saban Entertainment’s short-lived series The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs.

Roles which allowed Rawls to perform as himself came when the singer visited such shows as The Muppet Show (1976-81) and The Proud Family (2001-). Rawls’ final animated performance would have been a role in Disney’s currently-cancelled feature A Few Good Ghosts. For more information on the life of Lou Rawls, recommended sites include the Associated Press via Yahoo! News, the Big Cartoon Database and the Internet Movie Database.