Chris Ayres, voice behind Frieza from 'Dragon Ball Z', dies at 56

American actor, director and scriptwriter Chris Ayres, known for being the voice behind 'Dragon Ball Z' villain Frieza, has died at the age of 56, after battling COPD and emphysema.

According to USA Today, Ayres' girlfriend Krystal LaPorte confirmed the voice actor's death on Twitter with several photos of her and the actor, writing that at the time of his death her "world went dark."

She wrote, "Chris loved you all. How much he loved other people filled the vast majority of our conversations. To those of you who truly loved him back, thank you."

LaPorte, who also voiced for several 'Dragon Ball Z' series, added: "I know a lot of people will ask 'is there anything I can do?' Please be more like Chris. Please if you learned anything from him, put it in this world."

As per USA Today, the voice actor began his career in 1973 for the Japanese animated series 'Gatchaman'. Ayres' first time working with the 'Dragon Ball Z' franchise started in 2009 as he voiced for both video games and the English version of the 'Dragon Ball Z Kai' series.

He also voiced for the role of Freiza for the 'Dragon Ball Z Super' series from 2015- 2018.

( With inputs from ANI )

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