Michael Haley, the voice behind the gritty purple guardian of the surreal Outback in MTV’s animated series The Maxx and a cast member in 1976’s King Kong, has passed away.
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Brendan Haley, the actor’s son and a filmmaker, revealed to Entertainment Weekly that his father died following a sudden and aggressive battle with cancer.
“It is with a heavy heart I write that in the early hours of Saturday morning, my dad, Michael Haley, passed away after a very abrupt battle with cancer which had been diagnosed mere months prior,” Brendan wrote, per Fangoria. “Our family remains shocked and saddened by the rapid onset of his illness, but despite these tragic circumstances, we pressed close to ensure he was comfortable and surrounded by those he loved fiercely in the last days of his life.
“I remember my father as innately kind with a goofy sense of humor, traits he kept through these last few weeks, and the same traits best seen across his work in television, film, and radio,” Brendan added. “He was a fearless and unique talent, most notable for voicing the titular big purple superhero Maxx in MTV / Liquid Television’s animated series The Maxx (1995). While we miss him dearly, Dad can always be found roaming the wilds of that other jungle world with the Leopard Queen, performing tremendous feats of heroism,” he concluded.
Halye was 67.
Michael Haley’s Work on ‘The Maxx’ and Beyond
Haley is best known for his work on The Maxx, a show released in 1995 that ran for 13 episodes on MTV. Based on the Image Comics series by Sam Kieth, the story follows a hulking purple hero who shifts between two worlds: the fantastical Outback, where he protects the Leopard Queen, and the real world, where he lives as a homeless vagabond.
Haley, born in 1957, began acting in his youth in Southern California. As a high school student, per EW, he appeared as a background actor in major films like the 1976 King Kong remake and the 1978 musical Grease, where he can reportedly be spotted in the “Born to Hand Jive” scene alongside John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
Around the time he worked on The Maxx, Haley lent his voice to Blizzard Entertainment’s fan-favorite video game Diablo. His Maxx co-star, Glynnis Talken Campbell, also contributed her voice to the game.
Haley went on to work as a broadcast engineer for KCET, the PBS station in Southern California, a position he held until 2015.
Haley’s last voice acting role was featured in an episode of the horror-comedy audio series It Listens From the Radio. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic by his son Brendan Haley and Brendan’s partner, Michael Varrati, the series showcased Haley’s talent as the voice of the Crunch Munch monster in the episode titled “Balanced Breakfast.”
Haley is lovingly remembered by his wife, daughter, and son.