With the passing of beloved voice actor George Lowe, I feel it’s only fitting to talk about his impact on nerd culture for those who may not be aware of who he was.
George Lowe was best known for his role as Space Ghost on the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
Before landing the role of Space Ghost in 1994 for the then-new Cartoon Network, Lowe was doing voice work for TBS (Turner Broadcasting System).
Since Cartoon Network had the rights to old Hanna-Barbera footage, Mike Lazzo, who worked for the network, decided to reuse the animation cels and create a whole new show—one that would become the foundation for Adult Swim.
Many people might not know this, but one of the earliest shows on Adult Swim was Space Ghost Coast to Coast, which ran for 109 episodes across 11 seasons. The first nine seasons aired on Cartoon Network/Adult Swim before the show moved to GameTap, a short-lived video game service.
Space Ghost Coast to Coast was also the first show created at Williams Street Productions, which was then known as Ghost Planet Industries. This studio would go on to produce shows like Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Robot Chicken, Xavier: Renegade Angel, Rick and Morty, Mike Tyson Mysteries, and my personal favorite, The Venture Bros.
In a sense, if not for Space Ghost and George Lowe’s incredible performance, we might never have gotten so many classic shows, and for that, I am grateful.
Beyond Space Ghost, George Lowe had an impressive run of roles in Aqua Teen Hunger Force, where he played a fictional version of himself, a police officer in the 100th episode, and even reprised his role as Space Ghost for a cameo in Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters.
Sadly, in 2023, George began experiencing health issues, as confirmed by someone who had worked with him. Looking back, I now realize that in his 2024 cameo as Space Ghost for the HBO Max series Jellystone, his voice sounded off. At the time, I assumed it was simply due to not having played the role in nearly 20 years.
I later learned the heartbreaking truth when I opened social media and saw that George Lowe had passed on to the great space graveyard.
Thank you for years of laughs and joy. Hopefully, your iconic role as Tad “Space Ghost” Ghostal will be remembered for generations to come.