Erik Bauersfeld, voice of Star Wars' Admiral Ackbar, dies at 93

Erik Bauersfeld — the voiceover artist best known for voicing Admiral Ackbar in the Star Wars franchise — has died at his home in Berkeley, California. He was 93.

Admiral Ackbar didn't appear in the Star Wars franchise until Return of the Jedi, but he quickly became a fan favorite for his strange, lobster-like appearance and his gurgled delivery of the line "It's a trap," which has since become one of the internet's most durable memes.

In the years following Return of the Jedi's release, Bauersfeld was pleased but confused by Ackbar's popularity, which didn't even earn him a screen credit. "The fans who write say they'll never forget 'It's a trap!,'" he told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2011. "I don't even remember how I said it."

Though his appearance in the film was brief, Ackbar was beloved enough that an extended biography was eventually filled in by contributors to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, from his birth on the water planet Mon Cala to his retirement following the events of Return of the Jedi. (You can read all about it on Wookieepedia.) Fans were delighted when Ackbar turned up as one of Leia's allies in last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, voiced once again by Bauersfeld.