Chris Ayres, who voiced villain Frieza in the hit anime series Dragon Ball Z, has died at the age of 56. On Monday, fellow voice star Krystal LaPorte announced that Chris Ayres had died surrounded by his family. According to LaPorte, Ayres – who voiced the villainous character Frieza in the Dragon Ball passed away on 18 October 2021.
“On October 18th at 8:40pm, my world went dark. Christopher Owen Ayres passed away peacefully, held close by his mother, brother, and girlfriend, and his arm wrapped around his Atticus pillow. He was able to pet the real thing hours beforehand. His hands were held. His face was kissed. We played Jim Croce, The Charlie Chaplin musical, and one hand stayed on my waist as I held the other while Unchained Melody played, the song we knew would be the first dance at our wedding. His mother and brother told stories of his childhood as he left.
I have never been alive in a world where Chris wasn’t. I am scared of it. So much of humanity’s kindness, compassion, gentleness, bravery, generosity and integrity were concentrated in one man. Everything feels so much colder.
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. To those of you who stayed in touch, checked on him, reminded him that he was so, so much more than his job, you were the fuel of his fight. You fed the dreams of a future that kept him going longer than any normal person could go.
Chris, I miss your face. I miss your voice. I miss your hugs and I cannot even begin to comprehend that I will never walk in a doorway again and hear “Hey, beautiful girl.” I miss being your girl. I miss you. I was always one half of Krystal and Chris. I don’t want to be Krystal, but I will do my damndest to try and see what you saw in me, and try to be what the world saw in you.
I hope that wherever you are, the first thing you did was take a long, deep breath with your perfect lungs and danced again. I hope you saw a lot of people and animals that I know you missed so deeply. I hope it has all of the horror movies, lots of blackened shrimp and candy, and a giant Doctor Who store.
I know a lot of people reading this 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. It needs him. Please fill it with love and laughter, always.
“When he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.”
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Who was Chris Ayres?
Chris Ayres was a successful voice actor, who started his career at age six. His first role was on the TV show Gatchaman. He also worked on Macross in 1983 as Lynn Kalfun. Chris Ayres was born on May 16, 1965, in Richmond, Virginia.
In the world of anime, Christopher Ayres was a voice actor who played characters such as Frieza from Dragon Ball and Kei Kurono from Gantz. He also appeared in Black Butler and Sengoku Basara.
What was Chris Ayres’ cause of death?
On Monday, fellow voice star Krystal LaPorte announced that Chris Ayres had died peacefully with his family being around him. According to LaPorte, Ayres – who voiced the villainous character Frieza in the Dragon Ball passed away on 18 October 2021. Takint to Twitter, Krystal LaPorte wrote: “On October 18th at 8:40 pm, my world went dark.”
“Christopher Owen Ayres passed away peacefully, held close by his mother, brother, and girlfriend.”
She added: “I hope that wherever you are, the first thing you did was take a long, deep breath with your perfect lungs and danced again.”
Social Media Reactions to Chris Ayres death
The first person to react to Chris Ayres’s death was his Girlfriend Krystal. She described the late actor’s death as “compassionate, gentle and kind”.
She said: “I have never been alive in a world where Chris wasn’t. I am scared of it.
“So much of humanity’s kindness, compassion, gentleness, bravery, generosity, and integrity were concentrated in one man. Everything feels so much colder.
“I was always one half of Krystal and Chris. I don’t want to be Krystal, but I will do my damndest to try and see what you saw in me, and try to be what the world saw in you.”
The next person was fellow Dragon Ball star Christopher Sabat: “The anime industry lost a living angel today. It’s impossible to describe how pure Chris Ayres was, and his dedication to his craft was unmatched.
“Knowing Chris, he’s still at the gates of Other World, explaining something clever to the maître d’. RIP Frieza.”
Japanese animation company Toei Animation said: “May you rest in peace Chris Ayres, a magnificent voice actor who brought many wonderful characters to life including our Frieza. You will always be remembered. Thank you for everything.”
And, graphic designer Scott Fearichs posted: “Chris Ayres was my first professional director.
“He was so good, kind, friendly, and immensely dedicated to his craft. He cared about his fans to a degree I’ve rarely seen in this industry.
“He always did his best to make the world a better place. I believe he did.”
