{"rewrite":{"id":"r_9f213c46622e4609a8280374","clusterId":"c_bb8c15db2aed48a7a36f64df","slug":"voice-actor-bill-wise-dies-at-61","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Voice Actor Bill Wise Dies at 61","summary":"Bill Wise, known for English dub roles including Bunta Fujiwara in the Initial D: Legend trilogy, Hayato Jin in Getter Robo: Armageddon, and Knuckles in the 1996 Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie OVA, has died at age 61. His death was reported by the Austin Chronicle on May 5, with his agency and a friend confirming the news earlier that week.","whyItMatters":"Wise was a familiar voice in several key English dubs of the 1990s and 2000s, and his death removes a veteran performer from the small pool of actors who worked across both anime and live-action Texas film production.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eBill Wise, the actor and voice actor whose credits spanned anime dubs and live-action film, died last week at age 61. The Austin Chronicle reported his death on May 5, stating he died the previous week. Wise's friend Jeff Smith announced the death on May 3, and his agency, Collier Talent Agency, confirmed it on May 4.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithin anime, Wise was best known for playing Bunta Fujiwara in the Initial D: Legend movie trilogy, Hayato Jin in Getter Robo: Armageddon, Richard Guyot in Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, and Knuckles in the 1996 Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie OVA. He also voiced Sakon Suzuki in Moeyo Ken and Rail Claymore in Lost Universe. Outside of anime, he took numerous small roles in live-action television and film. The Austin Film Society's AFS Cinema will host a tribute to Wise on Monday evening.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Voice actor Bill Wise, who voiced Bunta Fujiwara in Initial D Legend and Knuckles in the Sonic OVA, has died at 61. His agency confirmed the news last week.","twitterPost":"Voice actor Bill Wise, known for Bunta Fujiwara in Initial D Legend, Hayato Jin in Getter Robo Armageddon, and Knuckles in the Sonic OVA, has died at 61.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Bill Wise, the voice actor behind Bunta Fujiwara in the Initial D: Legend trilogy and Knuckles in the 1996 Sonic the Hedgehog OVA, has died at age 61. His agency and friends confirmed the news in early May.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-05-18/actor-voice-actor-bill-wise-dies-at-61/.237465\",\"title\":\"Actor, Voice Actor Bill Wise Dies at 61\"}]","lintFlagsJson":"[]","lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":3987,"outputTokens":617,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1779827115,"createdAt":"2026-05-18T13:17:05.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-05-18T13:31:21.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-18T13:31:21.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_bb8c15db2aed48a7a36f64df","canonicalTitle":"Actor, Voice Actor Bill Wise Dies at 61","representativeArticleId":"a_2c655ad2a394c9d356254577","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[\"Initial D Legend\",\"Getter Robo: Armageddon\",\"Guyver\",\"Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie\"],\"manga_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Bill Wise\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"anime\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-05-18T11:15:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-05-19T17:00:35.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-20T00:31:56.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-05-19/voice-actor-tom-kane-dies/.237529","title":"Voice Actor Tom Kane Dies"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":["Initial D Legend","Getter Robo: Armageddon","Guyver","Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie"],"manga_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["Bill Wise"],"type":"news","domain":"anime","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Bill Wise died at age 61 last week, with his death reported by the Austin Chronicle on May 5.","Wise voiced Bunta Fujiwara in the Initial D: Legend movie trilogy, Hayato Jin in Getter Robo: Armageddon, and Knuckles in the 1996 Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie OVA.","His friend Jeff Smith announced his death on May 3, and his agency, Collier Talent Agency, confirmed it on May 4.","Wise also voiced Richard Guyot in Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, Sakon Suzuki in Moeyo Ken, and Rail Claymore in Lost Universe.","The Austin Film Society's AFS Cinema will host a tribute to Wise on Monday evening."]}