RIP: Gary Owens (1936-2015), The Voice of Space Ghost

According to yesterday's news, veteran radio announcer/actor Gary Owens has passed away. He died on Thursday, Feb. 12, at his home in Encino, California, his son, producer Scott Owens, said. He was 80 years old, and had been a diabetic since the age of 8.
Owens hosted thousands of radio programs in his long career, appeared in more than a dozen movies and on scores of TV shows, including Lucille Ball and Bob Hope specials. He also voiced hundreds of animated characters, was part of dozens of comedy albums and wrote books.
Starting out as a disk jockey, Owens had a long career as a cartoon voiceover artist, lending his voice to more than 3,000 animated TV episodes. Best known for being the droll, melliflously-voiced announcer on NBC's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In (1968-73) and for popularizing the phrase "Beautiful downtown Burbank," Owens will be remembered for providing the voice of Hanna-Barbera's Space Ghost, The Blue Falcon (Dynomutt Dog Wonder), Newscaster on The Green Hornet, Narrator on Yogi's Space Race and Yogi's Treasure Hunt, and Commander Ulysses Feral (Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron). His numerous supporting roles included parts on Garfield and Friends and Eek! the Cat.
He was also an announcer on Sesame Street, Pantomine Pictures' Roger Ramjet, and Spumco's Powdered Toast Man from Ren & Stimpy.
In the sixties and seventies, Gary Owens was omnipresent.
He was on radio every day, doing comedy riffs. He was doing cartoon characters. He was performing on Laugh-In on a weekly basis.
The man was everywhere, and it was difficult, if you turned on a radio or TV, to avoid him.
As for the cartoon part of his career, Mark Evanier wrote:

... He was Space Ghost and the Blue Falcon and Roger Ramjet and Powered Toast Man and the announcer on Garfield and Friends and so many more. He did an amazing number of cartoons when you consider that the guy really only had one voice. When it's a voice that good, all you need is one. ...

Mark's right. Gary's voice was amazing. And he traveled a long way on it.
There is no other way we can pay tribute to this man. "Gary Owens made a career of being a funny straight man," Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi once wrote on his blog. "His voice is straight, yet with a great natural timing and a kindly sarcasm. And an amazing tone and warmth." Gary Owens, we'll never forget you - always missed. Rest in peace.
And there is this tribute from Ken Levine.