sisslethecat
Sad days, friends.
Tony Rosato, the man who delivered the original, infamous “STARSSS” in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, has passed away from a heart attack at the age of 62 this past Tuesday. Rosato had a long, and amazingly diverse career. He also played the ill-fated Dario Russo in RE3 (the survivor Jill tries and fails to take with her at the beginning of the game), he was in the Sam and Max TV series, Night Heat, and perhaps best known to gamers as the voice of Luigi in the Super Mario Brothers cartoon series. 62 is honestly not that old, and it marks the first celebrity passing of 2017 that breaks my heart.
For us RE fans, Nemesis is simply one of the single most iconic monsters of the entire series, and the low, grumbling voice was so unexpected (as none of RE‘s monsters had ever spoken before that point, despite plans to have G scream Sherry’s name) and chilling. It was an instant alarm bell to hear the Pursuer’s hungry cry in the streets of Raccoon City. Not only just the spoken word, but all the little “Bluurrraaaggghhhh” sounds he made, too. Amazingly, none of Nemesis’ voices since have been able to capture the same chilling magic his was, between Operation Raccoon City‘s dorky cartoon voice and Umbrella Chronicles‘ AOL Instant Messenger Nemesis.
So, hats off to you, Mr. Rosato. For this fan, you embodied childhood nightmares in the perfect way, and I’ll be booting up my copy of RE3 to listen to you chase me once more. Thanks, man, and Rest in Peace.
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