Sad day for fans of Gary Owens, as the baritone-voiced veteran announcer, best known for "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" passed away at the age of 80.

Gary's son, Scott Owens, has confirmed that his father had died on Thursday inside his Los Angeles home.

A representative for the family revealed that Gary had been suffering from diabetes since he was a child and struggled with various complications caused by diabetes as he grew old.

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Throughout his career, he hosted a variety of radio programs and appeared in a handful movies and scores of TV shows including Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.

In addition to that he brought life to a lot of animated characters through his voice and participated in comedy albums. He also loved to write books.

On the sketch show "Laugh-In", which ran for 5 years, Gary parodied an old-school announcer, with his hand always cupped over his ear.

But despite the antics, he has always been well known for his unique and rich voice. 

According to actor and comedian Tom Kenny, who voices Spongebob and who teamed up with Gary on Dexter's Laboratory, he had " such a great voice, so smooth. That was his real voice, even if he was ordering in a restaurant."

George Schlatter called Gary a "lovely, lovely man." George, the creator of Laugh-In, reportedly hired Gary after hearing his voice in a restaurant restroom.

"He had a whimsical, fey sense of humor and he brought a lot to 'Laugh-In' in the way of thoughts, words and jokes," Schlatter shared.

As for whether Gary was a workaholic given his long list of credentials. George said, "Gary did not work. Gary played. He was a very charming, creative, witty guy who had a good time."

Gary, who was born in Plankinton, South Dakota was inaugurated into the National Radio Hall of Fame in Washington D.C. in 1995 and into the National Television Hall of Fame in 2001.

His voice was heard in a number of Los Angeles radio stations including KIIS FM, KMPC and KFI.

He hosted The Music of Your Life Network, Soundtrack of the 60s and was in the Armed Forces Radio for 10 years.

In addition to Dexter's Laboratory, he voiced characters in Space Ghost, Garfield and Friends, Blue Falcon and The Ren & Stimpy Show, while his film credits include The Green Hornet, National Lampoon's European Vacation and Neil Simon's Prisoner of Second Avenue.

The actor leaves behind his wife Arleta and his sons Scott and Chris. Gary and Arleta were married for 57 years.

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