Kirby Morrow, the third Canadian voice of adult Goku and an exclusive perk of the Westwood dub who has voiced countless other characters sadly passed away on November 18, 2020.
An insanely talented actor, by all accounts a very kind and supportive friend. Every voice actor I’ve ever heard speak of Kirby spoke highly of him, off the top of my head in one of the Anime Time Machine’s livestreams on Instagram Saffron Henderson stated anytime any of Kirby’s friends were moving home he would be there to help out.
It is a shame, not only that we got to hear no more of Kirby Morrow’s Goku, but also that he was suffering in silence. It has been said Kirby’s death was due to many years of alcohol abuse. For a many that brought many Dragon Ball and animation fans more generally years of entertainment it is sad to think no one knew what he was going through.
I would have loved more than anything to have told the man what his Goku voice meant for me, having grown up in Ireland, which is one of the few English-speaking countries that received the Westwood dub of Dragon Ball Z. Kirby Morrow may have not been as loved as his predecessors (Ian James Corlett and Peter Kelamis) as Goku but he gave a respectable performance, it was very solemn, grounded and at times “heroic” (a term controversial among Dragon Ball fans when it comes to Goku), which was not his fault, even if you don’t agree with that portrayal of Goku, he was just playing the character as it was written and directed as he was told to.
In any case that Goku was an inspiration to many fans, for better or for worse. As fellow voice actor Brian Drummond said at the time of his passing “I always envied Kirby’s cool af hero voice & it will always be the #DragonBallZ Goku I hear”.
Dragon Ball enthusiasts know the story about Kirby Morrow auditioning for a role in the still-unreleased Ocean Productions English dub of Dragon Ball Kai and being told he was “too cool” to play Goku, a remark that’s not been universally seen as a criticism, or at least not when all is said and done. As one fan noted with regards to the “too cool” comment “in hindsight, I see as more of a compliment to the man”.
Of course tributes poured in from Kanzenshuu at the time where fans remembered Kirby’s Goku and plenty of other roles:
On this day Kirby would have turned 51, so had things been different he would have had plenty of years left in him to give all his fans many more memorable performances.
At the very least it seems Kirby’s family wanted his legacy to live on, the man’s brother Casey Morrow set up the Kirby Morrow Memorial Scholarship Fund to provide support for anyone wanting to follow in his footsteps in the performing arts. Since Kirby loved helping people, especially when it came to new performers, so we can take some solace in knowing this fund means Kirby can help aspiring actors in spirit.
Kirby was born in Jasper, Alberta and his grandfather Robert Morrow was born in Poyntzpass and he married to Alice McTague, a native of Northern Ireland, so in a funny way the Dragon Ball Z dub he worked on (which didn’t air in the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or many other countries that received an English dub) brought his voice back to his Irish roots, and I’m happy to be one who reciprocated.
Rest in peace Kirby, wherever you are, you were with us for a good time, not a long time, but what an incredible career you had as you left us at 47.