Rest in peace, Tad Ghostal, now even more ghostly than before. George Lowe, who voiced Space Ghost on various Turner properties for decades, died on March 2 after a long illness. He was 67. As he once said to Conan O’Brien, “I was dead long before you were born, and I’ll be dead long before you die.”
George Lowe was part of Adult Swim before Adult Swim existed. After attending broadcasting school, he began doing voiceovers for local commercials in the Atlanta area. From there, he started doing voiceovers for TBS, which connected him with the creators of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The show ran for 10 years, but Lowe’s Space Ghost was brought back in all sorts of places. The last time Lowe played Space Ghost was for Jellystone! on Cartoon Network.
After news of his death broke, Lowe’s Adult Swim compatriots began sending in their tributes. James Urbaniak, who voiced Dr. Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture on The Venture Bros. wrote on Twitter “I’ll be imitating him forever.” MC Chris, who worked with Lowe on Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Sealab 2021, told stories on TikTok about meeting Lowe at the premiere party for Adult Swim (days before 9/11) and touring his private folk art collection. “He was a great artist himself,” Chris said. “He was always nice to me, when he didn’t have to be.”
@mcchrisontiktok i could go on obviously. rip george lowe. #adultswim #animation #georgelowe #spaceghost #aquateenhungerforce #rickandmorty #smilingfriends #folkart #thesouth #cartoonnetwork
♬ original sound - mcchris
What made Lowe’s performance of Space Ghost so great was the veneer of professionalism he brought. As a trained broadcaster, Lowe could say the most insane things with the smooth delivery of a guy selling your cars at an Atlanta Toyota dealership. One Twitter user particularly shouted out the moment in the SGC2C episode “Knifin’ Around” when Space Ghost tells his wife, Björk, that sulfer is his favorite food.
Without that false front of competency, SGC2C would completely fall apart. It’s what separates an anarchic-yet-reliable show like Space Ghost from more random and alienating Adult Swim content like 12 oz. Mouse.
Space Ghost Coast to Coast was so emboldening for creators in the internet age. Taking old Hanna Barbera cartoons, chopping and screwing them, recording VO in a closet in Atlanta’s Turner building — it made creating comedy seem accessible to those of us in the flyover states. And they were a huge opportunity for Lowe, who got national airtime for the first time in his broadcasting career.
Below are some of the best performances of Lowe as Space Ghost.