Robert Axelrod, best known as the voice of the villain Lord Zedd on the '90s children's series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, has sadly passed away at the age of 70. In a statement posted to Axelrod's official Twitter account, the actor's agent confirms he passed away over the weekend, although the cause of death was not revealed. "Robert enjoyed meeting his fans and inspiring them to follow their passions," Axelrod's agent says in the statement."His beautiful and kindred soul will never be forgotten and we take comfort in knowing his memory will live on in all those he inspired, met and knew."

Hailing from New York City, Axelrod began his acting career doing commercials and theater in his childhood. As a young man, he left acting to pursue work as a rock musician, playing electric bass and singing in various folk, rock, and soul bands. After spending several years as a rocker and relocating to Los Angeles, Axelrod chose to get back into acting, working as an actor and voice actor. In the '80s, he had picked up his first major role as the voice of Rico on the animated series Robotech, also appearing in movies like The Blob, Sorority House Massacre, and Death Wish 4: The Crackdown.

In the '90s, Axelrod took on perhaps his most legendary role when he was cast as the voice of Lord Zedd in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Replacing Rita Repulsa as the primary villain of the show, Lord Zedd is still perhaps the most memorable antagonist from the long-running TV series. Additionally, Axelrod also provided the voice of the monster creator Finster. His work on the show also led to appearances in the first Power Rangers movie and the live show tour, as well as continuing to voice other various characters in the multiple spin-offs the franchise has been producing following Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

During his time on Power Rangers, Axelrod also appeared as the voice of The Punisher's sidekick Microchip on Spider-Man: The Animated Series. He would later go on to pick up recurring roles in the Digimon franchise and Transformers: Robots in Disguise. As an actor, Axelrod has appeared in shows like Star Trek: Voyager, The Neighbors, and Amazing Stories. He also had memorable appearances in the TV series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as well as its Christmas special and feature film adaptation Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. Axelrod has performed dozens upon dozens of other roles throughout the course of his career as well, with his agent crediting him with creating over 150 characters during his time as an actor.

Axelrod's final acting credit would be for the 2019 movie Induced Effect, which sees him playing the character Mr. Rodgers. Having given so much to this world creatively, Axelrod's legacy will always be remembered, and we thank him for his contributions. At this time, our thoughts are with Axelrod's family and friends. This news comes to us from Robert Axelrod on Twitter.