René Murat Auberjonois (/rəˈneɪ oʊˈbɛərʒənwɑː/; June 1, 1940, New York City, New York, USA - December 8, 2019, Los Angeles, California, USA) was an American actor and singer. In films, Auberjonois portrayed Father Mulcahy in M*A*S*H (1970), and Chef Louis in The Little Mermaid (1989), in which he sang "Les Poissons". In the American animated musical comedy film, Cats Don't Dance (1997), Auberjonois lent his voice as Flanagan, the human film director of "Li'l Ark Angel".
In various long-running television series, Auberjonois portrayed a number of characters, including: Clayton Endicott III on Benson (for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award), Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Paul Lewiston on Boston Legal.
Auberjonois was active in radio drama. He read "The Stunt" by Mordechai Strigler for the NPR series Jewish Stories From the Old World to the New, and he has recorded novels on tape. On PRI, he was featured numerous times on Selected Shorts, reading works of dramatic fiction.
His voice was heard in Disney's The Little Mermaid (receiving alphabetical top billing as Chef Louis and singing "Les Poissons"), and as The Skull in The Last Unicorn.
He did voicework on the Challenge of the GoBots series in 1980s as Dr. Braxis, He was the voice of Peter Parker on the 1972 Buddah Records Spider-Man LP "From Beyond the Grave" (BDS 5119), a radio-style narrative replete with sound effects and rock and roll song interludes provided by "The Webspinners", in which the characters of The Vulture, The Lizard, The Green Goblin, The Kingpin, Aunt May and Doctor Strange appeared.
In 1984 and 1985, Auberjonois lent his voice to Desaad, an associate of the villainous Darkseid on the animated series, Super Friends. He lent his talent to the Bolar Wars season of Star Blazers in which he was the voice of Sandor. From 1986 to 1987, he voiced Alvinar in the cartoons series Wildfire. He also provided the voice of Professor Genius in Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. René provided the voice for Janos Audron, an ancient vampire in the Legacy of Kain video game series; he was in Soul Reaver 2, Blood Omen 2, and Legacy of Kain: Defiance. He provided the voice of Angler in the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End video game. He voice-played General Zod in the Joseph Ruby-Kenneth Spears animated Superman series episode titled "The Hunter".
In an interview with Compassion & Choices Magazine, Judith Auberjonois revealed that René underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer in 2018. It was discovered in 2019 that the cancer had spread to his brain. Due to the potential for serious cognitive side effects, Auberjonois chose not to pursue the whole-brain radiation treatment suggested by his doctors. As a resident of the State of California, Auberjonois decided to seek medical aid in dying under the California End of Life Option Act. Before using an aid-in-dying medication, Auberjonois spent his final hours with his family reminiscing over photos and listening to music by the Beatles. The California End of Life Option Act stipulates that death certificates should list the underlying terminal illness as the cause of death, rather than the use of life ending medications. Auberjonois’ official cause of death was metastatic lung cancer. Auberjonois died at his home in Los Angeles on December 8, 2019, at age 79.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-2013 | 
|
Lenard Mcleish | Pound Puppies (2010) |
| 2003 | 
|
Master Fung | Xiaolin Showdown |
| 1997 | 
|
Professor | Extreme Ghostbusters |
| 1988-1991 | 
|
Boris Roquefort | A Pup Named Scooby-Doo |
| 1989 | 
|
Louis the Chef | The Little Mermaid |
| 1984-1989 | 
|
Dr. Strangesnork | Snorks |
| 1982 | 
|
Stranger | The Smurfs' Christmas Special |