Michael Haley, who voiced the purple protector of the otherworldly Outback in the MTV animated series The Maxx, has died at 67. His son, Brendan Haley, told Entertainment Weekly that the actor died after a “very abrupt battle with cancer.”

“It is with a heavy heart I write that in the early hours of Saturday morning, my dad, Michael Haley, passed away after a very abrupt battle with cancer which had been diagnosed mere months prior,” Brendan said in a statement. “Our family remains shocked and saddened by the rapid onset of his illness, but despite these tragic circumstances, we pressed close to ensure he was comfortable and surrounded by those he loved fiercely in the last days of his life. I remember my father as innately kind with a goofy sense of humor, traits he kept through these last few weeks, and the same traits best seen across his work in television, film, and radio.”

Brendan’s statement continues, “I remember my father as innately kind with a goofy sense of humor, traits he kept through these last few weeks, and the same traits best seen across his work in television, film, and radio. He was a fearless and unique talent, most notable for voicing the titular big purple superhero Maxx in MTV / Liquid Television’s animated series The Maxx (1995). While we miss him dearly, Dad can always be found roaming the wilds of that other jungle world with the Leopard Queen, performing tremendous feats of heroism.”