Michael John Roberts died on November 11 of glioblastoma in Los Angeles at age 48. The family announcement said he died peacefully at home surrounded by his family, closing a career that moved from children’s television into adult animation.
Bree Williamson and the family
“With heavy hearts, we share the passing of Michael John Roberts,” the family said. Bree Williamson, his wife, is the actor who played Jessica Buchanan on One Life to Live, and he is also survived by his son McGreggor, his sister Jane Roberts, his niece Gwen, his nephew Vaughan and his cousin Hrothgar Cashmore.
“Although his illness came suddenly and the time that followed was heartbreakingly short, it cannot define the man he was,” the family said. That line does more than mark a loss; it tells the timeline. Roberts was born on December 20, 1977, in Toronto, started as an animator in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and kept working across credits that reached 2026.
TripTank and BoJack Horseman
From 2014 to 2016, Roberts co-created and directed TripTank for Comedy Central, then animated the 2015 opening sequence of BoJack Horseman and directed two episodes of the series. By the time BoJack Horseman wrapped in 2020, he had already built a catalog that moved between sketch comedy, adult animation and production work without staying in one lane.
He also directed episodes of F Is for Family, Final Space, MrBeast Lab, Strange Planet and Masters of the Universe: Tales from Eternia. That range matters because it shows the scale of the career now cut short: one animator-director-producer whose credits stretched across series, specials and different formats, rather than a single signature title.
Hot Wheels and 2026
Roberts also produced Dallas & Robo, Hot Wheels Let’s Race and a 2026 TV special from the Hot Wheels franchise. His death leaves those credits as part of a body of work that was still active, even as his family described the illness as sudden and the period that followed as heartbreakingly short.
The unanswered piece is specific: which projects, if any, he was actively working on immediately before his death is not stated. What is clear is that Michael John Roberts left behind a career that began in Toronto, moved through Angela Anaconda and The Hoobs, and ended with work still attached to 2026.
