Bud Luckey, a veteran animator and voice actor whose significant role at Pixar included designing the iconic character of Woody for the "Toy Story" films, has died. He was 83.

Luckey's death was confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter by his son, Andy, who told the trade that Luckey passed away on Saturday at a hospice in Newtown, Connecticut "after an extended illness."

Luckey's prolific career included multiple contributions to beloved children's program "Sesame Street," for which he wrote and performed counting songs and other jingles. He went on to spend many years working for Disney and Pixar (he retired from animation in 2008), and has been credited with coming up with the character design of Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) for 1995's "Toy Story," reportedly drawing some 200 mock-ups of the cowboy doll.

The animator also contributed characters to "A Bug's Life," "Monsters, Inc.," and "Cars." He received an Oscar nomination for the 2003 animated short "Boundin'," which he wrote, directed, narrated, voiced, sung, and composed himself. The short also won an Annie Award.

In addition to his animation work, Luckey also had several prominent voice acting roles, including Rick Dicker, the head of the Superhero Relocation Program, in 2003's "The Incredibles" (the role has been recast for this year's sequel); Chuckles the Clown in "Toy Story 3"; and Eeyore in 2011's "Winnie the Pooh."

[via: The Hollywood Reporter]