Peter Cullen, Voice of Optimus Prime, Dies at 85

Voice actor Peter Cullen, best known for voicing Autobot leader Optimus Prime across the Transformers franchise, has died at age 85. Cullen also brought life to Eeyore in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh cartoons and built a prolific career across decades of children’s television and film.

TMZ first reported Cullen’s death and shared a statement from his family.

“Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,” the family statement reads. “His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember ‘be strong enough to be gentle.'”

Cullen first voiced Optimus Prime in 1984 for the original animated series based on the Hasbro toyline. He returned to the role repeatedly over the decades, performing in video games, animated spinoffs, and live-action feature films directed by Michael Bay, Travis Knight (Bumblebee), and Steven Caple Jr. (Rise of the Beasts).

Beyond the Transformers universe, Cullen was a fixture of Saturday morning television throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He voiced Mario in the original Donkey Kong animated series, provided the guttural sounds of the extraterrestrial hunter in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 sci-fi film Predator, and appeared in shows such as Voltron: Defender of the Universe, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Dungeons & Dragons, Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, and early Spider-Man cartoons. More recently, Cullen played the character Thaedus in the animated series Invincible.

Source: Polygon