Actor Peter Cullen, who voiced popular characters including Optimus Prime in Transformers and Eeyore in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh franchise, has died at the age of 85.
He died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, a statement said.
The actor initially begun on Canadian TV shows in the 60s, such as The Buddies, Funny You Should Say That, and was the announcer for the radio show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He then transitioned to American comedy shows like The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show.
Cullen recalled auditioning for the role of the infamous Autobot leader Optimus Prime at a casting house in Burbank, California, explaining that as he read Prime’s character breakdown, he saw that it was “the opportunity of the year”, and heeded his brother Larry’s advice: “Peter, don’t be a Hollywood hero, be a real hero. Real heroes don’t yell and act tough; they’re tough enough to be gentle, so control yourself.”
He reprised the role of Optimus Prime in the 2007 Transformers live-action film, the sequels Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction and The Last Knight, the reboot and its sequel, Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts and the video games based on the film series. Though he was only contractually obligated to voice Optimus up to The Last Knight, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura stated in 2021 that Cullen was welcome to voice the character for as long as he wanted.
Cullen again reprised his role as Optimus Prime in the video games Transformers: War for Cybertron, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Transformers: Devastation, and in the television series Transformers: Rescue Bots, Transformers: Prime and Transformers: Robots in Disguise. His performance in the premiere season of Transformers: Prime earned him a nomination for a 2011 Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program category.
Cullen gave his brother a cut of the wages he received for playing Optimus Prime until his death.
Cullen voiced the melancholic donkey Eeyore in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh TV series from the late 1980s as well as numerous related shows, films and games.
His other notable roles included the roars of King Kong for the 1976 remake, and KARR – Knight Automated Roving Robot, the evil counterpart to KITT – in the Knight Rider series in 1982 and 2009.
The actor is also credited with coming up with the eerie clicking sounds that emerged from the mouth of the monster in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Predator in 1987.
His family said: “Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family – and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide.
“His family asks that you honour his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember, ‘be strong enough to be gentle’.”
Rest in peace, Peter Cullen.
