Peter Cullen, who voiced Optimus Prime in Transformers and Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, has died aged 85.
The Canadian voice actor passed away in his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, surrounded by his family.
Remembered for giving Optimus Prime his distinct baritone voice, Cullen’s acting career spanned decades, with roles in The Smurfs and GI Joe, as well as the iconic pessimistic donkey Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh.
A family statement issued by his agent read: “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.”
Cullen first voiced Optimus Prime in the 1980s TV show The Transformers and its spin-off film The Transformers: The Movie in 1986. He reprised the role in the live action of the series in 2007 and later played a shapeshifting truck robot in other Transformers films.
He said his depiction of Prime was inspired by his brother, a Vietnam War veteran.
“He was my hero, and he certainly was the mainstay behind the character,” Cullen told The Associated Press in 2019.
“I just did an impression of Larry, and he’s still alive in my mind today because every time I do Prime, there’s my brother Larry,” he said.
Other acting highlights include voicing Karr, the evil prototype of rival Kitt in the 1980s series Knight Rider and the title role in King Kong, 1976.
He was also an announcer at the groundbreaking late-1960s comedy and variety series, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
In 2023, he won the lifetime achievement award at the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards.
Cullen would attend conventions around the country to meet with fans from multiple generations, often getting teary. He said parents sometimes got more excited than their children meeting him.
“I expect that I will run into a father with his son, and the father will more than likely get choked up,” Cullen said before MegaCon Orlando in 2019, adding, “and then I get choked up, and then the kid is saying ‘What are these two grown men getting choked up about?’”
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