Peter Cullen, 1941 - 2026

Canadian-born voice actor Peter Cullen, 85, died on Aug. 26. Cullen most famously voiced the heroic Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise. Starting on radio, he costarred in the Canadian comedy Funny You Should Say That. He was the announcer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and was part of the troupe of players on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and the cringe-making The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. But his pay-the-rent work was in voice-overs: he growled for King Kong in the 1976 remake, played various characters on the Spider-Man, Ghostbusters, Voltron, Rainbow Brite, and Little Rascals cartoon series, among others (did you know the Gummi Bears had their own TV show? Kee-rist), and voiced KARR in at least one Knight Rider episode. Cullen based the voice of Optimus Prime on his brother Larry, a Vietnam War veteran: “He was quieter and he was a man and a superhero to me," Cullen said. "I watched him and listened to him. I'd never had an opportunity to do a superhero, and when that came, [that voice] just came right out of me and I sounded like Optimus."