What To Know
- Peter Cullen, renowned Canadian voice actor best known for voicing Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise and Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, has died at age 85.
- His prolific career spanned decades, including roles in Knight Rider, Predator, King Kong (1976), and more.
Peter Cullen has died at the age of 85. Cullen was a prolific voice actor who played Transformers‘ Optimus Prime in both the animated and live-action franchises, Winnie the Pooh‘s Eeyore, the evil K.A.R.R. in Knight Rider, and more. He was also known for voicing the menacing clicking sounds that came out of the monster’s mouth in Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Cullen’s death was announced on Thursday, August 27, but Cullen died on August 26 in his home in Los Angeles, his agent, Kevin Motley, told The Hollywood Reporter. An official cause of death has not been disclosed.
The Canadian actor “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,” Cullen’s family said in a statement. The 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 recently played the voice of Thadeus in Invincible on Prime Video. He also played the voice of King Kong in the 1976 remake. His live-action work in the early years of his career included being the announcer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
He started voicing Optimus Prime in 1984 and continued through 1987. There was public outcry after his character was killed by Megatron in 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie, which prompted the franchise to bring him back in the 1987 movie The Transformers: The Return of Optimus Prime.
Michael Bay cast Cullen as his famous character in the live-action film series that began in 2007. He continued to play the voice of the beloved robot in Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Dark of the Moon (2011), Age of Extinction (2014), The Last Knight (2017), Bumblebee (2018), and Rise of the Beasts (2023).
Cullen earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for his performance as Optimus Prime in Transformers: Prime (2010 to 2013). He was also involved in NASA’s Optimus Prime Spinoff Award, a contest for kids that raises awareness of how NASA technologies contribute to our everyday lives.
Paramount/Everett Collection
His work as Eeyore began in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, a series that ran from 1988 to 1991. He also voiced Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year (2002) and more Winnie the Pooh shows and videos.
Cullen was born on July 28, 1941, in Montreal. His parents, Henry and Muriel, were American, and he was one of four siblings. Cullen was part of the first graduating class at the National Theatre School of Canada in 1963. He used his voice talents on radio and TV in Canada until booking the job as the announcer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in Hollywood. He also appeared in sketches on Sonny & Cher and The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Comedy Show.
Other voice acting credits include Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Lion Voltron, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, Vehicle Voltron, Saturday Supercade, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Cullen is survived by his children, Angus, Claire, Pilar, and Clay.