Peter Cullen in 2023
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After the tragic deaths of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry in the last 48 hours, another Hollywood legend has died. Peter Cullen, age 85, has died, the actor most famous for voicing the lead Transformer, Optimus Prime, for 40 years and counting.
Cullen’s death, the cause of which is unknown, was first reported by TMZ and was confirmed by a statement made by 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. 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 was an icon across television and movies for his role as Optimus Prime in dozens of projects, but voiced many other characters as well across shows like Invincible, Voltron and a very long stint as Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh features.
As for his Transformers run, Cullen voiced the character almost exclusively for the entire existence of the Autobot, starting in the original animated series in 1984. From there, he voiced Optimus Prime in every live-action Transformers movie there’s been, five mainline films along with Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts. He held the role in modern Transformers animated series and a number of Transformers video games as well. He is the most connected to this iconic role as almost any other actor has been in the medium.
Cullen has no upcoming projects listed on his IMDB page, though there are a number of upcoming Transformers features reportedly in the works from a GI Joe crossover film to a live-action feature outside the main continuity of the other films. There is little doubt that Cullen would have starred in those, were Optimus Prime featured.
It has been an awful week for fans of Parton, Curry and now Cullen. May Cullen be remembered a giant of the industry for all his roles, including his most famous. Thoughts are with his family.
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