Optimus Prime, Eeyore, prolific voice actor Peter Cullen dies at 85
by Fred Topel · UPIAug. 27 (UPI) -- Peter Cullen died Wednesday at age 85. His agent, Kevin Motley, confirmed Thursday with Variety and Deadline.
Cullen voiced Autobot leader Optimus Prime in the original Transformers animated series and live-action movies through 2023's Rise of the Beasts, as well as a 2024 episode of The Masked Singer.
He also voiced Eeyore in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and subsequent specials and movies. His creature voices include Gremlins and the original Predator.
Other long-running series credits include Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, the animated Rambo series, Voltron and Heathcliff. He was a regular voice on the Filmation animated Ghostbusters and in one episode of The Real Ghostbusters, based on the live-action movies.
Cullen also provided various voices on Spider-Man, Scooby-Doo, G.I. Joe, Alvin & The Chipmunks, Muppet Babies, My Little Pony and more. His last credit was the series Invincible.
In the '60s and '70s, Cullen appeared on The Smothers Brothers and Sonny and Cher TV shows.
The Cullen family said he died at home surrounded by family. No cause of death was released.
Notable deaths of 2026
Yayoi Kusama
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama poses with her artwork during a media preview for the 'Yayoi Kusama: My Eternal Soul' exhibition at the National Art Center in Tokyo, Japan, on February 21, 2017. Kusama died August 14 at a Tokyo hospital. She was 97. Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA