How long did Peter Cullen voice Winnie the Pooh’s Eeyore? Inside the Transformers star’s career in Hollywood as he dies at 85

The man behind the voice of Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots in the 1984 animated series Transformers, Peter Cullen, passed away on August 26, 2026, at his LA residence. He was 85. According to the Daily Mail, the cause of his death has not been officially announced yet; however, the legendary voice actor's agent, Kevin Motley, confirmed the unfortunate news.

Born during the Second World War in 1941 in Canada, Peter Cullen faced his fair share of struggle before landing the big job voicing Optimus Prime. While he aspired to be an actor back in the day, Cullen eventually gave up on that dream, thinking he wasn't meant for it. Following Peter's death, his family released a statement, which read:

"Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family - and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide."

The statement further added:

"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.'"

While Peter Cullen gained major attention for his voice in the Transformers animated series and in the multi-billion-dollar film franchise initially directed by Michael Bay, starring prominent actors like Shia LaBeouf and later Mark Wahlberg, he also voiced different characters in Disney's Winnie the Pooh films and animated series.

However, Peter Cullen's first job with Disney was in the 1988 animated series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, where he voiced the character of the grey donkey, Eeyore. According to reports, Cullen voiced Eeyore's character for 29 years, from 1988 to 2017.

Inside the Hollywood career of the late Peter Cullen

Besides his major involvement in the Transformers franchise and Disney's Winnie the Pooh, the legendary voice actor Peter Cullen, at the request of his agent, went to audition for the film Predator.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, while he was already working on a different project, Cullen went for the audition, where the producers of the film chose not to reveal what the creature looked like. Peter then explained his method of approaching a character, and said:

"If I can’t see the character, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I have to have something to relate to, to put myself inside of."

Peter continued and said:

"I saw this ugly, ugly face and these tentacles [moving around]. It reminded me of an upside-down horseshoe crab dying in the sun on a beach when I was a kid. Nasty. But from that was coming all these crackling sounds, bubbles that were coming out and bursting."

After gaining mainstream fame, Peter Cullen became one of Hollywood's celebrated voice actors, who left a unique mark on every character he voiced. Besides being a part of several successful films and animated series, Cullen had also worked in television and radio.

As Peter's career in Hollywood began in 1967 after CBS hired him for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the late voice actor slowly started landing jobs in comedy sketches. After becoming a prominent name in Hollywood for his voice acting skills, Peter Cullen, during an interview, was asked about the Transformers film series reaching the billion-dollar threshold, to which he said:

"It's a staggering thought, and it's humbling at the same time. There is such great talent behind the scenes as well as from the artistry to the conception to the writing to the directing to the acting."

Peter went ahead and added:

Trending

"For me, I take great pride in being a part of it. It will never cease to be an area of conversation in my life, and thankfully so, because it is such a positive feeling to be able to talk about it. It's one of the highlights of my life."

Keep following Soap Central for more.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback