Honoring the Voice That Transformed a Generation
By: R.A. Rayne
It’s weird to think that just over a month earlier, I was standing on the balcony of the House of Blues in San Diego, talking to Samantha Newark, another iconic voice from the 1980s, as we prepared to honor the 40th anniversary of the animated Transformers movie at Hasbro’s concert wake for Optimus Prime.
Hasbro Coachella, a term my daughter coined, featured Britta Phillips (the singing voice of Jem), Cold Slither, Andy Selway (KMFDM), Francesco Cavalieri (Wind Rose, V.B.O.), Brittney Slayes (Unleash the Archers), Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), Kerry King, Stan Bush, Vince DiCola (the legendary singer-songwriter and composer for Transformers: The Movie), Sebastian Bach, and the Knights of Unicron (Matt Harvey (Exhumed, Gruesome), Ross ‘Dok’ Sewage (Exhumed, Ghoul), and Gus Rios (Gruesome, ex-Malevolent Creation)).
The night was electric; the venue and crowd were amazing, and the bands were on fire. Standing there with my daughter as we sang along to Jem and the Holograms, Cold Slither, and the others brought me back to my childhood, when I played with my G.I. Joes and Transformers while my sister, dressed in her pink wig, sang and danced to Totally Outrageous. But when Stan Bush began to play The Death of Optimus Prime, I, like many, I’m sure, could not help but think about Peter.
Although his health concerns were not public, it was known that they were the reason he had pulled back from attending conventions. Peter’s health sparked many online discussions and concerns about whether Hasbro should hold a ‘wake’ for Optimus Prime. Fans feared that holding such an event might have the power and the touch to speed up the sands of fate for Peter, and as absurd as that might be, looking back now, one might say it might have been a siren’s call to the Allspark.
In the week and a half that we lost Hayden Panettiere, Dolly Parton, and Tim Curry, learning that Peter Cullen had passed away as well was heart-wrenching. Each one of these celebrities was iconic in their own right.
Who can ever forget that if we save the cheerleader, we save the world? While Hayden Panettiere wasn’t the first badass cheerleader on television, she was the most indestructible. Who could forget her roles in Remember the Titans and the Scream franchise? Although Hayden may not have had the longevity of the others, her star shone brightly.
Speaking of shining brightly, few have shone as brightly as Dolly. Whether it was her voice, her acting, her look, or her generosity, there will never be another like Dolly Parton. And speaking of cheerleaders, not many know that we might not have had another badass vampire-slaying cheerleader without Dolly. Thanks to the unsung help of Dolly and her production team, Bully the Vampire Slayer got made.
As for slaying it, if Tim Curry isn’t listed among your actors, then you don’t have a clue. Whether it is playing an interdimensional psycho kid-killing clown, a sweet transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania, or a frantic and quick-witted butler, Tim Curry is a Legend.
Sending only a quick, little pun-filled paragraph on these three great people is unfair, especially since I could easily spend the next 10,000 words just talking about one of them. As for Peter Cullen, many may not know the man, but there is no doubt they have heard his voice.
I was fortunate enough to meet Peter on a few occasions. Being someone who attends several comic cons a year, I couldn’t help but run into the man himself. But I have to say, my favorite time meeting him was coming out of a voiceover booth audition and hearing him say, “That was really good.” To be told that by someone like Peter was an amazing feeling. Getting to stand there and talk to him on a personal and professional level was even better. Years later, my daughter had nearly the same encounter after she, too, had a voiceover session and was leaving the booth for one project, and he was getting ready for another.
Now, I don’t tell you these stories to grandstand, but to show what kind of man Peter Cullen was. We all know his body of work. He has played characters ranging from the Predator’s vocalizations to Murky in Rainbow Brite. Peter has voiced at least 218 cartoon characters, including Eeyore in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, Monterey Jack in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Airborne, Zandar, and the Nemesis Enforcer in the G.I. Joe cartoons, and, most recently, Thaedus in Robert Kirkman’s Invincible. But his most notable role was the transforming semi-truck Optimus Prime.
Peter credits his brother Larry for the inspiration of Prime’s iconic voice. After Larry returned from serving in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, Peter said his brother had changed. “When he came home, I could see a change. He was quieter, and he was a man and a superhero to me. 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 Optinot Larry to Peter that real heroes do not need to yell or act tough, but should instead be strong enough to show compassion.
Despite Optimus Prime’s deep, thunderous voice, Peter Cullen was soft-spoken and very approachable. He loved attending conventions and meeting fans. He was a family man who lived by the motto “be strong enough to be gentle.” Peter had four children and three grandchildren, and he developed a love for NASA after seeing the Apollo 11 landing.
For his work, Peter won an Emmy Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2nd Children’s and Family Emmy Awards in December 2023. In 2014, he was immortalized by leaving his handprints in wet concrete at the Optimus Prime Chinese Theatre Handprint Ceremony. Peter Cullen will forever be the voice of a generation and one of the greatest voice-over actors to ever step behind the microphone.
“Till all are one.”
