re: Peter Cullen has died

“You got the touch, you got the powerrrrrr…yeah!!!!!”

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I would rate him #2 right behind JEJ's Darth Vader voice.

I can't think of a single other character actor that has crossed so many generations of popularity as these two.

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That's an accurate assessment, IMO.

The Mount Rushmore of Voiceover would be different for each generation, to be sure, but if you're trying to establish GOAT status across all media for all time, I don't think that Cullen would make the Top 4. For me, it's Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, June Foray & Frank Welker.

That said - if considering single character performances, I'd argue that his role as Optimus Prime is absolutely up there with JEJ as Vader, Welker as Megatron and I'm torn on deciding a fourth.

In the modern era, I'd offer up Tara Strong, Rob Paulsen, Jim Cummings and possibly Grey DeLisle. Billy West, Tress MacNeille & Maurice LaMarche would likely earn the Honorable Mentions there.

ETA- It's worth mentioning that Frank Welker has the distinction of being the most prolific voice actor in history, netting more than 800+ credits to his resume. It should be said that the way VO credit was structured in the Golden Age of WB shorts, Mel Blanc was often the only credited voice in the Looney Tunes shorts, even though people like June Foray would have character voices she provided for the same shorts.

"Autobots Roll Out! "
"One shall stand, one shall fall."

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Basically anyone who wasn't alive at the time and actively consuming the content from 3-6pm, M-F.

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I mean, I was alive at the time, and the target age - I just didn't remember if I was watching them religiously after school or as soon as I woke up on Saturdays.

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they thought Transformers, He-Man, GI Joe, Jem & the Holograms, et al. were Saturday morning cartoons.

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My biggest stress in first grade was making sure we got home from school in time to watch transformers

Transformers the movie is re-releasing next month

Going to hit extra hard now

Yeah, I didn't have any siblings at the time, but having the TV to myself without having to worry about sharing with anyone was definitely a fringe benefit of being an only child + latchkey kid.

Looking through his IMDB credits, it's interesting to note that in the time since the OG Transformers series ended after 1987, he didn't step behind the mic as Optimus Prime again until Michael Bay's 2007 film resurrected the franchise. I didn't realize he's hung it up as Prime for 20 years. No wonder it felt like such a big deal when he came back.

it was obvious that Transformers had gone off the rails in the 1990s (Beast Wars, etc), so that avenue was never an option to resume the character. Once Transformers wrapped, He kept himself working as assorted Disney Afternoon characters (Monterrey Jack in Rescue Rangers, notably).


Then, he landed the role of Eeyore and didn't look back for quite some time.

That's what pissed me off about the casting of Hemsworth in Transformers: One. He's a great guy, but as we have seen - we are not guaranteed tomorrow with these legends still among us.

Recasting the role when the actor passes is one thing, but doing it when they're still working is sacrilege to me.

I get it that I'm too close to the situation as someone who has done professional VO and always wanted to break into that elite tier of LA-based icons, but as a fan first, it never sat well with me.

They've recast the TMNT crew so many times that it doesn't sting as much to hear folks other than Rob Paulsen, Barry Gordon, Townsend Coleman & Cam Clarke voice those characters, but Optimus Prime & Megatron are in a class of their own. Again - tantamount to recasting Vader.