Everyone has heard of Dolly Parton’s passing but what they might not know is Peter Cullen also passed away. This morning I wanted to share more on the people behind our memories- movies, music, television, wrestling and the people who touched our lives.
Charlie is always good about updating me on anyone who passes away. Sometimes I may not recognize a person’s name or their voice. This is when Charlie researches and tells me about that person, and suddenly an entire piece of my life comes rushing back.
That is what happened the other day when Charlie let me know Peter Cullen had passed away on August 26, 2026, at the age of 85. I didn’t know who he was until Charlie told me was best known for two voices that seem almost impossible to put together in the same sentence:
Optimus Prime someone Charlie has loved since forever and a day and Eeyore. My most favorite Winnie the Pooh Character ever. The funny part was he was responsible for many other memorable performances, including work in King Kong one of Charlie’s favorite movies, Predator, Knight Rider a show David and I watched back in the day, The Smurfs David likes, G.I. Joe which Gerald and David played with the action figures as kids and countless other television shows, films and animated projects.
But around our house, two names are enough to make this personal. Optimus Prime. And Eeyore. Optimus Prime Was Part of Charlie’s Childhood Transformers weren’t just something Charlie watched. They became part of our family. And if you’ve ever lived with a child who really loves something, you know what I mean.
It isn’t just a television show anymore. It becomes conversations. Toys and games. Movies. Questions. Collections. Characters. And memories. As well as #Homeschool Lessons for Charlie.
Charlie has always loved Transformers, and he introduced me to Optimus Prime who was one of those characters that became part of his world. Peter Cullen gave Optimus Prime a voice that sounded strong without simply sounding angry.
That distinction matters. Cullen’s family has explained that the character’s voice was inspired in part by his brother, who was a Marine veteran. The goal was strength with humanity rather than simply making Optimus sound like a machine. That gives us an entirely different way to look at a character. A voice can tell you who someone is.
Then There’s Eeyore And here’s where our family story gets even more interesting. Because I was Eeyore. My sister was Owl until Charlie came along and eventually took over that spot.
When Suzzane was alive my family all became Winnie the Pooh characters. Suzanne was Tigger. David Michael was Piglet. David was Winnie the Pooh. And when Charlie came along, he became Roo because he was the baby.
We have had Winnie the Pooh woven through our family for years. Tigger is even on Suzanne’s gravestone because everyone knew Suzanne was Tigger. At her funeral, many of us wore Disney shirts, and Pooh and Tigger were everywhere.
So imagine my reaction when I learned that the same man who gave Optimus Prime his powerful voice also gave Eeyore his voice. How in the world can the voice of Optimus Prime also be Eeyore? That’s the magic of voice acting.
Peter Cullen’s career stretched across decades and included more than the two characters most people immediately recognize. He voiced characters in animation and he worked in television. He worked in movies and he created creature sounds.
He returned to Optimus Prime again and again, including the live-action Transformers movies and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Which is looks like there is a movie night in our home as we watch all the transformer’s movies. Would you like to join us?
He also provided the vocal effects for the Predator in the 1987 film and voiced the giant ape in the 1976 King Kong remake. Another movies we need to sit down and watch because I haven’t see all of King Kong. Have you?
That’s the kind of career that makes you stop and think: How many times did I hear this man’s work without knowing his name? Probably more than once. Which is why Charlie and I enjoyed learning about people we admire
Peter Cullen gives us an easy homeschool conversation. You don’t have to study Transformers if your family isn’t interested in Transformers. You can simply study voice acting.
Where you can ask the following questions: What makes a voice sound happy? What makes it sound sad? How can someone make a character sound old? How can someone make a robot sound human? How can the same actor create two completely different characters?
Take one sentence and say it three ways. Say it like Optimus Prime or say it like Eeyore. Then create your own character. That’s theater. That’s storytelling. That’s creativity. And that’s learning.
There is something else I love about Peter Cullen’s career. He reminds us that we don’t have to be only one thing. A person can be the powerful leader of the Autobots and the gloomy little donkey who needs a little encouragement.
A voice actor can work in children’s animation, movies, television and creature effects. And one person can become part of completely different generations of memories. For me, Peter Cullen is now connected to Charlie, Transformers, Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh, Suzanne, my family and all those little pieces of childhood that never completely disappear.
This is just our first Peter Cullen story. If Optimus Prime was part of your childhood, if Eeyore was one of your favorite Winnie-the-Pooh characters, or if you’re simply curious about the man behind those voices, keep watching Greatful Moments.
We’ll be coming back to Peter Cullen where more characters, more movies, more voice-acting stories and more family memories waiting to be told. Because sometimes the people who touched our lives weren’t the people we saw on screen. Sometimes they were the people whose voices made the characters unforgettable. And Peter Cullen certainly gave us voices we won’t forget.
Are you Optimus Prime? Eeyore or King Kong why?
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
