NEW YORK — Peter Cullen, the Canadian voice actor behind Optimus Prime and Winnie the Pooh’s glum pal, Eeyore, has died. He was 85 years old.

Cullen died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, his agent, Kevin Motley, told The Hollywood Reporter. The cause was not provided.

“Peter Cullen passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,” his family said in a statement shared with multiple media outlets. “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.”

Born in Montreal, Cullen kicked off his career as a live-action performer and he also served as the announcer for “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.”

Cullen first started voicing Optimus Prime in the original animated “Transformers” series, which debuted in 1984. It ran for three years, and Cullen went on to voice the leader of the Autobots in every live-action Transformers movie: five main franchise films as well as “Bumblebee” and “Rise of the Beasts.” He also played Optimus Prime in the modern “Transformers” animated series in addition to several Transformers video games.

“I auditioned like everybody else,” he said in a 2014 interview with NPR. “I was told it was a hero, and I was told it was a truck.”

Cullen also served as the voice of Eeyore on the 1988-91 series “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,” the feature “Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year” in 2002 and on other shows and videos. In addition, Cullen is responsible for coming up with eerie clicking sound the monster made in 1987’s “Predator.”

-----------

©2026 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.