RIP Peter Cullen

In what is turning out to be a trying week, it is sad to report the passing of Canadian actor Peter Cullen at the age of 84. Although well-known for numerous roles, he will forever be iconically known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise.Born in Montreal in 1941, Cullen graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1963. He worked as an announcer for Montreal radio. He began working in television in Canada and picked up interest from American television. He made a breakthrough by appearing regularly on The Sonny & Cher Show from 1971 to 1974.In the early 1980s Cullen's agent spotted the emerging genre of animated television with toy tie-in lines, and put Cullen forwards for multiple roles. Cullen impressed the team at Sunbow Television responsible for the animated tie-in to Hasbro's Transformers line (initially an extensive import and rebranding of Takara's Diaclone and Microchange toy lines from Japan) and was cast in the core role of Optimus Prime,…