Legendary voice actor Peter Cullen, best known around the world as the voice of Optimus Prime, has passed away at the age of 85.

Cullen died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, bringing to a close a remarkable career spanning more than six decades. While Optimus Prime became his defining role, beginning with the original Transformers animated series in 1984 and continuing through numerous television series, films, and video games, his work spanned countless other projects.

Among his other notable roles were Eeyore throughout numerous Winnie the Pooh productions, Monterey Jack in Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers, and even the vocalizations of the Predator in the original 1987 film.

For Ghostbusters fans, Cullen also lent his talents to The Real Ghostbusters, voicing Dr. Destructo and a police captain in the 1987 episode “Captain Steel Saves the Day,” which saw the comic book villain enter the real world alongside his heroic arch-enemy, eventually taking over the Firehouse and setting his sights on world domination.

Interestingly, The Real Ghostbusters wasn’t Cullen’s only brush with something strange in the neighborhood, as he was also one of the stars of Filmation’s Ghostbusters, voicing Eddie Spenser Jr., along with characters including Brat-A-Rat and Haunter.

Separate from Columbia Pictures’ Ghostbusters franchise, Filmation’s animated series was based on its own 1975 live-action series The Ghost Busters. With Filmation’s Ghostbusters arriving the same year as The Real Ghostbusters, the two cartoons famously competed for young viewers, making Cullen’s involvement in both a fun piece of Ghostbusters history.

In announcing his passing, Cullen’s family asked fans to honor his legacy through compassion, integrity, and loyalty, and to remember his words: “be strong enough to be gentle.”

From all of us here at Ghostbusters News, our condolences go out to Cullen’s family, friends, colleagues, and the countless fans mourning his passing.