Peter Renaday Original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles voice actor dies aged 89
Peter Renaday, best known for the voice of Master Splinter in the original ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ cartoon, has died aged 89.
Master Splinter one of the central characters in the cartoon, which ran between the 1980s and 1990s, as he teachers the turtles martial arts and is their adoptive father.
Co-star Townsend Coleman, who voiced the turtle Michealangelo, posted a tribute on X.
“Folks, I’m devastated this morning to learn of the passing yesterday of our dear sensei, Peter Renaday. Pete was one of the most genuine, salt of the earth people I have ever known and I will miss him dearly.
“I had the privilege of visiting with him a month ago and he was as vibrant as ever, at 89 just as endearingly silly, smart and talented as I’ve always known him to be. Ugh, this is hard… a Disney legend and our dear Master Splinter— rest well, my sweet friend.”
It’s reported that Renaday died of naturual causes at his home in Burbank California, and that he was found unresponsive by police who were called for a welfare check.
Renaday was born in Louisiana in 1935 and had an extremely successfuly career spanning more than six decades, appearing in nearly 200 movies and TV shows.
Not only did he voice Master Splinter from 1987 to 1996, but he also voiced characters in Disney animation, including ‘The Aristocats’, ‘The Rescuers’ and the ‘Black Caldron’.
Renady also appeared in several high-profile TV shows, like ‘Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo’, ‘Alvin & The Chipmunks’, ‘The Transformers’, ‘The Real Ghostbusters’ and ‘Batman: The Animated Series’.
The actor also made his mark in the world of animatronics, voicing Abraham Lincoln at Walt Disney World’s Hall of Presidents.
He was married to Florence “Flo” Daniel. She worked as Walt Disney Studios’ music department secretary for 35 years, from 1979 until her death in 2011.
IRenaday’s survivors was not available at the time of writing.
