‘Transformers’ Star Dies From Pancreatic Cancer: Peter Spellos Was 69

Voice actor Peter Spellos passed away on Sunday at the age of 69. According to a report by TMZ, Spellos battled pancreatic cancer up until Sunday morning when he died at the Franciscan Hospice House in his hometown of Indianapolis. His friend and acting student Jennifer Smith broke the sad news.

Spellos is best known to general audiences for his role as Gus on the 2002 NBC drama American Dreams, but he is most beloved for his work in animation. He played Sky-Byte in the 2000 reboot Transformers: Robots in Disguise, along with many other English-language anime translations and animated action series. Smith told TMZ: “He was loved and cared for and surrounded by people during his final days.” Smith reportedly has power of attorney for Spellos and saw that he got the care he needed up until this point.

Spellos was born in 1954 and began his voice-over career in 1972, though it took time for him to secure steady work. He was married for a time to Linda Hautala, but little is known about his personal life. His brother James told TMZ that Peter will be cremated and that the family is hoping to arrange some kind of online memorial service for fans.

Although Spellos did not lend his voice to the original Transformers TV series in the 1980s, he was in some of the most lauded action animation projects of that time, including two Gundam series and the original English-language dub of Akira. He balanced those roles with live-action parts as well, including one appearance on Growing Pains in 1991 and the sixth Nightmare on Elm Street movie which came out the same year.

Spellos continued this balance in the years that followed, but it was his animation work that made him a particular hit with fans. Smith said that Spellos was a huge hit on the comic-con circuit, and it’s not hard to track down evidence of that including photos, videos and signed memorabilia. In addition to Transformers Spellos was an enthusiastic ambassador of franchises like Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Bleach, Naruto and Digimon in which he had also acted.

Fans are sharing their best memories of Spellos online now as news of his passing spreads. It’s unclear where his family is organizing a memorial service nor when it might be held.