Peter Renaday Passed Away!

Peter Renaday, famed voice actor from the 1980s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series has passed away.

A voice actor who had roles on original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and original The Transformers has passed away. The voice actor Peter Renaday has passed away at the age of 89 of natural causes on Sunday. It was confirmed on Thursday.

Born Pierre Laurent Renoudet in New Iberia, Louisiana, on September 6, 1935, he was known as the voice of Splinter, the sensei and father figure of the four turtle ninjas.

He also played supporting character Vernon Fenwick, April O'Neil's supervisor and frenemy. He played Transformer Grapple in the second season.

He made his acting debut in 1965 in television series Combat!, and in the 1980s, Renaday was cast in the first animated television adaptation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as Splinter, a large mutant rat, who serves as the sensei (mentor) and ninjitsu and martial arts trainer of the eponymous turtles from 1987 until the show's finale in 1996.

Hamato Yoshi became Splinter, the Turtles sensei and father figure.

Renaday was married to Florence "Flo" June Daniel from 1979 until her death on February 18, 2011. She worked as a secretary in the music department of the Walt Disney Studios for 35 years, including as executive secretary to two heads of the department. A coloratura soprano, she was also featured as a vocalist on "The Sounds of Christmas" produced by Disneyland Records in 1973, alongside her husband.

Renaday died at his home in Burbank, California on September 8, 2024, aged 89; his death appeared to be from natural causes.

Townsend Coleman, the voice of Michelangelo, the Rat King, the Shredder and The Tick announced his passing on social media.

“Pete was one of the most genuine, salt of the earth people I have ever known and I will miss him dearly,” Coleman wrote on social media (see the post below). “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.”

Renaday played Grapple, the master builder from The Transformers.

In addition to his role as Master Splinter, Renaday is also known for voicing the animatronic Abraham Lincoln reciting the Gettysburg Address at Walt Disney World’s The Hall of Presidents. He also voiced the animatronic bear characters Henry and Max at Disney World’s original Country Bear Jamboree attraction.

Renaday’s nearly 200 other film and TV credits include a mix of both voice and live-action roles, including performances in such Disney animated features as The Aristocats (1970), The Rescuers (1977) and The Black Cauldron (1985). Animated TV credits include Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Alvin & The Chipmunks, The Transformers, The Real Ghostbusters and Batman: The Animated Series.

Live-action roles include performances in ’60s-’70s fare such as Combat!, The Love Bug, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Barefoot Executive and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.