John Erwin Dies: Voice Actor Behind ‘He-Man’ And Morris The Cat Was 88

deadline.com:

John Erwin, the voice behind such iconic animated and animal TV characters as He-Man, Morris The Cat, the snobby Reggie of the Archie cartoons and many other Saturday morning favorites of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, died last month of natural causes at his home in Camarillo, California.

He was 88. His death was announced today by his PR firm Celebworx. Melendy Britt, who voiced the character She-Ra, superheroine sister of superhero He-Man in Filmation’s Masters of the Universe world, said in a statement, “For 40 years, John Erwin was not only my brother on screen, he was my friend.” “To have ‘my brother’ pass on is a tremdeous sorrow even though I know life is not infinite,” Britt wrote on Facebook. “The tears I have are because John was such a special quiet man and we shared a very special relationship in those roles as twin brother and sister…He Man said “I have the Power.

You did and still do.” Alan Oppenheimer, who voiced the villainous Skeletor in the He-Man and She-Ra world, said, “Working with John Erwin was a ballad of irreverence, professionalism, and surprise… Surprise of how many life stories he had: he was a series actor, writer, performer of commercials, musician, painter, and an all around lovely gentleman, an indelible addition to my life.” An intensely private man, Erwin provided no photographs of himself even to his PR firm.

He is said to have died “around December 20.” His voice, however, could be widely recognized by countless children of the classic Saturday morning cartoon era.