| Lennie Weinrib | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leonard Weinrib April 29, 1935 The Bronx, New York, USA |
| Died | June 28, 2006 (aged 71) Santiago, Chile |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, voice actor |
| Years active | 1959-1994 |
Lennie Weinrib (April 29, 1935 – June 28, 2006) was an American actor, voice actor and writer. He is best known for playing the title role in the children's television show H.R. Pufnstuf, the title role in Inch High, Private Eye, the original voice of Scrappy-Doo on Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Prince Lotor in Voltron and Bigmouth in The Smurfs.
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Early life and career
A native of the Bronx, Weinrib got his start in show business working with Spike Jones, then later in The Billy Barnes Revue. He made guest appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Burke's Law and The Munsters.
Notable voice acting roles
Weinrib is probably best known for his voice acting work. Starting with The Jetsons, Weinrib provided numerous voices for such animated series as Inch High, Private Eye, The New Adventures of Batman, Tarzan and the Super 7, and Hong Kong Phooey. He was the voice for both Roland and Ratfink in that series of cartoon shorts. He also provided the voice of Timer in the 1970s Time for Timer series of educational spots shown on ABC. In Voltron: Defender of the Universe, he voiced Hunk and the villain Prince Lotor in the "Lion Voltron series" as well as Captain Newley and Cliff in the "Vehicle Voltron" Series. He also voiced a secretary bird and a king lion in the animated sequence of Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
He voiced Shaggy's great-uncle Nathaniel on The New Scooby Doo Movies and Cap'n Noah Smitty in Yogi's Ark Lark.
Weinrib played H.R. Pufnstuf throughout the show's entire run from 1969 through 1971, and also wrote every episode of the series. In The Krofft Supershow he played the title character in Magic Mongo. He also appeared as H.R. Pufnstuf on one episode of the TV show CHiPs in 1977. He did the voices for Moonrock and Seargeant Boulder on The Flintstone Comedy Show. In 1991, he voiced Max the Mole on the all-star Hanna-Barbera animated series Yo Yogi!.
Death
Weinrib retired from acting in the 1990s and moved to Santiago, Chile. He died in a hospital near his home in Chile on June 28, 2006, after suffering a stroke. He was cremated.
Personal
His daughter, Linda Bendik and grandchildren, Lauren and Steven Bendik currently work as voice actors.
His daughter Heidi Weinrib, has performed as part of the ensemble cast of Rojo de Chile, a Chilean talent competition broadcast by Television Nacional de Chile.
External links
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