Cool News
Peter Fernandez, Voice of Speed Racer, Passes Away
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Column by Scott Green
Peter Fernandez, the voice of Speed Racer and one of the pioneer in bringing international animation to North America, has passed away of lung cancer at age 83. Fernandez also co-wrote the scripts and directed the voice work in classic 1967 animated series. He voiced roles in other classics such as Star Blazers and the title character in one of the first anime to be released in North America, Alakazam the Great. Fernandez remained active in animation, voice directing Courage the Cowardly Dog and Kenny the Shark in recent years. Patrick Macias on Fernandez's localization work. Thanks to William Winckler Productions for alerting us about this sad passing.
Readers Talkback
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RIP Mr Fernandez. And Marlboro loses another customer...
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Least he lived till 83.
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Trying to lip-sync the new dialogue to the movements of the Japanese animation had to have been exhausting, but he was determined to make it work in voice after voice after voice. His work on Speed's voice particularly was the perfect blend of elements for the character and I will never forget his contribution to our pop culture.
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Well done sir.
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And Godspeed.
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..Speed Racer RIIIPPP! God bless you Pete and thanks for your contributions to Anime.
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...on the animated TV show Speed Racer from Japan. I played the voice of Speed Racer, the star of the show Speed Racer who was a racer who raced cars at high speeds and that's why he was called Speed Racer. But now I am dead. I am no longer living and so I cannot provide the voice of Speed Racer any longer because I am now dead.
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The days are cold livin’ without you. The nights are long, I’m growing older. I miss the days of old, thinkin’ about you. You may be gone, but you’re never over.
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Peter Fernandez helped bring anime to America, I still remember watching the original Speed Racer on Cartoon Network when that channel was new
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July 15, 2010, 3:06 p.m. CST
RIP old friend thanks for making my childhood a great place
by Professor_Monster
This is truly sad - Peter was awesome! An innocent time and a true gentleman. Sleep well dear dear sir
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He will be missed. They should have approached him to write the script for the live action movie, and asked him to closely consult on it, and provide voice over-dubs, instead, they gave him some useless, and brief, cameo?<BR><BR>This gentleman was largely an ignored genius who rewrote much of Speed Racer, even renaming the characters for the American version, and along with a friend, came-up with the great theme music and lyrics. He helped to make Speed Racer, a classic, one that the Wachowski Brothers were allowed to nearly destroy.
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God Bless, we will miss you!!!!
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That was the coolest show!!! Originally called, Space Battleship Yamato...the movie, which led to the TV series in Japan, is what inspired much of the look, and themes, of Star Wars, and yes, it pre-dated Star Wars by years.
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R.I.P. from a lifelong fan.
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...is a bummer. He will be missed.
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Speed Racer has long been my favorite cartoon, and I am glad to say it is also the favorite of my two-year-old son. God bless you, Peter Fernandez, for bringing a lot of TV joy to two generations of fans.
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and there is dangerous work to do. You bet your life Speed Racer, will see it through. Well you came through for a lot of us sir. Rest well.
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Very classy on the part of the Wachowskis. <br><br> He will be missed.
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Peter Fernandez helped change my life. I was born in 1960, and as a child I discovered Japanese animation through shows like Astro Boy, Speed Racer, Kimba the White Lion, Marine Boy and The Amazing 3 to name but a few. I know of Peter primarily through Speed, Kimba and Alakazam the Great. Of course, I didn't know who he was or what he did until I became an adult and started researching the shows for my own edification. What an amazing career he had, and what a truly remarkable job he did bringing the shows he worked on to American audiences. It wasn't easy, but the end results were phenomenal, as is evidenced by how fondly these shows are recalled all these years later. I was especially thrilled that he was featured in the Speed Racer film (along with Corrine Orr, who voiced Trixie in the original series) a few years ago. It was a classy thing for the Wachowski brothers to do, and I'm sure it must have been a thrill for Peter to be involved, and to see just how far Speed had come. I only hope that his work will continue to live on for many years to come, and that it will continue to thrill new generations of fans of Japanese Animation.
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He finally watched the Wachowski brothers Speed Racer...and just gave up.
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cartoon intros ever
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i hope it makes that Mach-5 CHA-CHA-CHA-CHAAAA jumping sound.<p> seriously, that would be awesome.
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July 16, 2010, 2:06 a.m. CST
He did voice direction on Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers too
by MediaGold
I love that show. I remember he also sold phone interviews on eBay. I never had the nerve to buy one.
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Speedracer NOOOOOOOOO!!! You will be missed. Hope you get to drive the Mach 5 in heaven.
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and don't forget to write!
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...my dad owned a photo store in Pomona, NY. Mr. Fernandez was one of the customers; my dad didn't know who he was. I did. I never got a chance to meet him, but my dad told him that his son used to watch "Speed Racer" and remembered the name. The next day, Mr. Fernandez came into the store and gave my dad an autographed picture of the "Speed Racer" crew with my family's name on it. He was a good man.
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At least he got to appear in the live-action version. (He was a race announcer.)
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According to IMDB, Kimba the White Lion is one of the few early anime shows Peter was not involved with. The original Speed has a special place in my son's heart, just like it does in mine. I hope future generations enjoy Peter's work for years to come.
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July 16, 2010, 2:11 p.m. CST
I think everyone can imagine that quick talk affect in Speed's v
by planetran_fan
Very distinctive and memorable.
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...as part of Titra Studios he supervised many of the classic Godzilla films including DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, MONSTER ZERO, GODZILLA VS THE SEA MONSTER & others. Anywhere you hear Hal Linden (of Barney Miller fame) in a G film, that's a Titra/Fernandez production. A sad day.
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I remember hearing his voice as Spider-Man & The Human Torch on "Power Records" from the 70's. Years later, when I saw the old Speed Racer cartoon for the first time, I recognized his voice immediately. <p> R.I.P.
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