John Erwin obit

John Erwin, Voice Actor in ‘He-Man’ and ‘Archie’ Cartoons, Dies at 88

He also recurred on the Clint Eastwood series ‘Rawhide’ and was finicky as Morris the Cat on TV commercials in the 1970s.

 He was not on the list.

John Erwin, the reclusive actor who provided the voices for the heroic title character in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and the vain frenemy Reggie Mantle in a series of Archie cartoons, has died. He was 88.

Erwin died of natural causes “around Dec. 20” in his home in Camarillo, California, his reps at the PR firm Celebworx announced.

For nearly a decade starting in 1969, Erwin was heard in dozens of TV commercials as the snarky Morris the Cat, the finicky orange tabby who would eat nothing but the 9Lives brand of cat food. The hugely successful campaign was created by the Leo Burnett advertising firm.

Earlier, Erwin was seen on camera when he recurred as the cattle driver Teddy on CBS’ Rawhide, starring Clint Eastwood.

For Filmmation, Erwin voiced the blond, muscular He-Man (and his alter ego, Prince Adam) on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe from 1983-85 and on She-Ra: Princess of Power from 1985-87. He also played the villain Beast Man and other secondary characters on the syndicated shows that were based on a line of Mattel toys.

“Working with John Erwin was a ballad of irreverence, professionalism and surprise,” Alan Oppenheimer, who starred as the evil Skeletor on He-Man, said in a statement. “He was a series actor, writer, performer of commercials, musician, painter and an all-around lovely gentleman, an indelible addition to my life.”

Added Melendy Britt, the voice of She-Ra (He-Man’s twin sister), “For 40 years, John Erwin was not only my brother onscreen, he was my friend.”

Born on Dec. 5, 1936, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, John Lee Erwin played various characters, including a paratrooper and chaplain, on the 1956-57 syndicated series Citizen Soldier.

He joined Rawhide in 1959 during its second season and went on to appear on 22 episodes of the Western through 1965. Meanwhile, he portrayed a soldier in the Civil War-set 13 Fighting Men, starring Grant Williams.

Erwin first voiced Reggie in 1968 on the Saturday morning CBS/Filmation cartoon The Archie Show and continued with that character on various other animated series, including Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, through 1978.

He worked on the cartoons Groovie Goolies, Foofur and Spacecats and in the film Babe (1995) and came out of retirement to voice He-Man one last time on a 2005 episode of Family Guy.

Erwin also served as an announcer/narrator on such TV shows as Here’s Lucy and Malcolm & Eddie and in films including Looker (1981), Everybody’s All-American (1988) and Back to the Future Part II (1989).

Survivors include “his loving family of children and grandchildren,” his PR firm noted. His family did not want to provide a photograph of him.

Despite pleas from his fans over the years, Erwin never appeared publicly on the convention circuit to talk about his He-Man days, and Oppenheimer, speaking in 2014, said that was because he was “very shy.” He once asked his co-star to go on the road with him to London.

“I said to him, ‘If Skeletor and He-Man worked together, the line would be from London to Edinburgh,’” Oppenheimer recalled. “He just wouldn’t do it; he really likes his solitude. And he says, ‘I don’t even look like He-Man.’ I said, ‘I don’t look like Skeletor, and nobody cares.’ But I can’t get him out.”

Actor

Seth Green, Mila Kunis, Alex Borstein, and Seth MacFarlane in Family Guy (1999)

Family Guy

8.1

TV Series

He-Man (voice)

2005

1 episode

 

Christopher Daniel Barnes, Eddie Griffin, Ron Pearson, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and Karen Malina White in Malcolm & Eddie (1996)

Malcolm & Eddie

6.6

TV Series

The Announcer

1999

1 episode

 

James Cromwell, Christine Cavanaugh, Charles Bartlett, Jacquie Brennan, Michael Edward-Stevens, Miriam Flynn, Danny Mann, Miriam Margolyes, and Magda Szubanski in Babe (1995)

Babe

6.9

Other Character Voices (voice)

1995

 

Spacecats (1991)

Spacecats

6.8

TV Series

Incidental Characters (voice)

1991

13 episodes

 

Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Back to the Future Part II

7.8

Radio Sportscaster (voice)

1989

 

Dennis Quaid and Jessica Lange in Everybody's All-American (1988)

Everybody's All-American

6.2

Redskins Announcer

1988

 

Melendy Britt in She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985)

She-Ra: Princess of Power

6.8

TV Series

He-Man

Prince Adam

King Darkspur (voice) ...

1985–1987

93 episodes

 

Skeletor's Revenge (1986)

Skeletor's Revenge

8.1

Video

He-Man

Prince Adam

Webstor (voice) ...

1986

 

Foofur (1986)

Foofur

5.8

TV Series

(voice)

1986

3 episodes

 

Lana Beeson, Melendy Britt, George DiCenzo, John Erwin, and Lou Scheimer in He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985)

He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special

6.6

TV Movie

He-Man

Prince Adam

Webstor (voice)

1985

 

John Erwin, Linda Gary, Alan Oppenheimer, and Lou Scheimer in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983)

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

7.5

TV Series

He-Man

Prince Adam

King Pythos (voice) ...

1983–1985

130 episodes

 

Melendy Britt, George DiCenzo, John Erwin, Alan Oppenheimer, and Lou Scheimer in He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985)

He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword

7.2

Prince Adam

He-Man

Beast Man (voice)

1985

 

Michael Crichton, Susan Dey, Albert Finney, Vanna White, and Tawny Moyer in Looker (1981)

Looker

6.1

Commercial Announcer (voice, uncredited)

1981

 

Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo (1979)

Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo

6.2

TV Series

Ronald Redford (voice)

1979–1980

 

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing (1979)

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing

5.5

TV Series

Ronald Radford III

Clumpley (voice)

1979

13 episodes

 

ABC Weekend Specials (1977)

ABC Weekend Specials

7.7

TV Series

Casey Balloo (voice)

1979

1 episode

 

Archie's Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show (1977)

Archie's Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show

7.8

TV Series

Reggie (voice)

1977–1978

 

The New Archie/Sabrina Hour (1977)

The New Archie/Sabrina Hour

7.9

TV Series

Reggie Mantle

Q

Slick (voice)

1977

21 episodes

 

Sabrina, Super Witch (1977)

Sabrina, Super Witch

7.2

TV Series

Hexter

Irwin (voice)

1977–1978

 

U.S. Of Archie (1974)

U.S. Of Archie

7.8

TV Series

Reggie Mantle

1974

16 episodes

 

The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971)

The New Dick Van Dyke Show

6.6

TV Series

Jeff Kingsley

1973

1 episode

 

Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1971)

Sabrina the Teenage Witch

6.6

TV Series

Reggie Mantle

Hexter

Hank (voice) ...

1969–1972

47 episodes

 

Archie's TV Funnies (1971)

Archie's TV Funnies

7.7

TV Series

Reggie Mantle (voice)

1971

16 episodes

 

Aesop's Fables (1971)

Aesop's Fables

6.1

TV Movie

Donkey (voice)

1971

 

Groovie Goolies (1970)

Groovie Goolies

7.2

TV Series

(voice, credit only)

1970

16 episodes

 

Archie's Funhouse (1970)

Archie's Funhouse

6.8

TV Series

Reggie Mantle

1968

23 episodes

 

Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz Jr., and Lucie Arnaz in Here's Lucy (1968)

Here's Lucy

6.9

TV Series

Narrator (uncredited)

1969

2 episodes

 

Archie and His New Pals (1969)

Archie and His New Pals

7.9

TV Movie

Reggie Mantle

Irwin (voice)

1969

 

The Archie Comedy Hour (1969)

The Archie Comedy Hour

6.8

TV Series

Reggie Mantle (voice)

1969–1970

 

Ron Dante, John Erwin, Dal McKennon, Howard Morris, Jane Webb, and Toni Wine in The Archie Show (1968)

The Archie Show

6.8

TV Series

Reggie Mantle (voice)

1968

7 episodes

 

Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar, and Sheb Wooley in Rawhide (1959)

Rawhide

7.9

TV Series

Teddy

1959–1965

22 episodes

 

13 Fighting Men (1960)

13 Fighting Men

5.0

Cpl. McLean

1960

 

Citizen Soldier

8.2

TV Series

Various

1956–1957

 

Special Effects

Silent Scream (2005)

Silent Scream

3.0

weapons specialist

2005

 

Self

Chasing the Sun (2001)

Chasing the Sun

7.8

TV Series

(voice)

2001

2 episodes

 

Archive Footage

Death Battle (2010)

Death Battle

7.4

TV Series

He-Man (archive footage, uncredited)

2013

1 episode

 

Hit Celebrity TV Commercials (2004)

Hit Celebrity TV Commercials

1.3

TV Movie

Morris the Cat - for Nine Lives Cat Food (archive footage)

2004