SANTIAGO, Chile, July 2 (UPI) -- Lennie Weinrib, who supplied the voice for the title character in the children's fantasy TV series "H.R. Pufnstuf," has died at age 71.
The voiceover artist and character actor died Wednesday at a hospital in Santiago, Chile, after suffering a stroke, his daughter Linda Weinrib said. He moved to Chile, the native country of his second wife, Sonia, after retiring from show business in the early 1990s.
One of the top 10 voiceover talents for 30 years, Weinrib provided voices for numerous TV cartoon series, including "The Flintstones," "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show," "The New Tom & Jerry Show," "Garfield and Friends," and "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo," the Los Angeles Times reports.
He also did voiceover work for dozens of commercials, including Ford Motor Co., Avis Rent-a-Car, Pepsodent toothpaste, Hunt's tomato sauce and McDonald's restaurants. He was also "Mr. Pringle" for Pringle's potato chips.
As a character actor, Weinrib appeared on such TV series as "My Favorite Martian," "77 Sunset Strip," "The Twilight Zone," "The Munsters" and the "Dick Van Dyke Show."
Besides being the voice of the dragon mayor for "H.R. Pufnstuf," Weinrib was the live-action Saturday morning series' main writer.
