Their voices carried

Optimus Prime, Megatron remember 35 years of Transformers

MIAMI >> The Autobots have been waging their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons for 35 years, but there’s no sign the men who voice the Transformers franchise’s two most iconic characters would ever take up ion blasters or fusion cannons against each other.

Peter Cullen and Frank Welker have been heard in children’s homes across the United States since the fall of 1984 as the heroic Optimus Prime and villainous Megatron respectively.

They continue to lend their voices to both live-action and animated versions of the characters, and they’ll be infinitely more like to exchange jokes and old stories than deadly blows from a laser sword during appearances at the recent MegaCon Orlando.

Transformers originated when the U.S. toy company Hasbro bought the rights to several existing Japanese toy lines that featured transforming robots and rebranded them for American children. A cartoon, “The Transformers,” was developed to help market the toys.

Welker, 73, got his first major voice-acting role in 1969 as Fred, the handsome, ascot-wearing leader of Mystery Inc. in “Scooby Doo, Where Are You!” He spent more than a decade after that voicing a host of friendly and comedic characters.

“When I saw Megatron, it gave me an opportunity to play a very nasty, evil character, and it was so much fun,” Welker said during an interview with Cullen.

Welker said he was especially impressed the first time he saw the toy of his character. It transformed into a silver and grey Walther P38 pistol. Welker said it would take him more than an hour to transform the toy, while young fans could do it in minutes.

“I was thinking this is just another job, but it’s pretty darn clever,” Welker said.

While the original cartoon ran just a few years, it left an indelible mark on pop culture. The toy lines continued, and a slew of spin-off cartoon series and comics were produced over the next two decades. This culminated in the launch of a multi-billion-dollar, live-action film franchise in 2007.

Before his audition, Cullen, 77, only knew that he would be reading for the part of a truck, though giving voice to a vehicle didn’t

Here’s a quick look at outdoor shows music fans have to choose from this year:

Blossom Music Center

1145 W. STEELS CORNERS ROAD, CUYAHOGA FALLS (TICKETMASTER.COM)

ZAC BROWN BAND 7 p.m. June 14 $39.25 to $108.25

PHISH 7 p.m. June 19 $45 to $90

BLINK-182 + LIL WAYNE 7 p.m. July 16 $37.50 to $127.50 Pop-punk group blink-182 is teaming up with Lil Wayne this summer Peter Cullen, left, and Frank Welker pose for a photo at the U.S. premiere of “Transformers: The Last Knight” at the Civic Opera House in Chicago. Cullen and Welker could be heard in children’s homes across the United States starting in the fall of 1984 as the heroic Optimus Prime and villainous Megatron, respectively.

seem that crazy.

“You’re always auditioning for something in animation that’s a little off of the norm,” Cullen said.

When Cullen read about the heroic Autobot leader that turned into a red cabover semitrailer, for what is easily one of the biggest head-scratcher pairings.

he thought about his older brother, who had served as a U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War.

“He was my hero, and he certainly was the mainstay behind the character,” Cullen said.

SUBMITTED Smashing Pumpkins will co-headline a show with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Aug. 19 at Blossom.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE India.Arie willl perform at Cain Park Aug. 15.