It’s a sad day in Eternia as news about the passing of John Erwin, the voice actor behind He-Man, Morris the Cat, and other notable pop culture icons. Erwin, a Saturday morning staple of the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, died last month of natural causes at his home in Camarillo, California. He was 88. Celebworx, the PR firm representing Mr. Erwin, announced his death this Friday afternoon.
Few people of the Elder Millenial generation (people born between 1980 and 1985) grew up without hearing John Erwin as He-man, Master of the Universe, match wits with Skeletor (Alan Oppenheimer) while battling the forces of evil. In addition to voicing He-Man and the Archie Comics character Reggie, Erwin played the unenthusiastic spokescat for 9Lives brand cat food, Morris the Cat. In the promos, Morris, a large orange tabby tomcat, snarkily remarked about being uninterested in anything except when it came to a delicious can of 9Lives cat food. After mocking his human co-stars, Morris’s tune would change when someone introduced a fresh can of 9 Lives. Morris was like a real-world Garfield, more or less.
Today, Melendy Britt, who voiced the character She-Ra, the superheroine sister of Prince Adam, aka He-Man, issued the following statement: “For 40 years, John Erwin was not only my brother on screen, he was my friend,” she wrote on Facebook. “To have ‘my brother’ pass on is a tremendous sorrow even though I know life is not infinite. The tears I have are because John was such a special quiet man and we shared a very special relationship in those roles as twin brother and sister…He Man said “I have the Power. You did and still do.”
Skeletor voice actor Alan Oppenheimer also shared some words for his dearly departed friend, saying, “Working with John Erwin was a ballad of irreverence, professionalism, and surprise… Surprise of how many life stories he had: he was a series actor, writer, performer of commercials, musician, painter, and an all around lovely gentleman, an indelible addition to my life.”
John Erwin is more prolific than you might think. Beyond playing He-Man and Morris the Cat, he populated the Archie Comics universe across many shows and spin-offs, voicing characters like the well-off Reggie Mantle on The Archie Show (1968) and numerous cartoon spin-offs of the ’60s and ’70s (The Archie Comedy Show, Archie’s Funhouse, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Archie’s Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show). You can also catch Erwin’s dulcet tones in The Flintstones and one of my personal favorites, the Groovie Ghoulies!
Per Celebworx, Erwin is survived “by his loving family of children and grandchildren. No names were provided in keeping with his wishes.”
We wish Mr. Erwin safe passage to the Great Hereafter and healing to his family, friends, and fans. His work touched the hearts of many, and we will never forget the adventures we shared in Eternia and beyond.
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