Peter Fernandez

Peter Fernandez, born January 29, 1927, in Manhattan, New York, was an American actor, voice director, and writer of Cuban, Irish, and French descent. The son of Pedro and Edna Fernandez, he grew up alongside two siblings, Edward and Jacqueline. He died on July 15, 2010, in Pomona, New York, following a battle with lung cancer, at the age of 83.

Fernandez entered the entertainment industry at age seven, when financial pressures during the Great Depression led his family to enroll him as a child model with the John Robert Power Agency. He transitioned from modeling to radio and stage work, accumulating Broadway credits between 1938 and 1955. His stage appearances included Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine in 1941, as well as productions such as Once Upon a Tailor, Howdy, Mr. Ice of 1950, the comedy Listen, Professor, and The Damask Cheek. His radio work during this period encompassed roles on Mr. District Attorney, Let's Pretend, Gang Busters, My Best Girls, Superman, and Suspense, in addition to appearances on soap operas. At age 18, late in World War II, he was drafted into the United States Army. Following his discharge in 1946, he worked extensively as a writer for both radio and pulp fiction and authored the children's book Bedtime Stories from the Bible.

Fernandez became widely recognized for his contributions to the 1967 anime series Speed Racer. He voiced both the title character Speed Racer and his brother Racer X, served as voice director for the English-language adaptation, co-wrote the scripts, and translated and performed the English version of the series' theme song. The rapid-fire dialogue delivery associated with the show was a technique Fernandez and his co-stars developed specifically to synchronize English speech with the original Japanese mouth movements. He returned to the franchise in the 2008 animated series Speed Racer: The Next Generation, voicing a middle-aged Headmaster Spritle, and appeared as a racing announcer in the 2008 live-action Speed Racer film.

Beyond Speed Racer, Fernandez contributed voice work to numerous dubbed anime titles, including Astro Boy, Gigantor, Marine Boy, Star Blazers, and Superbook, and was instrumental in bringing several Japanese anime series to English-speaking audiences. In American animation, he voiced Benton Tarantella and Robot Randy in Courage the Cowardly Dog, a role he identified as a personal favorite. He also served as voice director on The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers and Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders. He narrated the audio version of It Looked Like Spilt Milk. In 2007, he received the Special American Anime Award for Outstanding Achievement. His final major public appearance took place at the 2009 Sakura-Con in Seattle, Washington.

Fernandez married Noel Smith in 1978, and the couple had three children together. They resided in Pomona, New York.