Pete Renaday, perhaps best known to Disney fans as the original voice of Henry in the Country Bear Jamboree, sadly passed away this past weekend at the age of 89. The legendary voice actor has had numerous roles in the world of Disney films, television, and parks.
News of Renady’s passing was shared on X by Townsend Coleman, one of his co-stars in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series from the 1980s, in which Renady voiced Master Splinter. TMZ reports that the actor was discovered unresponsive during a welfare check at his home on Sunday, September 8th.
Pete Renaday was born as Pierre Renoudet on June 9th, 1935 in New Iberia, Louisiana. Prior to many of his acclaimed voice roles, Renaday was an executive secretary for 35 years in Walt Disney Studios’ music department. Renaday’s voice could be heard all over the Magic Kingdom when it opened in 1971. In addition to his best known roles as Henry and Max in the Country Bear Jamboree, he could be heard as Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Abraham Lincoln in The Hall of Presidents, along with other roles in Flight to the Moon, Mission to Mars and Snow White’s Scary Adventures.
He reprised his role as Henry and Max in both the Country Bear Vacation Hoedown and the Country Bear Christmas Special. In the 1990s, Renaday provided even more voice work to Magic Kingdom attractions, as the memorable 1994 narrator of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and Astro Orbiter, the narrator of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, among many others.
Renaday’s acting contributions weren’t just to the parks, as he could also be seen and heard in a number of Disney films, from The Aristocats and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, to The Cat From Outer Space and The Black Cauldron. Another notable role came with the Disneyland Records release of Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House, an album which predated the opening of The Haunted Mansion, in which Rendady voiced the Ghost Host.
Our thoughts are with Pete’s friends and family at this time.