#Paul Soles Dies, Spider-Man and Hermey the Elf Voice Actor Was 90

Veteran voice actor Paul Soles has passed away. With a career spanning seven decades, a couple of Soles’ most famous voice roles include playing Peter Parker in the original Spider-Man cartoon series from the 1960s, as well as Rudolph’s pal Hermey the Elf in the 1964 special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Sadly, Soles’ agent Angela Wright announced on Facebook that the actor died on May 26 at the age of 90.

“Paul Soles was truly a Canadian treasure. He lived a long life with so many adventures along the way. RIP,” the Facebook post read.
RELATED: B.J. Thomas Dies, Grammy and Oscar Winning Singer Was 78
“He will be remembered as a charming, magnanimous, principled man, a creative and versatile performer and a proud Canadian,” Soles’ obituary says, per Legacy. “He delighted in cracking people up on air and off and was a terrific joke-teller, an impressive mimic, accent man, public speaker, story-reader, announcer, host, emcee, compare.”

The obituary adds: “Warm and gentle with an easy going manner he enjoyed the company of others as much as his own. Thoughtful and inventive he possessed a quiet strength and a deep well of emotion. A talented and hard-working person he often cited good fortune as the sole reason for his success, but the truth is he loved what he did and it showed.”

Paul Robert Soles was born on Aug. 11, 1930. Beginning his career in radio, Soles had begun working in television by the early 1950s. A frequent entertainer on CBC-TV’s sketch comedy shows, Soles picked up perhaps his most famous role in the 1960s when he was cast as Hermey the elf in Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. His distinct voice as the character has since been heard by who knows how many millions of people in the decades since.

Meanwhile, Marvel fans may also appreciate Soles for his run as the original animated Peter Parker. He voiced the titular web-slinger in the first Spider-Man cartoon series that debuted in 1967. Soles also voiced Bruce Banner and other Marvel characters in the animated series The Marvel Super Heroes, along with other roles in Iron Man and Spider-Woman. Some of his other voice credits in animated projects include The Smokey Bear Show, Willy McBean and his Magic Machine, and The King Kong Show. Soles also voiced the Oscar-nominated documentary The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein.

Decades after voicing Bruce Banner in animated form, Soles would appear in a role in the 2008 superhero movie The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton and Tim Roth. He would also have a role in the 2016 movie The Second Time Around. More recently, he had a recurring role on the web series My 90-Year-Old Roommate as the elderly roommate in question, co-starring with Ethan Cole. The final credit for Soles was in the 2020 TV series Nurses.

Soles’ survivors include his wife Jean, son Jonathan, and daughter-in-heart Jarah. Our condolences go out to them and the rest of the family at this painful time. May he rest in peace as his memory lives on. This news comes to us from TheWrap.

Topics: Obituaries, Spider-man, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer