Veteran voice actorPaul Soleshas passed away. With a career spanning seven decades, a couple of Soles' most famous voice roles include playing Peter Parker in the originalSpider-Mancartoon series from the 1960s, as well as Rudolph’s pal Hermey the Elf in the 1964 specialRudolph 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.
“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 Jun 22, 2025. 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 inRudolph, 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 firstSpider-Mancartoon series that debuted in 1967. Soles also voiced Bruce Banner and other Marvel characters in the animated seriesThe Marvel Super Heroes, along with other roles inIron ManandSpider-Woman. Some of his other voice credits in animated projects includeThe Smokey Bear Show,Willy McBean and his Magic Machine, andThe King Kong Show. Soles also voiced the Oscar-nominated documentaryThe 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 movieThe Incredible Hulkwith Edward Norton and Tim Roth. He would also have a role in the 2016 movieThe Second Time Around. More recently, he had a recurring role on the web seriesMy 90-Year-Old Roommateas the elderly roommate in question, co-starring with Ethan Cole. The final credit for Soles was in the 2020 TV seriesNurses.
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 herest in peaceas his memory lives on. This news comes to us fromTheWrap.
