PETER FERNANDEZ

Peter Fernandez died peacefully at home on Thursday after a long illness. He was 83. He was born in Manhattan on January 29, 1927. After the depression made a casualty out of the family business, he helped make ends meet as a child model at the Powers Agency. Four years later he segued into acting by landing his first part on Broadway. He toured the U.S. and Canada with Ethel Barrymore in the play, "White Oaks." The lead in Saroyan's "Love's Old Sweet Song" followed. In all, Peter performed in seven Broadway plays as a juvenile. In between attending the Professional Children's School and plays, Peter performed in over a thousand live radio shows including "The Aldrich Family," "Just Plain Bill," and "Let's Pretend." He wrote episodes in many others, including "Lux Radio Theater" and "Suspense." After being drafted into the army during WW ll Peter resumed his acting career by taking the lead in a movie called "City Across the River." From there, he directed and sometimes adapted hundreds of children's books for schools and libraries. He then prepared the Japanese cartoon series, "Speed Racer" for the English speaking market. He cast himself as Speed Racer and his older brother Racer X plus naming and playing assorted villains. He is known for his voice work and has been heard in English adaptations of many foreign films ("Cinema Paradiso", "For Those I Loved") for which he also wrote the English language scripts. He directed and performed in many cartoons including "Marine Boy," "The Adventures of Galaxy Rangers" "Gigantor," Astroboy" "Ultraman,"and "Courage the Cowardly Dog." In 2007 he won the American Anime Awards Outstanding Achievement Award and an award from Anime North, both in conjunction with popularizing "Speed Racer" in the United States. He made a cameo appearance in the movie "Speed Racer" which came out in 2008. He is survived by his wife, Noel, three children, April and Peter Fernandez, Elizabeth McAlister, nine grandchildren, his sister and brother in law, Jacqueline and Tom Hayes, his brother and sister in law, Ed and Joan Fernandez. A private memorial is planned. Any donations should be made to the World Wild Life Fund, or the National Wildlife Federation.