GBBP 216: Alan Oppenheimer

I know I say this a lot, but this week was a real thrill for me. As part of the research and work I did for my oral history of Filmation’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, I had the opportunity to sit down with several people who were involved with the show. And beginning this week, I’m going to bring a few of those conversations to you.

This week, my conversation with Skeletor himself: the one and only Alan Oppenheimer! If Alan’s career only included his work on He-Man and She-Ra (where he also played Man-at-Arms, Cringer/Battle Cat, and Mer-Man) and The Neverending Story (Falkor, G’Mork), his reputation as a legend would’ve been secure.

But he was involved with so much else. If you grew up in the 80s and watched any cartoons, odds are you heard his voice more than you know. He had regular roles on The Smurfs (he was Vanity Smurf), Transformers, Wuzzles, The Original Ghostbusters, Centurions, Rambo, Bionic Six, BraveStarr, and so many more.

He’s also had a long and impressive theater, TV, and film career away from animation. He’s become a fixture at pop culture conventions across the country. And he’s still going strong!

On this episode, we chat about his early career, The Neverending Story, a soup-to-nuts discussion of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and that show’s enduring legacy.

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