Lennie Weinrib, voice of "H.R. Pufnstuf" dies at 71

Lennie Weinrib, a character actor, writer, director and voice-over artist who brought to life"H.R. Pufnstuf," has died. He was 71.

Weinrib died June 28 at a hospital in Santiago, Chile, after suffering a stroke, his daughter Linda Weinrib said. He had retired from show business in the early 1990s and moved to Chile, the native country of his second wife, Sonia.

Weinrib had a varied career that included working as a standup comic, appearing in the "Billy Barnes Revue" on Broadway in 1959 and co-writing the 1963 joke classic "The Elephant Book."

As a character actor, he appeared on such TV shows as "My Favorite Martian," "77 Sunset Strip," "The Twilight Zone," "The Munsters" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

Weinrib also directed low-budget teen movies in the mid-1960s. Yet he garnered the most acclaim as a voice-over artist.

"This guy is one of the all-time great talents, between his voices and writing," said "H.R. Pufnstuf" co-producer Marty Krofft.

By the mid-1960s, he was supplying voices for everything from Ford and Avis to Pepsodent toothpaste and Hunt's tomato sauce.

He also provided voices for numerous TV cartoons, including "The Addams Family," "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show," "The New Tom & Jerry Show," and "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo."

The Bronx-born Weinrib moved to Los Angeles with his family as a child. After graduating from Fairfax High School, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles.

His father wanted him to become a dentist, but Weinrib settled on an entertainment career after seeing fellow student Carol Burnett perform in a campus production, his daughter said.

Along with wife Sonia and daughter Linda, Weinrib is also survived by daughters Grace and Heidi and two grandchildren.

A memorial service was pending.