Film, TV actor and voice artist, Danny Goldman dies at 80. The news was shared by his long-time agent, Doug Ely, in a Facebook post, sharing that Goldman died at home under hospice care after suffering two strokes around New Year.
“Danny was truly one of a kind. He always had strong opinions and didn’t mind telling you about them. He was incredibly funny. He loved to root for the little guy and help wherever he could. He had a huge heart. We lost a good one today. He will be missed,” Ely wrote.
He was the voice behind Brainy Smurf in the Hanna-Barbera animated series The Smurfs and served as a main cast member from 1981 to 1989. The actor scored roles on many of the top TV series of the ’70s, including CHiPs, Happy Days, Hawaii Five-O and The Partridge Family before making his mark in animation with NBC’s The Smurfs. Goldman also lent his voice talents to Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series for Warner Bros. and the toy line-inspired 1993 series Mighty Max, produced by Film Roman. His most recent acting credit was on hit CBS crime drama Criminal Minds in 2012.
Born in New York City in 1939, Goldman graduated from Columbia University in 1961. He began his screen-acting career in 1963 with a role on General Hospital. One of his first major roles was as a main cast member on the 1971 sitcom The Good Life.