Character Actor Most Famous For His Role In The ‘Terminator’ Dies At 81

Character actor Earl Boen’s first professional acting credit was on the TV show “Great Performances” back in 1974. He went on to act in numerous TV shows and movies including “Wonder Woman,” “9 to 5,” “It’s a Living,” “Newhart,” “Who’s the Boss,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Mama’s Family,” “The Law and Harry McGraw,” “18 Again!” “Webster,” “Matlock,” “Santa Barbara,” “L.A. Law,” “Bonkers,” “Boy Meets World,” and “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps,” but he is probably best known for his role as criminal psychologist Dr. Peter Silberman in the first three “Terminator” films staring Arnold Schwarzenagger.

Boen’s daughter, Ruby Harbin, told The Hollywood Reporter that her dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in November 2022. Unfortunately, he lost his battle with cancer on Thursday, January 5, 2023. He was in Hawaii at the time and died peacefully in his sleep. He was 81 years old.

While Boen retired from acting on screen in 2003, that was far from the end of his career in entertainment. He was a prolific voiceover actor and lent his voice to TV, movies, and video games. The projects he worked on include “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” “Kim Possible,” “Tales of Monkey Island” and “World of Warcraft.”

Boen is survived by his daughter as well as his second wife, Cathy, and his grandchildren Kimmy Abaricia and Kimo Harbin. His first wife, Carole, died in 2001. They were married from 1970 until the time of her death. Boen married Cathy in 2008.

Upon hearing the news of Boen’s death, multiple people tweeted tributes to him.

Watch clips of some of Boen’s most memorable performances in the video below.