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Optimus Prime Actor Garry Chalk Diagnosed with Cancer
posted on by Alex Mateo
Actor Garry Chalk revealed on Facebook on December 4 that he has been dealing with health issues over the last few months, which resulted in him taking himself off the Cameo service, dropping most social media, and canceling convention appearances for at least the next seven months. On a video posted on Friday on Primal Parodies' YouTube channel in which Chalk performs a parody song titled "Jingle Wars," the description states that Chalk has been diagnosed with cancer, specifically Stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The description added that he is "otherwise, in great health." He is under care.
The video's description asks fans to "refrain from asking him for videos and autographs at this time," and instead to "send him and his family positive vibes, prayers, healing, strength, light and love."
Chalk is well-known as the voice of Optimus Primal in Beast Wars/Beast Machines and Optimus Prime in Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon, and Transformers: Cybertron. He has had on-camera roles in Cold Squad, Eureka, Stargate SG-1, and MacGuyver, among others. Chalk has also done voice acting as King Hippo in Captain N: The Game Master, Guts Man and others in the Mega Man animated series, Dr. Light in Mega Man: Fully Charged, Dr. Ivo Robotnik in Sonic Underground, Grounder in The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and King Gurumes in the 1995 dub of Dragon Ball Movie 1: Curse of the Blood Rubies. He later voiced Man-at-Arms in the reboot of He-Man and Sky Marshall Wade in Voltron Force.
