Michael Rüth was a German voice actor and stage actor, born on April 26, 1938. He passed away on January 19, 2024, at the age of 85. His legal name was Karl-Heinz Zopf. Rüth was highly regarded for his extensive work in dubbing, lending his distinctive voice to numerous characters in international films and television series for German-speaking audiences.

Rüth's career in voice acting was particularly prominent in the realm of animation. He contributed to many classic animated series, especially those dubbed in Germany during the 1970s and 1980s. Among his notable early roles were the stray cat in the series Pinocchio, the gander Martin in Nils Holgersson, and the earthworm Max in Die Biene Maja. He was also active in dubbing anime features and series for the German market. As you noted, he voiced the character Transfer in the anime series Around the World with Willy Fog (1987). He also provided the German voice for the Prime Minister in the 1980 anime film Sekai Meisaku Dōwa: Mori wa Ikiteiru, known in German as Zwölf Monate.

Beyond these specific roles, Michael Rüth had a prolific and wide-ranging career. He became the German voice for many iconic characters over several decades. He was the long-standing voice of Winnie the Pooh in all Disney productions from 1999 until his retirement in 2013. He also voiced Mr. Garrison in the German dub of South Park from 1997 to 2013 and Hermes Conrad in Futurama from 1999 to 2013. His other prominent voice roles included Hamm the piggy bank (known as Specki in German) in the Toy Story films, Rowlf the dog in The Muppets, and various characters in The Simpsons, including Barney Gumble and Abraham Simpson in later seasons. In addition to animation, he dubbed numerous live-action roles for actors such as Colm Meaney and Jason Alexander.

Michael Rüth retired from voice acting in 2013. His work left a significant mark on German dubbing, making his voice familiar to generations of viewers across a wide variety of animated and live-action productions.