JoBe Cerny, the Pillsbury Doughboy performer, dies aged 78

Cerny’s family said he died on October 30. He lived in Grayslake, Illinois, and had been battling Alzheimer’s disease. He was 78.

He voiced Pillsbury’s giggling Doughboy for decades, taking over the role after Paul Frees and Jeff Bergman. Cerny played the character until about 2020. He also appeared in commercials for Cheer detergent and Raid.

For more than 30 years, he ran the Cerny/American Creative Recording Studio in Chicago, which worked on thousands of projects, including commercials, films and audiobooks. Among his major projects was directing a 98-hour dramatized audio version of the New King James Bible, featuring more than 500 actors.

His screen credits included Somewhere in Time, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Road to Perdition, and he performed with Chicago’s Second City in the 1970s. He also adapted episodes of The Twilight Zone for radio and created additional installments for a podcast series.

Born in Cicero, Illinois, Cerny studied speech and drama at Valparaiso University and theater at Northwestern University. He is survived by Eileen, his wife of 56 years; sons Tim and Patrick; and grandchildren Archer and Cleo.