PINGU actor Carlo Bonomi – the iconic voice behind the beloved children's TV character who invented the "noot noot" catchphrase – has died aged 85.

Bonomi was the voice of the cartoon animal from its creation in 1990 until 2000.

He's said to have never used a script and voiced all the characters in the popular children's show.

Bonomi – whose cause of death has not yet been revealed – based Pingu's gibberish, known as Penguinese, on dialect from Milan, Italy, according to Italian press.

When HIT Entertainment bought the rights to Pingu in 2001, Bonomi was replaced by David Sant and Marcello Magni.

Bonomi went on to voice the Italian version of Mickey Mouse and Fred Flintstone.

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He also recorded railway announcements for the central station in Milan and Florence – but these have since been changed.

Tributes have poured in for the legendary voiceover actor.

One fan wrote on Twitter: "Considering we never understood a word being said, the empathy I would feel for those animated animals was remarkable and I have this gentleman to thank."

Another said: "RIP Carlo Bonomi, thank you for your service in children's entertainment and for giving my childhood some light to shine in the dark."

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A third commented: "I was just informed that Carlo Bonomi passed away a few hours ago. That man had not only made millions of people's childhood by giving us the voice of Pingu, but he also screamed multiple Noots to our hearts content.

"Farewell Carlo, Noot Noot."

Pingu last aired on TV screens in 2006, although a Japanese spin-off called Pingu in the City, aired from 2017 to 2019.

The hit TV show was co-created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann and piloted at a film festival in 1987.

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