June Foray
June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney's Cinderella, Cindy Lou Who, Jokey Smurf, Granny from the Warner Bros. cartoons directed by Friz Freleng, Grammi Gummi from Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears series, and Magica De Spell, among many others.
June Foray | |
|---|---|
Foray in 1952 | |
| Born | June Lucille Forer September 18, 1917 Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | July 26, 2017 (aged 99) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Voice actress, radio personality |
| Years active | 1929–2014 |
| Notable work | Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Cindy Lou Who, Granny from the Tweety cartoons, Witch Hazel, Jokey Smurf, Magica De Spell from DuckTales, Grammi Gummi, and others |
| Board member of | ASIFA-Hollywood |
| Spouses | Bernard Barondess
(m. 1941; div. 1953)Hobart Donovan
(m. 1955; died 1976) |
| Relatives | Bertram Forer (brother) |
| Awards | Daytime Emmy Awards 2012 Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program The Garfield Show Annie Awards 1996 and 1997 Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries 1974 Inkpot Award |
Her career encompassed radio, theatrical shorts, feature films, television, records (particularly with Stan Freberg), video games, talking toys, and other media. Foray was also one of the early members of ASIFA-Hollywood, the society devoted to promoting and encouraging animation. She is credited with the establishment of the Annie Awards, as well as being instrumental in the creation of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2001. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame honoring her voice work in television.
Chuck Jones was quoted as saying: "June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc. Mel Blanc was the male June Foray."