Line #7 Creator/JuneForay


1	[[quoteright:271:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jf_2.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:271:"Did you grow up with me, too?"]]
3
4	->''"June Foray is not the female Creator/MelBlanc. Mel Blanc was the male June Foray."''
5	-->-- '''Creator/ChuckJones'''
6
7	June Lucille Forer (September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017), better known by her stage name June Foray, was an iconic American voice and film actress, best known as the voice of many popular animated characters (particularly [[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle Rocky the Flying Squirrel]] and [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Granny]]). Her long and prolific career encompassed radio, theatrical shorts, feature films, television, record albums (particularly with Creator/StanFreberg), video games, talking toys, and other media. In addition to being the last of the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' voice actors from its golden era, Foray was also a founding member of ASIFA-Hollywood, the society devoted to promoting and encouraging animation.
8
9	Foray was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, where her voice was first broadcast in a local radio drama when she was 12 years of age; by age 15, she was doing regular radio voice work. Two years later, she moved to Los Angeles, California, and soon became a popular radio voice actress there, including the national programs of Creator/JimmyDurante and Danny Thomas.
10
11	In the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1940s]], she began film work as well, including a few appearances acting in live-action movies, but mostly doing voiceovers for animated cartoons. At 4'11", Foray's diminutive stature somewhat limited her stage and on-camera acting career.
12
13	For Creator/WaltDisney, she performed Lucifer the Cat in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}''; she also did a variety of voices in Creator/WalterLantz' ''WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker'' cartoons. For Warner Bros. Cartoons, she was Granny (whom she performed, on and off, since 1943), owner of Tweety and Sylvester, and, memorably, a series of witches, including Witch Hazel, for Creator/ChuckJones; plus, she served as the narrator of ''WesternAnimation/ReallyScent''. She was also the voice of Granny in several post-golden age Looney Tunes projects, such as ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSylvesterAndTweetyMysteries'', ''Film/SpaceJam'', ''WesternAnimation/BabyLooneyTunes'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'', reprising the role for almost half a century following the original short series' conclusion.
14
15	Among her innumerable roles include Jokey Smurf and Mother Nature on ''WesternAnimation/{{The Smurfs\|1981}}'', Ursula on ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle'', and ''WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' as Cindy Lou Who, asking "Santy Claus" why he's taking their tree. She provided the voice of the original "Chatty Cathy" doll as well as the evil "Talky Tina" in ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone\|1959}}'' episode [[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S5E6LivingDoll "Living Doll"]]; the wife of the man getting dunked ("Don't tell him, Carlos!") in the Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks theme park ride]]; and a couple of characters featured in the 1988 film, ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''.
16
17	Foray worked for Creator/WalterLantz on some of the later WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker cartoons, the Creator/HannaBarbera studio, including ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'', ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'', ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou!'', ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'', and many others. She did extensive voice acting for Creator/StanFreberg's commercials, albums, and 1957 radio series, memorably as secretary to the werewolf advertising executive. Foray also appeared in several [[Creator/RankinBassProductions Rankin/Bass]] TV specials in the 1960s and 1970s.
18
19	Most recognizable, though, is her work for Creator/JayWard: she provided voices for nearly every female character on ''[[WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show]]'', including Natasha Fatale and Nell Fenwick, as well as Rocket J. Squirrel, [[CrossdressingVoices who was a boy]] (a.k.a. Rocky Squirrel). Foray also voiced Magica De Spell and Ma Beagle on ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales\|1987}}'' (she would go on to reprise Magica in the 2013 remake of the [[VideoGame/DuckTales Capcom videogame]]). Most significantly in the later part of her career, she had a leading role voicing Grammi Gummi on the landmark television series that helped usher in UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation, ''[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears]]'', where she worked with her ''Rocky & Bullwinkle'' co-star Bill Scott for the final time before his death in 1985.
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21	For the longest time, Foray was among the few surviving voice artists from the Golden Age of theatrical cartoons. She remained active right up until her passing, with roles in animated films, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' and ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction''. Around 2003, she was a special guest star in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''. In October 2006, she portrayed [[TheSuffragette Susan B. Anthony]] on three episodes of the podcast ''The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd''.
22
23	In 1995, ASIFA-Hollywood, a chapter of the Association Internationale du Film d'Animation (the International Animated Film Association), established the June Foray Award, which is awarded to "individuals who have made a significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation." Foray was the first recipient of the award. At age 90, she became a contributor to ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Archive Project.
24
25	In 2007, Canadian voice actress Creator/BrittIrvin became the first person ever to voice a character in a cartoon remake previously voiced by Foray in the original series, when she started voicing Ursula in Creator/CartoonNetwork's ''WesternAnimation/{{George of the Jungle\|2007}}''.
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27	In 2012, Foray was nominated for — and won! — her first Emmy Award[[note]]The Emmy categories for cartoon voices are relatively recent additions, so it isn't quite as big an AwardSnub as it may seem.[[/note]] for her role as "Mrs. Cauldron" on ''WesternAnimation/TheGarfieldShow.'' That may well make her the [[http://www.newsfromme.com/2012/05/09/important-question/ record-holder]] for the oldest Emmy nominee in ''any'' category. This caused series producer Creator/MarkEvanier to remark: "In case anyone's wondering what you have to do to get nominated for an Emmy, it's simple: Just be the absolute best at what you do for around seventy years."
28
29	Foray passed away on July 26, 2017, less than two months shy of her 100th birthday, leaving behind an incomprehensibly vast body of work that made her an indelible part of the childhood of numerous generations.

Context Creator / JuneForay