The Kenblog: Good-Bye To A Legend – June Foray!

 

Howdy Folks!  It’s The Kendog!

 

 

 

 

Those of you who know me well know one of my entertainment heroes is the legendary Mel Blanc.  His kind heart combined with his incredible vocal skills made him one of the men outside of my family I admired most.  But for all of his skill in creating voices for all of those Looney Tunes characters, he did not do it alone.  Most of his help in the area of female characters came from an equally talented woman whose dedication to the art of animation not only made her a legendary voice actress, but also helped to bring animation in a short form to the attention of none other than the Academy Awards.  I am of course speaking of the late, great June Foray who died earlier this week at the age of 99.  

She may not have received the credit Mel Blanc did during those golden days of the Warner Brothers cartoons, but she created many indelible characters such as Witch Hazel, Grandma in the Sylvester/Tweety-Bird cartoons, and many others.   She really hit it big when she voiced Rocky the Flying Squirell in the satirical Rocky & Bullwinkle Show during the sixties.  She also voiced the villainous Natasha in the same show as well as many other voices in the program.

 

She was also active behind the scenes of animation, becoming one of the founders of the animation organization ASIFA-Hollywood as well as the animation awards program known as “The Annies.”  She was also very influential in bringing the animated feature category to the Oscars.  The woman worked well into her late years and has well over three hundred credits to her name, working from the 1940’s all the way into the 21st century.  She is a legend and should always be remembered for her work both on the microphone and behind the scenes to help make animation the huge juggernaut it is today.  She will be missed!  So Sayeth The Kendog!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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