Lucille Bliss

Lucille Theresa Bliss (March 31, 1916 – November 8, 2012) was an American actress,[2] known in the Bay Area and in Hollywood as the "Girl With a Thousand Voices".[3]

Lucille Bliss
Bliss at the 34th Annie Awards, 2007
Born
Lucille Theresa Bliss[1]

(1916-03-31)March 31, 1916[1]
New York City, U.S.
DiedNovember 8, 2012(2012-11-08) (aged 96)
Costa Mesa, California, U.S.
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
OccupationActress
Years active1935–2012

A New York City native, Bliss lent her voice to numerous television characters, including the title character of the very first made-for-television cartoon, Crusader Rabbit, Smurfette on the popular 1980s cartoon The Smurfs and Ms. Bitters on the Nickelodeon animated series Invader Zim. In addition to her television roles, she was known for her work as a voice actress in feature films.

Life and career

Family

Bliss' parents were James Francis and Frieda (née Simmons) Bliss. Her mother was "a classically trained pianist who wanted Bliss to train as an opera singer".[4] Her father's death in 1928 prompted Mrs. Bliss and Lucille to move to San Francisco.[4]

Radio

Bliss was active in old-time radio, having roles in Pat Novak, for Hire, Candy Matson, and The Charlie McCarthy Show.[5]

Film

Bliss' first voice work was the role of the wicked stepsister Anastasia Tremaine in Walt Disney's 1950 feature film Cinderella,[6] for which she was honored 50 years later by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award in March 2000.[7]

Television

In the early years of television, Bliss acted in Harbor Command and The Lineup.[3] From 1950 to 1957, Bliss was "Auntie Lou" on San Francisco, California's KRON-TV's The Happy Birthday To You Show, also known as Birthday Party Show, which had guests from adults, to children, to animals. The program included use of Disney cartoon characters, as Bliss "picked up exclusive rights in northern California for the right to use Disney clips on her new show."[8] At the same time, she did voices for Hanna-Barbera while they were working for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio – as Tuffy in Robin Hoodwinked, as Leprechaun in Droopy Leprechaun and later was Hugo on an episode of The Flintstones. She was also the narrator on three stories from the Disney album "Peter Cottontail and Other Funny Bunnies": "Story of Thumper", :Story of the White Rabbit", and "Story of Grandpa Bunny". Bliss was also a voice-over performer for Airborne radio spots in 2004.

Volunteer efforts

Bliss produced and directed talent shows for the Embarcadero Armed Services YMCA in San Francisco. Some service personnel launched professional careers from those shows.[3]

Death

Bliss died from natural causes on November 8, 2012 in Costa Mesa, California at the age of 96.[9][10] She is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Filmography

References
  1. "Lucille Bliss Interview". Archive of American Television. August 26, 2005. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  2. "Lucille Bliss Dies". Contactmusic.com. 2012-11-13. Archived from the original on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
  3. "Lucille Bliss To Guide Y Talent Show". Daily Independent Journal. November 14, 1958. p. 29. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Lucille Bliss, Voice of Smurfette, Dies at 96". The Hollywood Reporter. November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  5. "Necrology for 2012". Nostalgia Digest. 39 (2): 24–31. Spring 2013.
  6. "How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Magic Every Day of Your Life" Archived 2016-05-12 at the Wayback Machine Pat Williams, James Denney, and Jim Denney. (HCI, 2004)
  7. "21st Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  8. "Disney to Local TV". The Times. February 20, 1954. p. 6. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Lucille Bliss dies at 96; voice of Crusader Rabbit and Smurfette" Archived 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times; retrieved November 15, 2012. She never married and left no survivors.
  10. "Lucille Bliss: 1916–2012". Behind The Voice Actors. 1916-03-31. Archived from the original on 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
  11. "Strong Kids, Safe Kids". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-01. Pebbles, Baby Smurf and Pac-Baby's usual voice actresses aren't listed, but Baby Smurf and Pac-Baby make noises and Pebbles and Pac-Baby each have only one line of dialogue.
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