R.I.P. June Foray....voice of Rocky, etc.

Two months short of her 100th birthday.

Despite rumors of a hoax, this has been verified by the family...

http://www.newsfromme.com/2017/07/26/june-foray-r-p/

 

Oh, no! She was a firecracker; I thought for sure she was going to make it to 100 (and beyond). R.I.P.

 

Probably her last performance as Granny (2011):

 

Yes, noted Warner Bros. voice actor Bob Bergen has verified the news with Ms. Foray's caretaker, and she did pass away today, just a few weeks away from what would have been her 100th birthday.

June was not in good health for the last 10 years or so, but she gamely continued working up until the end, I think doing VO sessions for Garfield as recently as 2013 or 2014. She was kind of to the point where they were just using her for her famous "Granny" old-lady voice in the show, but she still had energy and enthusiasm and got through the sessions very well.

I got to work with June a few times in the late 1970s during my stint with Newjack Sound as a staff engineer in 1977-1978, and she was fast, funny, and very sharp. Very tiny woman, certainly no more than 5'2" tall if that, but she was really kind, very competent, and a helluva actress. I saw her subsequently at many San Diego ComicCons signing autographs during the 1980s and 1990s, and she was always very chipper and appreciative with fans. She had a lot of talent and a ton of range -- the number of voices she could do pretty much made her the equal of Mel Blanc in terms of sheer characters over the years, for everybody from Warner Bros. to Disney to all kinds of Saturday morning commercials and even traditional voice-over narration. I don't remember her ever needing more than 2 takes to totally nail a track -- she was a total pro in every way.

This is the way June looked when I casually knew her in the late '70s and '80s, and it's the way I like to think of her now:

 

Here's a detailed obituary from Variety: June Foray, Voice of ‘Bullwinkle Show’s’ Natasha and Rocky, Dies at 99

 

"100" is an arbitrary number anyway (bet it's a whole different amount in metric); it's what you do with the time that counts. Show me 5 former kids she didn't make an impression on, and I'll show you 5 deaf kids.

If I learned only one thing from children's television...it's, that trick never works.

 

RIP

 

RIP one of the best of all time.

 

Rest easy, Ms. Foray.

She was a giant and a legend. There will not be another.

 

Just watched the Twilight Zone episode where she had to loop the voice of a child, which she did amazingly well!


Dan

 

"My name is Talky Tina, and you'd better only say nice things about June Foray...!"

 

I thought she would make it to 100 as well. I was just watching a YouTube video of her and Bill Scott a couple of days ago.
RIP Rocky, Natasha and Nell.

 

She should be on the Mount Rushmore of Voice Actors. RIP!

 

never knew her name, but knew her voice! oh my.
Yep, a great loss indeed.

 

So close to making 100 too...

 

AMAZING talent, and what a life she had! It's impossible to measure the amount of smiles and laughter she helped create for countless children over the decades.

Not sure why people are sad she didn't make it to 100. Fact is she lived a good long and creative life. I would've loved to meet her.

dan c

 

Sad news. Great classic lady. RIP.

 

Another voice from my childhood is gone. R.I.P. June

 

One of the few voice actors that I put in the same class as Mel Blanc.
Love her work with Stan Freberg

 

Courtesy of artist Vincent Alexander...