In Memoriam - June Foray

 It seems such a crime that it's taken me this long to do a post about this amazing lady.

June Foray was one of the most prolific voice actresses in history. If you watched a lot of classic cartoons, she was ALL OVER your TV. You would probably remember her best as Granny on The Bugs Bunny Show, Magica de Spell and Ma Beagle on DuckTales, and both Natasha Fatale and Rocket "Rocky" J. Squirrel on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. In addition, she had done work in radio from the late 1930s until the late 2000s.

Apart from those famous roles, she has appeared in The Woody Woodpecker Show, Looney Tunes, 

One impressive thing about Foray's portrayals was how wide a range of voices she could provide for her characters. She has voiced just about every character type there is - little old ladies, evil sorceresses, criminal masterminds, 

Rocky from
Rocky and Bullwinkle

I can't tell which just from my searches, but if Foray had a most well-known character, it would probably have to be one of her two main roles on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show - the titular Rocky or Natasha. And needless to say, for each character, she used a drastically different voice. With Rocky, Foray used a voice that sounded youthful and energetic. She was also great at conveying Rocky's emotions, such as his exasperation with the antics of his best friend Bullwinkle. Doing so helped Foray make it clear that of the two unlikely heroes, Rocky was the smart one, despite falling for Natasha and Boris's tricks and traps to the same degree as his moose friend. Foray would go on to voice Rocky in the 2000 film, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Natasha Fatale, with her partner
Boris Badenov from Rocky and Bullwinkle

In stark contrast, Foray gave Natasha a thick "Pottsylvanian" accent - that is, a mock Russian accent, and a more husky voice, making Natasha sound more like your classic, stereotypical Russian femme fatale character, just as befitting her name. Much like with Rocky to Bullwinkle, Natasha was very often forced to be the brain to her partner, Boris - pointing out problems with the plans her partner made and even making sarcastic quips when said plans hit the oscillating cooling device. However, no less did Natasha enjoy the havoc she and her partner wreaked. In that, she and Boris were always able to find common ground. 

Also just like with her heroic counterpart, Foray voiced the animated Natasha in the 2000 live-action film, albeit for a shorter timeframe. The live-action version of the character was instead played by Rene Russo, partnered with Jason Alexander's Boris.

Foray died in hospital on July 26, 2017. She was 99 years old.

In a Facebook post back in 2013, I called her the Queen of Voice Actresses. When she was still with us, she was a featured guest at the 2011 Scream Awards, during which she was nominated for and won the Comic-Con Icon Award. 

Think that's great? It is also in part because of her that the Academy Awards even have the "Best Animated Feature" category. She also came up with the idea for the Annie Awards, which her husband named "Annie" because of the awards being for animated features. The award was then established by the Hollywood Chapter of the International Animated Film Association, who would go on to establish an award named after Foray herself, of which Foray was the first recipient.

No? Not awesome enough for you? Well, how about this? In 2012, when she was 94 years old, she received her first Emmy Award nomination - one in the category of Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for a part in The Garfield Show - and won. Furthermore, at the time of her big win, she was the oldest performer ever to win an Emmy.

Animator Chuck Jones apparently once said, "June Foray was not the female Mel Blanc. Mel Blanc was the male June Foray." I would almost disagree and say that honor goes to Frank Welker.

To like or leave a comment on the original videos, click the links below:

Bullwinkle's Corner - Excelsior

Best Of Boris And Natasha The Contest