Verna Felton
| Verna Felton | |
|---|---|
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| Born | July 20, 1890 Salinas, California, U.S. |
| Died | December 14, 1966 (aged 76) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1917–66 |
| Spouse | Lee Millar (Actor) (1923–41) (his death) |
Verna Felton (July 20, 1890 – December 14, 1966) was an American character actress who was best known for providing many female voices in numerous Disney animated films, as well as voicing Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law Pearl Slaghoople for Hanna-Barbera. Her film appearances during the 1940s included If I Had My Way (1940), Girls of the Big House (1945) and The Fuller Brush Man (1948). She was much in demand as a movie character actress during the early 1950s, including Buccaneer's Girl (1950) Belles on Their Toes (1952) Don't Bother to Knock (1952) and her memorable supporting role of Mrs. Potts in the film of William Inge's Picnic (1955). She was also known for her husky voice and no-nonsense attitude. She was born in Salinas, California.
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[edit] Radio and television
She also worked extensively in radio, notably playing Junior the Mean Widdle Kid's grandmother on Red Skelton's radio series and Dennis Day's mother on The Jack Benny Program. In addition, she performed on radio as a regular on The Abbott and Costello Show. Felton was married to radio actor Lee Millar (1888–1941), who also did animation voices (notably for Disney's Pluto, and their son, Lee Carson Millar Jr. (1924–1980), appeared as an actor on a variety of TV shows between 1952 and 1967.
Felton appeared too in a recurring role as the mother of Ruth Farley, a young woman played by Gloria Winters in the 1953-1955 ABC sitcom with a variety show theme, Where's Raymond?, renamed The Ray Bolger Show. The series starred Ray Bolger as Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who was repeatedly barely on time for his performances.[1]
While some sitcom aficiandos assume that her guest appearances on I Love Lucy led to a regular supporting role as Hilda Crocker on the CBS sitcom December Bride, the truth is that Felton had played that character on the radio incarnation two years prior to the television production. The latter also starred Spring Byington, Dean Miller, Frances Rafferty and Harry Morgan. Verna continued her Hilda Crocker role on the December Bride spin-off, Pete and Gladys, with Harry Morgan and Cara Williams. She was also the original voice of Pearl Slaghoople (Wilma Flintstone's mother), voicing the character as a semi-regular on The Flintstones from 1960 to 1964.
[edit] Disney and MGM
Felton was a popular actress at the Walt Disney Studios and MGM Studios, lending her voice to several animated features, including:
- Dumbo (1941) as Matriarch the Elephant / Mrs. Jumbo
- Cinderella (1950) as the Fairy Godmother
- Alice in Wonderland (1951) as the Queen of Hearts
- Lady and the Tramp (1955) as Aunt Sarah
- Sleeping Beauty (1959) as Flora / Queen Leah
- Goliath II (1960)
- The Jungle Book (1967) as Winifred the Elephant
[edit] Death
Felton died of a stroke on the evening of December 14, 1966, only hours before the death of Walt Disney early the following morning. She was 76 years old and had enjoyed a film career stretching nearly 50 years. She is buried in Glendale's Grand View Memorial Park.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Where's Raymond?/ The Ray Bolger Show". ctva.biz. http://ctva.biz/US/Comedy/RayBolgerShow.htm. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
[edit] References
- Terrace, Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924-1984. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9
- Tucker, Fredrick. Verna Felton. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59393-524-5
