Death is kinda cool. It gets rid of people I dislike, provides me with delicious animals to eat, and (when handled carefully) can be a very good punchline in jokes. But every now and then, it goes too far and takes away someone before I’m ready for them to go. June Foray was one of those people. Not only was she a very talented voice actor, but she was the oldest one! Continuing to do amazing work, even though her age kept growing. (That’s one of the perks to voicing an old woman. It gets more authentic)
Born on September 18, 1917 (Yep. She was that close to cracking age 100) was June Lucille Forer. Daugher of Ida and Morris Forer. Like many people, young June had ideas about what she wanted to do with her life, that would end up different. In this case, she wanted to be a dancer. Her mother had her attend local classes, but something happened that caused her to drop out: pneumonia. But at the age of 12, her voice was broadcast on a local radio drama for the first time. In just three years, she was doing regular work as radio voices. But after living in Massachusetts her whole life, she and her family would move after her father fell on hard financial times. Their destination? Los Angeles.
June entered the radio biz through the WBZA Players, and would go on to star in her own radio series in the late 1930s, “Lady Make Believe.” Her popularity grew and soon she was making regular appearances on coast-to-coast network shows. By the 1940s, June began doing some film work. A few live action roles, but mostly doing voice overs. In the Donald Duck short, “Trick or Treat” she played a character named Witch Hazel. Chuck Jones saw that short and was very impressed. He invited her over to be a part of Looney Tunes where she took over for Bea Benaderet as the voice of Granny and Chuck’s own Witch Hazel. Unfortunately, due to Mel’s deal about being the only one to get voice credit, (which I’ll explain more when I blog about him) June didn’t get her credit for those shorts. But she did get some great words of encouragement from Jones: “June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc, Mel Blanc was the male June Foray.” (Nice words to be sure, but I find them debatable. No disrespect Ms. Foray, but Mel will always be the greatest voice actor and no one will ever be able to top him.) June had many famous roles over the years. Cindy Lou Who, Woody Woodpecker’s niece and nephew, Splinter and Knothead, and even playing as the terrifying Talky Tina doll from the “Living Doll” episode of “The Twilight Zone.” But she did have her fair share of not getting roles too. She tried out for Betty Rubble but did not get the part. She was “terribly disappointed.” (And the person who got the part? Bea Benaderet.) But arguably, her most famous role would be that of Rocket J. Squirrel.
Now all this work would make her one of my heroes easily enough, but June did much more for animation than that. In the 1960s she became devoted to the preservation and promotion of the medium and wrote numerous magazine articles about it. In 1972, having noted that there had been no awards to celebrate animation, she came up with the idea for the Annie Awards. In 1995 (the birth year of a very suave blogger) ASIFA-Hollywood established the June Foray Award. An award that is awarded to “individuals who have made a significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation.” (June would go on to win the first of these awards) She was also on the Governors’ board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. And thanks to her, we got the Academy Award for Best-Animated Feature. Something she had been lobbying for for two decades. (That’s dedicated) At age 94, she became the oldest entertainer to be nominated and win an Emmy. And even in her nineties, she continued to play her various roles.
But unfortunately, on July 26, 2017, Ms. Foray was taken away from us. She had been in declining health ever since an automobile accident in 2015, but I was really hoping to meet her at least once before her time was up. Thanks for everything, June. You’ve been there my entire life, and made many parts of it much more enjoyable. Say hi to my dog in heaven for me, would ya?
Sorry for lack of update last week. I had just got back from a trip to comic-con. Boy was that fun! Getting to dress as Porky never gets old, and five times as many people as last year asked for photos of me. (Special thanks to the one who posed with me) But by far the best part, was meeting Jerry Beck. (Who I did not suggest visiting this place. I was having enough trouble speaking coherently in front of another of my idols.) But he was super nice and even signed my W.B. shield. (Which he specifically signed to me, so you can’t have it.)