Monday, June 13, 2016

Janet Waldo, R.I.P.


I posted her death notice on the FB page earlier, but I wanted to say a little more about her here.

I have always loved cartoons and Janet Waldo did voices in many of my favorites. Besides Judy Jetson, she was Lana Lang in the 1960s Superman cartoons, Granny Sweet in The Atom Ant Show, Penelope Pitstop in Wacky Races, Josie in Josie and the Pussycats, Morticia in The Addams Family cartoon, Princess in Battle of the Planets, Hogatha in The Smurfs, and so many more. Rest in peace Ms. Waldo. I will miss your voice.

From ew.com --

Janet Waldo, the prolific voice actress best known for her role as The Jetsons’  eldest daughter Judy, has died, her daughter confirms to ABC News. Waldo was 96.

In addition to her work as the animated teen of the future, Waldo voiced a number of Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters, ranging from Penelope Pitstop to Josie and the Pussycats’ Josie. Her last credited voice work came in 2000, when she reprised Pitstop in a Wacky Races video game.

Waldo, who passed away on Sunday morning, was diagnosed with a benign but inoperable brain tumor five years ago, says daughter Lucy Lee.

Born in Washington in 1920, Waldo began her career with an uncredited role in the 1938 film Cocoanut Grove, going on to do steady work in radio. In 1952, she appeared in an episode of I Love Lucy and went on to make television appearances on programs like The Andy Griffith Show, Get Smart, and Petticoat Junction before transitioning to animation. The Jetsons ran from 1962-1987.


4 comments:

Tom said...

Ah, the voice of so many Saturday mornings. Great interview, thanks for posting. I never knew she was the voice of Princess in Battle of the Planets.

Erick said...

Tom -- You're welcome. I don't think I knew about Battle of the Planets either.

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a career. I had no idea she was in Valentine's Day.

Erick said...

Sharon -- I mainly knew about her from the cartoons she did. I didn't know she did live acting and I've never heard of the show Valentine's Day. :/