"Smurfette" Voice Actress Lucille Bliss 2012 Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Lucille Theresa Bliss (March 31, 1916 – November 8, 2012) was an American actress and voice artist,[3] known in the Bay Area and in Hollywood as the Girl With a Thousand Voices.[4]

A New York City native, Bliss lent her voice to numerous television characters, including the title character of the very first made-for-television cartoon, Crusader Rabbit, Smurfette on the popular 1980s cartoon The Smurfs and Ms. Bitters on the Nickelodeon animated series Invader ZIM. In addition to her television roles, she was known for her work as a voice actor in feature films.

Life and career

Family

Bliss' parents were James Francis Bliss and Frieda Simmons Bliss, "a classically trained pianist who wanted Bliss to train as an opera singer."[5] Her father's death in 1928 prompted Mrs. Bliss and Lucille to move to San Francisco.[5]

Radio

Bliss was active in old-time radio, having roles in Pat Novak, for Hire, Candy Matson, and The Charlie McCarthy Show.[6]

Film

Bliss' first voice work was the role of the wicked stepsister Anastasia Tremaine in Walt Disney's 1950 feature film Cinderella,[7] for which she was honored 50 years later by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award in March 2000.[8]

Television

In the early years of television, Bliss acted in Harbor Command and The Lineup.[4] From 1950 to 1957, Bliss was "Auntie Lou" on San Francisco, California's KRON-TV's The Happy Birthday To You Show, also known as Birthday Party Show, which had guests from adults, to children, to animals. The program included use of Disney cartoon characters, as Bliss "picked up exclusive rights in northern California for the right to use Disney clips on her new show."[9] At the same time, she did voices for Hanna-Barbera while they were working for MGM – as Tuffy in Robin Hoodwinked, as Leprechaun in Droopy Leprechaun and later was Hugo on an episode of The Flintstones. She was also the narrator on three stories from the Disney album "Peter Cottontail and Other Funny Bunnies," "Story of Thumper," Story of the White Rabbit," and "Story of Grandpa Bunny." Bliss was also a voice-over performer for Airborne radio spots in 2004.

Volunteer efforts

Bliss produced and directed talent shows for the Embarcadero Armed Services YMCA in San Francisco. Some service personnel launched professional careers from those shows.[4]

Death

Bliss died from natural causes on November 8, 2012 at the age of 96.[2][10] She had no immediate survivors[5] and is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Filmography

Cinderella (1950) - Anastasia Tremaine 
Crusader Rabbit (1950–1952) - Crusader Rabbit 
Alice in Wonderland (1951) - Sunflower and Tulip 
A Kiddies Kitty (1955) - Suzanne 
The Waggily Tale (1958) - Little Girl/Mama 
Robin Hoodwinked (1958) - Tuffy 
Droopy Leprechaun (1958) - Leprechaun 
The Flintstones (1960) - Hugo (episode "The Good Scout") 
101 Dalmatians (1961) - TV Commercial Singer 
Space Kidettes (1966) - Snoopy 
Funnyman (1967) - Girl of 1000 voices 
The Tiny Tree (1975) 
The Flintstones' Christmas (1977) - Bamm-Bamm Rubble 
The Flintstones: Little Big League (1978) - Dusty 
Casper the Friendly Ghost: He Ain't Scary, He's Our Brother (1979) 
Hug Me (1981) 
The Smurfs (1981–1989) - Smurfette 
The Secret of NIMH (1982) - Mrs. Beth Fitzgibbons 
The Great Bear Scare (1983) - Miss Witch 
Rainbow Brite: San Diego Zoo Adventure (1983) - Narrator 
Strong Kids, Safe Kids (1984) - Smurfette 
Star Wars: Ewoks (1986) 
Assassination (1987) - Crone 
The Night Before (1988) - Gal Baby 
Miracle Mile (1988) - Old Woman in Diner 
Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery (1989) 
Asterix and the Big Fight (1989) - Impedimenta (aka Bonnemine) 
Tales of the City (1993) - Cable Car Lady 
Space Quest VI: The Spinal Frontier (1995) - Sharpei/Waitron (video game) 
Wacked (1997) - Jane Katz 
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (2002) - Rozatta (video game) 
Battlestar Galactica (2003) - Shaden Blue 
Harvest Days (2005) - Bear Brat 
Robots (2005) - Pigeon Lady 
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2004) - Yugoda Invader 
ZIM (2001–2002 and 2006) - Ms. Bitters 
Up-In-Down Town (2007) - Quinby 
I'm Just a Pill (2010) - Young Honey 
Unwrap An Expletive (2012) - Santa's Elf

References

Notes

1. "Lucille Bliss Interview". Archive of American Television. August 26, 2005. 
2. Lucille Bliss dies at 96; voice of Crusader Rabbit and Smurfette Los Angeles Times. 
3. "Lucille Bliss Dies". Contactmusic.com. 
4. "Lucille Bliss To Guide Y Talent Show". Daily Independent Journal. November 14, 1958. p. 29. 
5. "Lucille Bliss, Voice of Smurfette, Dies at 96". The Hollywood Reporter. November 15, 2012. 
6. "Necrology for 2012". Nostalgia Digest 39 (2): 24–31. Spring 2013. 
7. "How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Magic Every Day of Your Life" Pat Williams, James Denney, and Jim Denney. (HCI, 2004) 
8. "21st Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. 
9. "Disney to Local TV". The Times. February 20, 1954. p. 6. 
10. "Lucille Bliss: 1916-2012". Behind The Voice Actors. 1916-03-31.