Person Biography:
June Lucille Forer, better known as June Foray, was a legendary voice actress born on September 18, 1917, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Her parents, Maurice Forer and Ida Edith Robinson, were of Jewish and French-Canadian descent. June's mother converted to Judaism to marry her father, who emigrated from Novgorod, Imperial Russia.
At the age of 12, June began doing "old lady" voices, and by 15, she was writing and voicing her own children's show, "Lady Makebelieve." She continued to work in radio, eventually moving to Los Angeles, where she began providing voices for cartoon characters.
In the 1940s, June provided voices for a live-action series of shorts, "Speaking of Animals," and recorded hundreds of children's and adult albums for Capitol Records. Her female characterizations on these records ranged from little girls to middle-aged women, old ladies, dowagers, and witches.
June's star in animation rose in the 1950s, with Walt Disney hiring her to do the voice of Lucifer the cat in Cinderella (1950). She also provided voices for Warner Brothers' "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" cartoons, including the iconic voice of Granny.
In the 1950s, June worked with Jay Ward on The Bullwinkle Show (1959),providing many voices, including those of "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" and "Natasha Fatale." She also appeared on Fractured Fairy Tales and Aesop and Son, and later became a regular on Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties.
June continued to work in animation, voicing characters for Hoppity Hooper (1964) and George of the Jungle (1967). She also appeared in numerous holiday specials and dubbed in voices for full-length live-action feature films.
In the early 1970s, June tried her hand at puppetry, becoming the voice of an elephant, an aardvark, and a giraffe on Curiosity Shop (1971). She continued to work in animation, recording voices for Disney on Parade and appearing on talk shows, game shows, and documentaries.
Throughout her career, June Foray was known for her incredible range of voices and her ability to bring characters to life. She remained active in the industry until her death on July 26, 2017, at the age of 99.
