Gloria Wood (September 8, 1923 – March 4, 1995) was an American singer and voice actress. Her rare voice was in the four- octave range. She was able to imitate other voices.

Background and career

Born in Medford, Massachusetts in 1923, her father was Robert E. Wood, a Boston radio singer in the 1920s, who with wife Gertrude Anderson-Wood, was the influence which had encouraged both Gloria and her older sister Donna to cultivate their vocal skills. Shortly after leaving high school in 1941, Gloria joined Donna in The

Horace Heidt Horace Heidt (May 21, 1901 – December 1, 1986) was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television during the 19 ...

Band. In 1947,

Kay Kyser James Kern Kyser (June 18, 1905 – July 23, 1985), known as Kay Kyser, was an American bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s. Early years James Kern Kyser was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Emily ...

offered Gloria the emotional problem of replacing Donna in his Campus Kids vocal group when she died on April 8, 1947 at the age of 29. Wood also became the lead singer for Kyser on occasion and enjoyed several hits. She became a member of The Rhythmaires vocal group which worked with Bing Crosby for nearly ten years. Crosby would occasionally showcase her apart from the group, such as on the

Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased ...

shows of March 17 and 31, 1948 when, in their duet, she reprised her Kyser success, "Saturday Date." They sang another of her Kyser hits, " On a Slow Boat to China" on Philco June 1, 1949. She can also be heard on Crosby's 1950 recording and subsequent air checks of " Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," where she supplies the voice of Rudolph. Her recording of "The Woody Woodpecker Song" with Kyser's orchestra sold more than 4 million copies. Wood also had an extensive film career as a

ghost singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not ap ...

, her earliest venture in this field being in '' Diamond Horseshoe'' (1945). Uncredited, she is the voice of Adele Jergens in

The Bowery Boys The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 1 ...

movie, '' Blues Busters'' (1950); and one of the voices (with Trudy Stevens) of Vera-Ellen in '' White Christmas'' (1954). Twice she was a partial stand-in for

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

in ''

River of No Return ''River of No Return'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. The screenplay by Frank Fenton is based on a story by Louis Lantz, who borrowed his premise from the 1948 Italia ...

'' (also 1954) and ''

Let's Make Love ''Let's Make Love'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller, the film ...

'' (1960). She appears in '' Gaby'' (1956) singing "

Where or When "Where or When" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical ''Babes in Arms''. It was first performed by Ray Heatherton and Mitzi Green. That same year, Hal Kemp recorded a popular version. The song also appeared in the film version o ...

," and sang for one of the twins in '' The Parent Trap'' (1961), Ladyfish in '' The Incredible Mr. Limpet'' and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...

's young nephew in ''

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...

'' (1974). Wood recorded more than 2,500 singing commercials both on radio and television. One of the best known of these was for Rice-A-Roni (...the San Francisco treat); but she may be best remembered as the voice of the orbiting Tinker Bell in the

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

peanut butter ads. Wood was utilized on numerous cartoons, beginning in

Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lant ...

's '' Wet Blanket Policy'' (1948), where she was heard singing the

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...

Song. On television, Wood supplied voices for '' The Bugs and Daffy Show'' and ''That's Warner Bros.!''; as well as that of

Minnie Mouse Minnie Mouse is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a bow, polka-dotted dress, white bloomers, and low-heeled shoes occasiona ...

and other characters on several

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

programs. Wood married in 1955, and it was around this time that she joined The

Johnny Mann John Russell Mann (August 30, 1928June 18, 2014) was an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, singer, and recording artist. Career Johnny Mann's began his music career in the late 1940s in his hometown of Baltimore before serving ...

Singers. Wood died on March 4, 1995 from complications of diabetes. At that time, she was known as Gloria Wood-McGeorge.

Cartoon voices

* Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (on records) * Looney Tunes cartoon characters *

Tinker Bell Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play '' Peter Pan'' and its 1911 novelisation ''Peter and Wendy''. She has appeared in a variety of film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 ...

Peter Pan (peanut butter) Peter Pan is an American brand of peanut butter that is marketed by Post Consumer Brands, part of Post Holdings, and is named after the J. M. Barrie character. The product was introduced by Swift & Company (originally through their "Derby Food ...

TV commercials *

(Disney) * Susie Sparrow (Disney) * Nelly the Singing Giraffe (Warner Brothers) * Cartoon characters in A Symposium on Popular Songs (Disney)

History and discography

*1941: Gloria's mother, a pop singer on Boston radio in the mid-1920s, sent Gloria into big band singing from high school. *1940s: Wood sings with band leader

. *1948: " On a Slow Boat to China" - Kay Kyser,

Harry Babbitt Harry Babbitt (November 2, 1913 – April 9, 2004) was an American singer and star during the Big Band era. Early career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Babbitt organized his own band after high school, directing the group in addition to singing an ...

& Gloria Wood *1948: First sings The

Song in '' Wet Blanket Policy'' cartoon. *1948: ''

So Dear to My Heart ''So Dear to My Heart'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Its world premiere was in Chicago, Illinois, on November 29, 1948. Like 1946's ''Song of the South'', the film comb ...

'' (Disney Live Action/Animated Film; chorus) *1949: '' The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' (Disney Animated Film, "The Headless Horseman"; chorus) *1950: Wood is the uncredited singing voice of Adele Jergens in the comedy film '' Blues Busters''. She sings "

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (or alternatively "Joshua Fought de Battle of Jericho", "Joshua Fit the Battle" or just Joshua and various other titles) is a well-known African-American spiritual. The lyrics allude to the biblical story of th ...

", and " Better Be Lookin' Out for Love". *1951: '' Alice in Wonderland'' (Disney Animated Film; chorus) *1953: ''

''(Disney Animated Film; chorus) *1953: '' Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom'' (Disney Animated Short) Susie Sparrow *1953: Recording of "Hey Bellboy"; eventually sells 1 million copies. *1953: ''

The Band Wagon ''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, ...

'' (film musical) singer in "That's Entertainment" sequence (uncredited) *1954: Dubbed singing voice for

in the movie ''

''. *1954: Dubbed singing voice for Vera-Ellen in the movie '' White Christmas''. *mid-1950s: Wood sings an LP of romantic ballads for Columbia. *1955 to 1958: In only three years, Wood worked on more than 2,000 singing commercials. *1956: '' Gaby'' - Singer at the Bottle Club and performer in "Where Or When" *1957: Zephyr Records releases the 45rpm single ''Scoundrel Blues'' / ''Sabourin''. **1957: Zephyr Records releases the 45rpm single ''Someday Soon'' / ''Lullabye in Blue''. *1957: Wood is the Singing Bride in ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

''(TV series) and in '' Goodwin Knight/ George Jessel Show''. *1957: ''

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...

'' (Live Action Series) Singing barmaid in "Death Stacks the Deck" *late 1950s: Sings on a record with

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

. *late 1950s: Wood heads up a choir in Disney record/s. *late 1950s: Along with Stan Freberg, Wood plays cartoon voices in TV commercials, including the Rice-A-Roni TV commercial jingle. *late 1950s: Performs cartoon voices in cartoons and for record albums. *1960: featured vocalist on

Pete Rugolo Pietro "Pete" Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011) was an American jazz composer, arranger and record producer. Life and career Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settle ...

's album, ''

Behind Brigitte Bardot ''Behind Brigitte Bardot'' (subtitled ''Cool Sounds from Her Hot Scenes'') is an album by composer, arranger and conductor Pete Rugolo featuring performances of tunes associated with the films of Brigitte Bardot, and other French films, recorded ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1960) *1960: "Ching Ching" Gloria Wood And The Afterbeats, Bob Sherman, Dick Sherman, Buena Vista USA *1961: Voices and sings as Nelly the Singing Giraffe in

Nelly's Folly ''Nelly's Folly'' is a 1961 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon short written and directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on December 30, 1961. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1962. A singing g ...

, a short cartoon for Warner Bros. *1962: Sings for '' A Symposium on Popular Songs'', a short cartoon for Disney: "The Boogie Woogie Bakery Man", "Rock, Rumble and Roar", "Charleston Charlie",

Robert B. Sherman Robert Bernard Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) was an American songwriter, best known for his work in musical films with his brother, Richard M. Sherman. The Sherman brothers produced more motion picture song scores than any ...

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. *1964: ''

The Woody Woodpecker Show ''The Woody Woodpecker Show'' is a long-running 30-minute American television series mainly composed of the animated cartoon shorts of Woody Woodpecker and other Walter Lantz characters including Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, The Beary Family and Inspe ...

'' (Animated Series) Singer "Spook-a-Nanny" *1966: ''

The Super 6 ''The Super 6'' is an animated cartoon series which was produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and Mirisch-Rich Television Productions in 1966, and shown on the NBC television network from 1966 to 1969. This was DePatie–Freleng's first vehicl ...

'' cartoon *1966: '' Batman'' (Live Action Series; theme song chorus) *1969: '' A Boy Named Charlie Brown'' (Animated Film; singer) *1973: Walt Disney presents Christmas Adventure in Disneyland album - Disneyland Records. *1978: '' Yogi's Space Race'' by Hanna-Barbera *1995: Voices various cartoon characters in ''That's Warner Bros.!'' TV series; reconfigured as '' The Bugs n' Daffy Show'' (TV cartoon series) the following year (archive footage).

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Gloria American voice actresses 1923 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers Capitol Records artists Columbia Records artists Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)