Joan Gardner (November 16, 1926 – December 10, 1992) was an American voice actress who was most active in voice over roles. She was also a screenwriter, songwriter, author and composer.

Early life

She was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

on November 16, 1926, to Jack "Jumbo" Gardner, a prominent jazz musician and Adelaide (Cline) Gardner.

Career

She started her career on the stage. In 1948–1949, she wrote scripts for the television programs ''

Pantomime Quiz ''Pantomime Quiz'', initially titled ''Pantomime Quiz Time'' and later ''Stump the Stars'', was an American television game show produced and hosted by Mike Stokey. Running from 1947—1959, it has the distinction of being one of the few tel ...

'' and ''

Time For Beany ''Time For Beany'' is an American children's television series, with puppets for characters, which was broadcast locally in Los Angeles starting on February 28, 1949 and nationally (by kinescope) by the improvised Paramount Television Network fro ...

''. Apart from writing scripts and books, Gardner also worked as a music composer for films. However, she was most active as an actress for radio and television animated series. She voiced Spunky in ''

The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole ''The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole'' is an animated television series produced by Beverly Hills Productions and syndicated beginning on September 6, 1958. The show's characters were a boy and a bear who hunted down bad guys. The show was made ...

'', Tanta Kringle and various other female roles on the Christmas special ''

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was the ...

'', Bonnie Bonnet and Madame Esmerelda on the TV special ''

Here Comes Peter Cottontail ''Here Comes Peter Cottontail'' is a 1971 Easter stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, currently distributed by Universal Television and based on the 1957 novel ''The Easter Bunny That Overslept'' by Priscil ...

'', played Josephine Bonaparte opposite

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

's Napoleon in the animated special ''

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians ''The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians'' is a 1970 American animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. After the Christmas special ''Frosty the Snowman'' (1969), it was Rankin/Bass' second hand-drawn animated work to be outsourced to O ...

'' and Zazu the Fairy Godmother on ''

Pound Puppies Pound Puppies is a toy line that was created by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, two animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries. Toy ...

''.

Personal life

She married producer Edward Janis on December 8, 1960, and wrote under the name Joan Janis. Joan Gardner died on December 10, 1992, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at 66 years old.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1986) - Zazu, the Fairy Dogmother * ''

Galtar and the Golden Lance ''Galtar and the Golden Lance'' is a 30-minute animated sword and sorcery television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired in syndication in 1985–86 as part of ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera''. The show ran for 21 e ...

'' (TV series) (1985) - Additional Voices (unknown episodes) * ''

Snorks ''Snorks'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and ran for a total of four seasons (consisting of 65 episodes) on NBC from September 15, 1984, to May 13, 1989. The program continued to be available in syndication from 1987 ...

'' (1984-1988) - Mrs. Wetworth * ''

The All-New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show ''The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' is the sixth incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon ''Scooby-Doo''. It premiered on September 10, 1983, featuring the return of Daphne Blake, Daphne, and ran for one season on American Bro ...

'' (1983-1984) - Additional voices * ''

The First Easter Rabbit ''The First Easter Rabbit'' is an animated Easter television special that premiered April 9, 1976 on NBC and later aired on CBS. Created by Rankin/Bass Productions, it tells the story of the Easter Bunny's origin. The special is loosely based on t ...

'' (1976) (TV special) - Elizabeth/Calliope * '' The Story of the First Christmas Snow'' (1975) (TV special) aka The First Christmas (USA: video title) - Sister Jean * ''

Valley of the Dinosaurs ''Valley of the Dinosaurs'' is an American animated television series produced by the Australian studios of Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on CBS from September 7 to December 21, 1974, and in syndication from 1977 to 1983. The series, ab ...

'' (1974) - Gara * ''The City That Forgot About Christmas'' (1974) (TV special) * ''

Kid Power ''Wee Pals'' is an American syndicated comic strip about a diverse group of children, created and produced by Morrie Turner. It was the first comic strip syndicated in the United States to have a cast of diverse ethnicity, dubbed the "Rainbow Ga ...

'' (1972) TV series - Various Characters * ''

'' (1971) (TV special) - Bonnie Bonnet and her store's owner/Madame Esmeralda/Mother's Day mother/disbelieving President's Day mother * ''

'' (1970) - Tanta Kringle * ''

'' (1970) -

Josephine Bonaparte Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Coun ...

(TV special) * ''

The Beach Girls and the Monster ''The Beach Girls and the Monster'' (aka ''Monster from the Surf'') is a horror and beach party film, released in 1965, directed by and starring Jon Hall. Plot Young Richard Lindsay (Arnold Lessing) has given up his career in science in favo ...

'' (1965) (screenwriter) * ''

The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo ''The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo'' is an American animated television series produced by United Productions of America that aired for one season on NBC from September 19, 1964 to April 24, 1965. The television series was based on the Mr. Magoo, ...

'' - Additional voices (4 episodes, 1964) * ''

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol ''Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol'' is a 1962 animated musical holiday television special produced by UPA. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol'', and it features UPA's character Mr. Magoo as Ebenezer Scro ...

'' (1962) (TV special) - Tiny Tim / Ghost of Christmas Past * ''

Gay Purr-ee ''Gay Purr-ee'' is a 1962 American animated musical film produced by United Productions of America and released by Warner Bros. It features the voice of Judy Garland in her only animated-film role, as well as Robert Goulet in his first feature fi ...

'' (1962) - Provence lady * ''

The Dick Tracy Show ''The Dick Tracy Show'' is an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA. In the show, policeman Dick Tracy employed a series of cartoony subordinat ...

'' - Additional voices (1961-1962) * ''

''- Spunky (2 episodes, 1958–1961) ** "A Message to Marcia" (1958) TV episode - Spunky ** "The Frozen Planet" (1958) TV episode - Spunky * ''

Time for Beany ''Time For Beany'' is an American children's television series, with puppets for characters, which was broadcast locally in Los Angeles starting on February 28, 1949 and nationally (by kinescope) by the improvised Paramount Television Network fro ...

'' (1949) (TV series) - Additional voices (credited as Joan Janis)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Joan 1926 births 1992 deaths Actresses from Chicago American voice actresses Deaths from cancer in California Screenwriters from Illinois Writers from Chicago 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American screenwriters