Stephanie Louise Vallance, commonly known as Stevie Vallance, also credited as Louise Vallance during the 1970s90s, is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actress, musician, composer and director who has worked on numerous films and television series, both live-action and animated. Vallance is most recognized as Jenny in ''

The Ropers ''The Ropers'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from March 13, 1979, to May 22, 1980. It is a spin-off of ''Three's Company'' and loosely based on the British sitcom ''George and Mildred'', which was itself a spin-off of ...

'', Det. Stevie Brody in ''Night Heat,'' and Whazzat Kangaroo in ''

Zoobilee Zoo ''Zoobilee Zoo'' is a children's television series featuring actors dressed as animal characters that originally aired from 1986 to 1987. It continued to run in syndication until 2000 on several television channels including commercial network ...

''. As a director, she received a ''

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

'' for voice-directing the music and dialogue on the children's animated series ''Madeline'', in which she also portrayed "Miss Clavel" and "Genevive".

Early life and career

Montréal-born, Toronto-raised Stephanie Louise Vallance began work as a professional actress at age eleven. At that time she was discovered by Alan Lund, who cast her in the lead role of "Adele" in the

Charlottetown Festival The Charlottetown Festival is a seasonal Canadian musical theatre festival which runs from late May to mid-October every year since 1965. Named after its host city Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and its Charlottetown Conference, since its inc ...

musical production of ''Jane Eyre'', which performed at Toronto's O'Keefe Centre (now the

Sony Centre for the Performing Arts Meridian Hall is a major performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, and it is the country's largest soft-seat theatre. The facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government and is currently managed by TO Live, an arms-len ...

). As a teenager, Vallance made numerous television appearances including leading roles on Canadian television networks in ''

King of Kensington ''King of Kensington'' is a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.Mary Jane Miller, ''Turn Up the Contrast: CBC Television Drama since 1952''. UBC Press, 2011. . pp. 134-144. Synopsis Al Waxman starred as Lar ...

''; ''Police Surgeon''; ''

The Tommy Hunter Show Thomas James Hunter, CM, O.Ont (born March 20, 1937) is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman". Career In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC Television show, '' Country Hoedown''. '' ...

''; Norman Campbell's ''The Wonder of It All;'' and ''A Bird In The House,'' directed by

Allan King Allan Winton King, (February 6, 1930 – June 15, 2009), was a Canadian film director. Life Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, during the Great Depression, King attended Henry Hudson Elementary School, in Kitsilano.

Film and television

After graduating from the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

in New York, she moved to Los Angeles, where David Jacobs cast her as "Sylvie" in the first two seasons of ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...

'' (CBS) before ABC asked her to join the second season of ''

'' as "Jenny", the orphaned newspaper ‘boy’ whom Stanley and Helen found living in their attic; with

Norman Fell Norman Fell (born Norman Noah Feld; March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off, ''The Ropers'', and his fi ...

Audra Lindley Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off ''The Ropers''. Life and career Audra Lindley was born ...

, and

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank Kings ...

. As an LA-based actor, Vallance guest-starred on multiple network television series including ''

Bosom Buddies ''Bosom Buddies'' is an American television sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson ( Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions). It aired on Thursday nights for two seasons on ABC f ...

'', ''Lou Grant'', ''and

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

.'' She played Ernest's love interest, "Erma Terradiddle" in the

Jim Varney James Albert Varney Jr. (June 15, 1949 – February 10, 2000) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his broadly comedic role as Ernest P. Worrell, for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award, as well as appearing in films and ...

feature film ''

Slam Dunk Ernest ''Slam Dunk Ernest'' is a 1995 American direct-to-video sports comedy film, and the eighth full-length feature film starring Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell. It was released direct-to-video, and was directed by long-time Ernest collaborator J ...

''. In ''

Three Men and a Baby ''Three Men and a Baby'' is a 1987 American comedy film directed by Leonard Nimoy. It stars Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson as three bachelors as they attempt to adapt their lives to de facto fatherhood with the arrival of the love ...

'' she was "Sally", opposite

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men a ...

. In the 80s and 90s, Vallance commuted between Los Angeles and Toronto, starring in many Canadian/US co-productions including '' Poltergeist: The Legacy'', ''The Outer Limits'''','' '' F/X: The Series'', ''Cobra,'' ''First Wave'''','' '' Dracula: The Series'', ''

Forever Knight ''Forever Knight'' is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a ho ...

'', and ''

Road to Avonlea ''Road to Avonlea'' is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the ''CBC Family Hour'' anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created b ...

'', where she was whisked away on a horse by

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film ''Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, ...

. During that time she was best known for her role as series regular "Det. Stevie Brody" on the CBS late-night series ''

Night Heat ''Night Heat'' is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. ''Night Heat'' was the first Canadian original drama series that was also ...

';'' with

Scott Hylands Scott Hylands Douglas (born 1943) is a Canadian actor who has appeared in movies, on television, and on the stage. Because of his longevity and versatility, critics have called him "one of Canada's greatest actors." Early years Hylands was born ...

Allan Royal Allan Royal (born August 17, 1944) is a Canadian actor, who is also sometimes credited as Allan G. Royal and Alan Royal. He is known for playing the crime reporter Tom Kirkwood on the hit Canadian police drama ''Night Heat'' from 1985 to 1989. H ...

, and

Jeff Wincott Jeffrey Wincott (born 8 May 1956) is a Canadian actor and martial artist best known for his lead role in the television series ''Night Heat.'' Wincott was also the star of several martial arts films in the 1990s. In 1996 he was named one of the ...

. She followed that up with a very different sort of role of a pink marsupial named "Whazzat Kangaroo" on the

Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...

series ''

'', filmed entirely in California's San Fernando Valley.

Animation

Vallance has lent her voice to hundreds of characters on animated television series: ''

ReBoot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

'' as "Mouse" and "Rocky Raccoon"; ''Donkey Kong Country'' as "Dixie Kong"; ''

Sonic Underground ''Sonic Underground'' ( French: ''Sonic Le Rebelle'') is an animated television series co-produced by DIC Productions, L.P., Les Studios Tex S.A.R.L. and TF1. It is the third ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' animated series, and the last to be produced b ...

'' as the singing voice of "Sonia Hedgehog" and both singing and speaking voices of "Mindy LaTour"; ''

Madeline ''Madeline'' is a media franchise that originated as a series of children's books written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans, an Austrian-American author. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series a ...

'' as "Genevieve", "Miss Clavel" and numerous incidental roles; ''

Gadget Boy ''Gadget Boy & Heather'' is an animated television series co-produced between DIC Productions, L.P., France Animation, and M6. The series originally debuted in September 1995 in first-run syndication in the United States on Bohbot Entertainm ...

'' as the nemesis "Spydra"; ''

InuYasha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in fifty-six '' ...

'' as "Jinenji's Mother"; ''

Totally Spies ''Totally Spies!'' is an animated spy-fi series created by Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel mainly produced by French animation company Marathon Media and French broadcaster TF1, with seasons 3 to 5 being co-produced with Canadian comp ...

'' as the computer "G.L.A.D.I.S."; ''

Growing Up Creepie ''Growing Up Creepie'' is an animated television series created by Anthony Gaud, Chris Woods, and Carin Greenberg, and produced by Mike Young Productions. In other countries, the series was simply titled ''Creepie''. The series premiered on Septe ...

'' as "Gnat"; ''Care Bears DIC original Series'' as "Proud Heart Cat"; and '' Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot'' and ''

The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie ''The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie'' is a 2005 computer-animated musical fantasy film, produced by Nelvana Limited and released by Lions Gate Home Entertainment. Directed by Larry Jacobs and Ron Pitts, and written by Jeffrey Alan Schechter, the fi ...

'' as "Share Bear"; '' Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot'' as "True Heart Bear"; ''Dennis the Menace'' as "Alice Mitchell"; ''

Dinosaucers ''Dinosaucers'' is a 1987 animated television series co-produced in the United States and Canada, produced by DIC Animation City and distributed in syndication in the US by Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The show was created by producer Michael ...

'' as "Princess Dei" and "Teryx; ''

Lady Lovely Locks ''Lady Lovely Locks and the Pixietails'' is a character property created by American Greetings Corporation (creators of Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears and Popples among others) in the mid-1980s. The characters were licensed for a toyline by Mat ...

'' as "Duchess Ravenwaves" and "Maiden Curly Crown"; ''Popples'' as "Party Popple", "Puffball", "Prize" and "Punkity"; ''

Bakugan Battle Brawlers is a Japanese anime adventure fiction, adventure television series produced by TMS Entertainment, Dentsu Inc., and Nelvana Limited under the direction of Mitsuo Hashimoto (director), Mitsuo Hashimoto. The story centers on the lives of creat ...

'', as "Tigrerra" and "Rabeeder"; ''Silverwing'' as "Breeze"; ''

Nilus the Sandman ''Nilus the Sandman'' is a Canadian part-animated and part-live-action television series that originally aired on The Family Channel from October 5, 1996 to October 25, 1998. The series was preceded by three ''Nilus the Sandman'' television sp ...

'' as multiple incidental voices; and '' Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie'' as "Yelan Li". Vallance voiced numerous characters on Don Bluth's animated features: ''Thumbelina'' and ''The Pebble and the Penguin''; music director Barry Manilow. Vallance (alongside Chalk, Tickner, St. Germain and many others) also dubbed voices on several British cartoons, two of those were

Penny Crayon ''Penny Crayon'' is a 1989 British children's television series that tells the adventures of a very intellectual and well-meaning (but occasionally mischievous) school-girl from London who loves to draw, and her escapades accompanied by her bes ...

(additional voices),

Becky and Barnaby Bear ''Becky and Barnaby Bear'' is a live action television series on United Kingdom TV (CBeebies) for children between the ages of 0 and 5, starring Barnaby Bear and his friend Becky. Barnaby and Becky both live in the city of Chester in Cheshire. Ba ...

(as Barnaby) and

Nellie the Elephant "Nellie the Elephant" is a children's song written in 1956 by Ralph Butler and Peter Hart about a fictional anthropomorphic elephant of that name. Original version The original version, released on Parlophone R 4219 in October 1956, was recorde ...

(as Nellie)

Voice direction

Stevie has voice-directed more than 500 episodes of children's TV, working with children, actors, sports stars and celebrities. She was a recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award in 2002 for casting and voice-directing her first series, the dialogue and music-vocals on 70 episodes of the children's animated series ''

'' for the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

, wherein she also portrayed the voices of "Miss Clavel" and "Genevieve". She then went on to voice-direct Silverwing for Bardel Animation Studios, and

for Teletoon Network, on which she also voiced "G.L.A.D.I.S.". In 2007, she was nominated for her third Emmy for casting and voice-producing the

Discovery Kids Discovery Kids (stylized as Discovery K!ds) is a brand name owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Starting as a television segment within the Discovery Channel, the brand expanded as a separate television channel. Most of its worldwide channels were ei ...

and Mike Young Productions animated series,

. On the 9Story series ''

Best Ed ''Best Ed'' is a Canadian animated television series created by Rick Marshall. The show chronicles the adventures of an excessively helpful and enthusiastic dog named Ed and his best friend, Doug the squirrel and soldier, whom everyone calls "Bud ...

'', Vallance served as Voice Director on 52 episodes. She then cast and voice-directed the Teletoon Detour pilot ''Celebutard Nation'', which premiered at the 2009 Ottawa International Animation Festival. From 2011 to 2013, Stevie headed back to Los Angeles to cast and voice-direct two animation series for executive producer Bill Schultz: ''Guess How Much I Love You'' (

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven yea ...

); and Seasons 1 and 2 of ''Wild Grinders'' (

Nicktoons Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...

), starring skateboard guru

Rob Dyrdek Robert Stanley Dyrdek (born June 28, 1974) is an American entrepreneur, actor, producer, reality TV personality, and former professional skateboarder. He is best known for his roles in the MTV reality and variety shows ''Rob & Big'', ''Rob Dyrd ...

. From 2014 to 2017, Stevie was based in Toronto as the Voice Director on Season 1-2 of Corus/ Nelvana's action-adventure series ''The Mysticons''.

Teaching

Vallance teaches actors how to infuse personality into cartoon characters with her brand name Tooned In! Animation Voice-over Workshops. The first workshop took place in North Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1995. Since then Vallance has taught children and adults how to do cartoon voice-over in Chicago, New York, Ottawa, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Toronto, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. In 2009 and 2010, Stevie taught 400 Animators at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. In the fall of 2010, 400 Animation fans participated in her high-energy ‘one-person panel’ seminar at the New York Comic Conference.

Music

In 1995, Vallance moved to

Bowen Island Bowen Island (originally Nex̱wlélex̱m in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver. Bowen Island is within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximate ...

, British Columbia where she met Michael Creber (piano;

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop (music), pop and country music, country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical perfor ...

). Together in 1998, they recorded Vallance's debut jazz CD ''Practically Naked''. In Vancouver, she sang jazz regularly at The Jazz Cellar and Rossini's, where she performed alongside some of the city's well-known jazz musicians at the time. For her second CD, ''Always (A Salute to Patsy Cline)'', Vallance derived inspiration from her portrayal of

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

(with whom she shares a birthdate) in Dean Regan's staged production of ''A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline''. Vallance toured western Canada with this production for six years, performing at numerous venues including two runs at the Granville Arts Club in Vancouver and the

Alberta Theatre Projects Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta. The compan ...

in Calgary. Vallance opened for the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

as "Patsy", in 1999. Motivated by the loss of a close personal friend, Vallance conceived the ''Divas for Life'' jazz benefit concerts held in Vancouver, B.C. In addition to producing the first concert at the Vogue Theater, in 2001, she negotiated a national distribution deal for the CD ''Divas for Life: Live At The Vogue!'', which was released and performed as part of the 2001 Vancouver International Jazz Festival line-up. On Valentine's Day 2002, she produced ''Divas for Love''. The proceeds of all concerts raised C$70,000 for people living with a life-threatening illness. As a result, Vallance was presented with Vancouver's "Friend in Deed" philanthropy award. In 2004, Vallance debuted as a 'Jazz vocalist' in her hometown, Toronto, where she was accompanied by pianist Don Thompson, bassist

Neil Swainson Neil James Sinclair Swainson (born November 15, 1955) is a Canadian jazz bassist. Swainson started his career in Victoria, British Columbia, when he supported visiting American musicians such as Herb Ellis, Barney Kessell, and Sonny Stitt. In ...

, and drummer Ted Warren. She also performed for the first time in her birth town Montréal, at The Upstairs, with jazz pianist Steve Amirault, bassist Zack Lober, and drummer Jim Doxas. Vallance's fourth CD, ''Make My Night'', was released in February 2008. Arranged by guitarist Pat Coleman, it features many other Canadian Jazz musicians: pianist Ross Taggart, trumpeter Mike Herriot, saxophonist

Tom Colclough Tom Colclough is a musician from Vancouver. He plays jazz, pop and blues. Career Colclough is a two-time West Coast Music Award winner. He has accompanied many musicians and singers, including Kenny Loggins, Celine Dion, David Foster, Julio Iglesi ...

, drummer Buff Allen and bassist Miles Hill. In 2009, Vallance performed in the Medicine Hat Jazz Festival for the second year in a row and was the featured vocalist alongside Ernie Duff and the Stardust Big Band, in and around

Saugeen Shores Saugeen Shores is a town in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada, formed in 1998. In addition to the two main population centres of Southampton and Port Elgin, the town includes a portion of the village of Burgoyne and the North Bruce area, straddling the ...

, ON. She also sang with the Charlie Bell Trio in the Thornbury and Kincardine Jazz Festivals. In 2010, Vallance organized a 10-concert series, Stevie Vallance & the Masters of Jazz, at the Bruce County Museum in Southampton, ON, presenting a line-up of world-class players who accompanied her as the vocalist for the series: Richard Whiteman (piano), Mike Grace (bass), Kevin Barrett (guitar), Kieran Overs (bass), Ted Warren (drums), Bobby Brough (sax), Rob Clutton (bass), Nancy Walker (piano), Ted Quinlan (guitar), Tim Posgate (guitar) and

George Koller George Koller (born December 9, 1958) is a Canadian bassist who has played free jazz, folk music, world music, and world fusion. Career Koller has worked with Bruce Cockburn, William Beauvais, Holly Cole, Peter Gabriel, Graeme Kirkland, Lore ...

(bass).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallance, Stevie Living people Actresses from Montreal American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Anglophone Quebec people Canadian casting directors Canadian women jazz singers Canadian television actresses Canadian voice actresses Canadian voice directors Singers from Montreal Year of birth missing (living people)