Norma MacMillan (September 15, 1921 – March 16, 2001) was a Canadian actress, best known for voicing numerous characters in animation and claymation, including

Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio. T ...

on ''

The New Casper Cartoon Show ''The New Casper Cartoon Show'' is a 1963-1970 animated television series that appeared on ABC's Saturday morning schedule, based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost. Casper's co-stars included his friends from the ...

'',

Gumby ''Gumby'' is an American clay animation Media franchise, franchise, centered on the titular green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey. Gumby stars in two television series, the feature-length ''Gumby: The Movie'', and oth ...

on ''

The Gumby Show ''Gumby'' is an American clay animation Media franchise, franchise, centered on the titular green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey. Gumby stars in two television series, the feature-length ''Gumby: The Movie'', and oth ...

'', Sweet Polly Purebred on ''

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

'', and Davey on ''

Davey and Goliath ''Davey and Goliath'' is a Christian clay-animated children's television series, whose central characters were created by Art Clokey, Ruth Clokey, and Dick Sutcliffe, and which was produced first by the United Lutheran Church in America and la ...

''.

Early life

MacMillan was born on September 15, 1921, in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, and began her career there as a stage actress. It was in Vancouver that she met, worked with and married her producer/manager husband Thor Arngrim. In 1954, MacMillan, her husband and his business partner Stuart Baker, set out for Toronto where she began landing work voicing children's roles for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

Career

After she and her husband moved to New York, MacMillan lent her voice talents to numerous roles; as "

" on ''

'', as "

" on ''

'', as "

Sweet Polly Purebred This is a list of the characters in the ''Underdog'' series. Underdog Underdog is an anthropomorphic dog, who is a superhero parody of Superman and similar heroes with secret identities. The premise was that "humble and lovable" Shoeshine Boy, ...

" in the ''

'' cartoons, and as " Davey" on Seasons 4-5 of the claymation series ''

'' among others. In addition to these roles, MacMillan also voiced the roles of John-John and

Caroline Kennedy Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born November 27, 1957) is an American author, attorney, and diplomat serving in the Biden administration as the United States Ambassador to Australia since 2022. She previously served in the Obama administration as the ...

in the world record setting '' The First Family'' album of 1962. In 1991, she provided narration for

Saban Entertainment Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by Haim Saban and S ...

's comedic "Sugar & Spice" subset of ''

Funky Fables Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

'' cartoons, which included ''The Ugly Duckling'', ''Thumbelina'', ''Heidi'', ''Alice in Wonderland'', ''The Wizard of Oz'', ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', ''Cinderella'', and ''The Secret Garden''. In addition to her voice roles, MacMillan also appeared as an on-screen actress in various television and films roles. Her on-screen work included guest-starring roles on such television shows as ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'', ''

She's the Sheriff ''She's the Sheriff'' is an American sitcom television series that aired in first-run syndication from September 19, 1987 to April 1, 1989. Produced by Lorimar Television, the series marked the return of Suzanne Somers to television for the fi ...

'', ''

Webster Webster may refer to: People *Webster (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Webster (given name), including a list of people with the given name Places Canada *Webster, Alberta *Webster's Falls, Hamilton, Ontario United State ...

'' and ''

Thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust anyo ...

''. During this time, she also appeared in feature films, including ''Nightmare on the 13th Floor'', ''

Big Business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly kn ...

'', ''

Love at Stake ''Love at Stake'' is a 1987 American comedy film, directed by John C. Moffitt, based on a screenplay by Lanier Laney and Terry Sweeney. It stars Patrick Cassidy and Kelly Preston, with Barbara Carrera, Bud Cort, Dave Thomas, and Stuart Pankin. ...

'', ''Dangerous Intentions'', '' Big Bully'', and '' Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry'' with

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

. MacMillan appeared in numerous television commercials, but perhaps her most visible acting role was the part she played in the 1980s as the sweet, demure, naive "Aunt Martha" opposite Ruth Manning's "Aunt Harriet" for Kraft Foods mayonnaise commercials. Upon returning to Vancouver with her husband in the mid-1990s, MacMillan joined the Co-Op Radio's Sunday show for senior citizens and was a board member of the local 411 Seniors Centre. While in Canada, MacMillan went on to voice characters in a number of later animated series and films such as ''Funky Fables'', ''

Fat Dog Mendoza ''Fat Dog Mendoza'' is a children's animated series produced by Sunbow Entertainment, Sony Wonder Television and TMO-Loonland loosely based on a Dark Horse one-off comic book of the same name. It is the first Cartoon Network Europe co-produc ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Generation O! ''Generation O!'' is an American animated musical comedy children's television series made by Sunbow Entertainment, with co-production associated by Wang Film Productions in Taiwan and Ravensberger in Germany. The show was originally titled ''Moll ...

'', ''Milo's Bug Quest'' and ''The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer''.

Personal life

MacMillan was the mother of

Stefan Arngrim Stefan Arngrim (born December 23, 1955) is a Canadian actor and musician, sometimes credited as Stephan Arngrim. Biography He is perhaps best known for his role as Barry Lockridge on the Irwin Allen television series ''Land of the Giants'' which ...

(born December 23, 1955), who played Barry Lockridge on ''

Land of the Giants ''Land of the Giants'' is a one-hour American science fiction television series that aired on ABC for two seasons, beginning on September 22, 1968 and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. ''Land of the Gia ...

'', and

Alison Arngrim Alison Margaret Arngrim (born January 18, 1962) is an American actress and author. Beginning her television career at the age of twelve, Arngrim is a Young Artist Award– Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award honoree, best known for he ...

(born January 18, 1962), who played Nellie Oleson on ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

''. MacMillan and her husband Thor returned to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1993.

Death

MacMillan died in March 2001, at the age of 79, in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macmillan, Norma 1921 births 2001 deaths Actresses from Vancouver Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian voice actresses Canadian expatriates in the United States