Lucille Theresa Bliss (March 31, 1916 – November 8, 2012) was an American actress, known in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

and in Hollywood as the "Girl With a Thousand Voices". A New York City native, Bliss lent her voice to numerous television characters, including the title character of the very first made-for-television cartoon, ''

Crusader Rabbit ''Crusader Rabbit'' is the first animated series produced specifically for television. Its main characters were Crusader Rabbit and his sidekick Ragland T. Tiger, or "Rags". The stories were four-minute-long satirical cliffhangers. The concept ...

'',

Smurfette Smurfette (French: La Schtroumpfette) is one of the protagonists from the comic strip ''The Smurfs''. Smurfette was created by the evil wizard Gargamel, the Smurfs' archenemy, in order to spy on them and sow jealousy. However, she decides that ...

on the popular 1980s cartoon ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

'' and Ms. Bitters on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

animated series ''

Invader Zim ''Invader Zim'' is an American animated science fiction dark comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Ho ...

''. In addition to her television roles, she was known for her work as a voice actress in feature films.

Life and career

Family

Bliss' parents were James Francis and Frieda (née Simmons) Bliss. Her mother was "a classically trained pianist who wanted Bliss to train as an opera singer". Her father's death in 1928 prompted Mrs. Bliss and Lucille to move to San Francisco.

Radio

Bliss was active in

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

, having roles in ''

Pat Novak, for Hire ''Pat Novak, for Hire'' is an old-time radio detective drama series which aired from 1946 to 1947 as a West Coast regional (produced at KGO in San Francisco) program and in 1949 as a nationwide program for ABC. The regional version originally s ...

'', '' Candy Matson'', and ''

The Charlie McCarthy Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''.

Film

Bliss' first voice work was the role of the wicked stepsister Anastasia Tremaine in

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 ...

's 1950 feature film ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', for which she was honored 50 years later by the

Young Artist Foundation The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award in March 2000.

Television

In the early years of television, Bliss acted in ''

Harbor Command ''Harbor Command'' is an American police series that was syndicated from October 11, 1957, to July 4, 1958. The series stars Wendell Corey as Captain Ralph Baxter, an officer of the Harbor Police of a large coastal city (the city is unnamed, b ...

'' and '' The Lineup''. From 1950 to 1957, Bliss was "Auntie Lou" on

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

KRON-TV KRON-TV (channel 4) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, KRON-TV maintains studios on Front Street in the c ...

's ''The Happy Birthday To You Show'', also known as ''Birthday Party Show'', which had guests from adults, to children, to animals. The program included use of Disney cartoon characters, as Bliss "picked up exclusive rights in northern California for the right to use Disney clips on her new show." At the same time, she did voices for

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

while they were working for the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsible for producing animated shorts to ...

– as

Tuffy Tuffy is a given name or a family name. Tuffy may refer to: Businesses * Tuffy Auto Service Centers, an American vehicular repair franchise * Tuffys & Tuffets, an Australian brand of underwear Fictional characters * Tuffy (''Tom and Jerry' ...

in ''

Robin Hoodwinked This is a complete list of the 164 shorts in the ''Tom and Jerry'' series produced and released between 1940 and 2014. Of these, 162 are theatrical shorts, one is a made-for-TV short, and one is a 2-minute sketch shown as part of a telethon. ...

'', as Leprechaun in ''Droopy Leprechaun'' and later was Hugo on an episode of ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

''. She was also the narrator on three stories from the Disney album "Peter Cottontail and Other Funny Bunnies": "Story of Thumper", :Story of the White Rabbit", and "Story of Grandpa Bunny". Bliss was also a voice-over performer for Airborne radio spots in 2004.

Volunteer efforts

Bliss produced and directed talent shows for the Embarcadero Armed Services

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

in San Francisco. Some service personnel launched professional careers from those shows.

Death

Bliss died from natural causes on November 8, 2012 in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for " Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John ...

, at the age of 96."Lucille Bliss dies at 96; voice of Crusader Rabbit and Smurfette"
, ''Los Angeles Times''; retrieved November 15, 2012. She never married and left no survivors. She was buried at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angel ...

Filmography

* ''

'' (1950) – Anastasia Tremaine (Credit cut) * ''

'' (1950–52) – Crusader Rabbit * ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' (1951) – Daisy / Tulip (Uncredited) * ''

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 ...

'' (1953) – Mermaid (Uncredited) * ''A Kiddies Kitty'' (1955) – Suzanne (Uncredited) * ''The Waggily Tale'' (1958) – Little Girl/Mama (Uncredited) * ''

'' (1958) –

* ''Droopy Leprechaun'' (1958) – Leprechaun * ''

How to Have an Accident at Work ''How to Have an Accident at Work'' is a 1959 animated short educational film featuring Donald Duck. It was released by Walt Disney Productions. Plot Donald Duck is very careful at home, but at work that is a different issue as he has multipl ...

'' (1959) – Donald's son * ''

'' (1960) – Hugo (episode "The Good Scout", Uncredited) * '' 101 Dalmatians'' (1961) – TV Commercial Singer * ''

DoDo, The Kid from Outer Space ''DoDo, The Kid from Outer Space'' is a science fiction animated television series that was syndicated to television from September 24, 1965 to March 7, 1970. The series follows DoDo, a young humanoid extraterrestrial from the planet Hena Hydr ...

'' (1965–70) – DoDo * ''

The Space Kidettes ''The Space Kidettes'' is an American Saturday morning animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, originally airing on NBC during the 1966–67 season. In the show, junior rangers Snoopy, Jenny, Countdown and Scooter patrol ...

'' (1966–67) – Snoopy * ''Funnyman'' (1967) – Girl of 1000 voices * ''The Tiny Tree'' (1975) – Field Mouse * '' The Flintstones' Christmas'' (1977) –

Bamm-Bamm Rubble Bamm-Bamm Rubble (sometimes spelled Bam-Bam Rubble) is a fictional character in the ''Flintstones'' franchise, the adopted son of Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series, but has also appeared at var ...

* '' The Flintstones: Little Big League'' (1978) – Dusty * '' Casper the Friendly Ghost: He Ain't Scary, He's Our Brother'' (1979) - Gervais, Carmelita, Nice Lady * ''Hug Me'' (1981) * ''

'' (1981–89) –

, Smurfettes, Additional Voices * ''

The Secret of NIMH ''The Secret of NIMH'' is a 1982 American animated fantasy adventure film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut and based on Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel, '' Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH''. The film features the voices ...

'' (1982) – Mrs. Beth Fitzgibbons * ''The Great Bear Scare'' (1983) – Miss Witch * ''Chuck E. Cheese - The Christmas That Almost Wasn't'' (1983) - Mrs. Claus * ''Strong Kids, Safe Kids'' (1984) –

Pebbles Flintstone Pebbles Flintstone (also known as Pebbles Flintstone-Rubble as an adult) is a fictional character in the ''Flintstones'' franchise. The red-haired daughter of Fred and Wilma Flintstone, Pebbles is born near the end of the third season. She is mo ...

/Bamm-Bamm Rubble/Smurfette/ Baby Smurf/ Pac-Baby * ''

Cap'n O. G. Readmore Cap'n O. G. Readmore (invented by Puppet Studio) was the fictional character host of the American television anthology series ''ABC Weekend Specials'' during the 1980s. He was an anthropomorphic cat puppet, dressed in a nautical outfit, that encour ...

'' (1985–92) - Lickety Page * ''

Rainbow Brite ''Rainbow Brite'' is a media franchise by Hallmark Cards, introduced in 1984. The animated ''Rainbow Brite'' television series first aired in 1984, the same year Hallmark licensed Rainbow Brite to Mattel for a range of dolls and other merchand ...

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...

Adventure'' (1986) – Narrator * ''

Assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

'' (1987) – Crone * '' The Night Before'' (1988) – Gal Baby * '' Miracle Mile'' (1988) – Old Woman in Diner * '' Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery'' (1989) - Miss Green * ''

Asterix and the Big Fight ''Asterix and the Big Fight'' is a French comic book, the seventh in the Asterix comic book series. It was written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. Its original French title is ''Le Combat des chefs'' ("The Battle of the Chief ...

'' (1989) – Impedimenta (aka Bonnemine) * ''

Tales of the City ''Tales of the City'' is a series of nine novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2014, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBT. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally serial ...

'' (1993) – Cable Car Lady * ''Thumbelina Narrated by Mayim Bialik'' (1994) - Miscellaneous (video game) * '' Space Quest VI: The Spinal Frontier'' (1995) – Sharpei/Waitron (video game) * ''Wacked'' (1997) – Jane Katz * '' Star Wars: Bounty Hunter'' (2002) – Rozatta (video game) * ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...

'' (2003) – Shaden (video game) * ''Blue Harvest Days'' (2005) – Bear Brat * ''

Robots "\n\n\n\n\nThe robots exclusion standard, also known as the robots exclusion protocol or simply robots.txt, is a standard used by websites to indicate to visiting web crawlers and other web robots which portions of the site they are allowed to visi ...

'' (2005) – Pigeon Lady * ''

Avatar: The Last Airbender ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...

'' (2005) – Yugoda * ''

'' (2001–02; 2006) – Ms. Bitters, Woman #2(episode "Parent-Teacher Night") * ''Up-In-Down Town'' (2007) – Quinby

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Lucille 1916 births 2012 deaths Actresses from New York City American film actresses American television actresses American radio actresses Television personalities from New York City American women television personalities 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people