Farewell June Foray 1917-2017

June Foray

The Queen of Animation died yesterday. The extraordinarily talented June Foray, voice of countless cartoon characters in her long and varied career, has died just shy of her 100th birthday.  June was the go-to person for animation voice-over work for many, many decades. You may not recognise June's face, but you know her voice.

She was the voice of the Grandmother in Disney's Mulan, and did countless Granny voices for the Looney Tunes. She worked with animation greats like Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc (voice of Bugs Bunny and many others), and continued working well into her 90s. She was on the Board of Governors of the Motion Picture Academy, and ASIFA Hollywood. She helped to set up the Annie Awards (animation Oscars) in 1972.

I never got to know June personally during my ten years living in Los Angeles, but I met her on a number of occasions, usually at the Annie awards, where she was always a celebrity guest.

June was proof that a career in animation can be long, varied and successful.  Her credits are so long it would be absurd to try and list them. Highlights include Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Simpsons, and Cinderella - the 1950 Disney version we all watched as kids (she played Lucifer the cat).

June was an inspiration to everyone who worked in our industry.

----Alex