Betty Lou Gerson
Betty Lou Gerson | |
---|---|
Born | Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S. | April 20, 1914
Died | January 12, 1999 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 84)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1935–1997 |
Known for | Voice of Cruella de Vil in Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) |
Spouses | Joe Ainley
(m. 1936; died 1965)Louis R. Lauria
(m. 1966; died 1994) |
Children | 3 stepchildren |
Awards | Disney Legends (1996) |
Betty Lou Gerson (April 20, 1914 – January 12, 1999) was an American actress, predominantly active in radio but also in film and television and as a voice actress. She is best known as the original voice of
Life and career
Early life
Gerson was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on April 20, 1914, but raised in Birmingham, Alabama, where her father was an executive with a steel company. She was
Radio and film
She began her acting career in
Moving to Los Angeles in the 1940s, she established herself on series such as
Around this time, she was cast as the narrator in Walt Disney's animated version of Cinderella (1950). Eleven years later, she provided the voice of the villainous, selfish socialite Cruella de Vil in Disney's animated feature One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).[8]
Her few on-camera film roles include appearances in The Fly (1958), The Miracle on the Hills (1959), and Mary Poppins (1964) in a small cameo as an old crone. In television, she made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of murderer Marjory Davis in the episode, "The Case of the Foot-Loose Doll" (1959). She also guest starred on The Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Hazel, Wanted Dead or Alive, and The Rifleman.[citation needed]
Family and later life
In 1936, Gerson married Joseph T. Ainley at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. At that time, he was radio director of the Leo Burnett Company, Incorporated. The couple remained married until his death in 1965. The union was childless.[9]
Gerson retired in 1966, though still using her voice, working at the telephone answering service of her second husband, Louis R. "Lou" Lauria, to whom she was married from 1966 until his death in 1994.[10] That union was also childless.
She was honored as a Disney Legend in 1996. She returned to films one last time in 1997, providing the voice of Frances in Cats Don't Dance.[10]
Death
Gerson died from a stroke in Los Angeles on January 12, 1999, at the age of 84.[10]
Filmography
- The Red Menace (1949) as Greta Bloch, alias Yvonne Kraus
- Cinderella (1950) as Narrator (voice, uncredited)
- Undercover Girl (1950) as Pat (nurse)
- An Annapolis Story (1955) as Mrs. Lord
- The Walter Winchell File, episode titled "A Day in the Sun", as Minna DiOngu (1957)
- The Green-Eyed Blonde (1957) as Mrs. Ferguson (uncredited)
- The Fly (1958) as Nurse Andersone
- The Miracle of the Hills (1959) as Kate Peacock
- One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) as Cruella de Vil / Miss Birdwell (voice)
- Mary Poppins (1964) as Old Crone (uncredited)
- Cats Don't Dance (1997) as Frances (voice; final role)
- Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022) as Sweet Pete's laugh (archive recordings, posthumous role)
References
- ^ "Not In Movies". Jewish Post. Indianapolis. March 13, 1936. Retrieved June 23, 2017 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
- ^ "She Wanted Career". The Evening News. The Evening News. November 4, 1938. p. 28. Retrieved March 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- ^ Sher, Jack (August 1940). "Love Incorporated" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. Vol. 14, no. 4. pp. 12–13, 72–73. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
- ^ Wolf, Tom (October 30, 1941). "Television Promises to Create New Market for 'Etheral' Beauty". The Indiana Gazette. The Indiana Gazette. p. 32. Retrieved March 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "(photo caption)". The Lincoln Star. The Lincoln Star. July 3, 1938. p. 32. Retrieved March 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Johnny in Jack" (PDF). Radio Life. June 8, 1947. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ Maupin, Elizabeth (July 24, 1991). "Return Of The Dalmatians". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
- ^ Mason, Mildred (May 12, 1936). "Betty Lou Gerson Is Married". Gazette News-Current. Xenia Daily Gazette. p. 6. Retrieved March 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Voice of 'Cruella De Vil' dies". United Press International. Los Angeles. January 15, 1999. Retrieved June 23, 2017.