We laughed with June for a season

Ah Youth! Idealism! Laughter and Hope in a simpler time?

June and Television brought warm laughter into our Cold War homes.

An Emmy winner at 95, she quietly gave us her swan song last week at 99 !

Extolled by National Public Radio on multiple occasions we learned:

June Foray is gone, leaving an absence, an ache, a cloud of whirling bobby pins in her wake.
The voice of many beloved animated characters, including the plucky Rocky the Flying Squirrel, the sinister spy Natasha Fatale, the tow-headed moppet Cindy-Lou Who and — most delightfully, to my mind — the girlishly ghoulish Witch Hazel, Foray died Thursday at the age of 99.
She was called the Queen of Animation for a reason — she was a passionate lifelong advocate for the form, and for recognizing the efforts of those who work in it.
Variety's obit goes deep on her role in founding the Annie Awards, and in establishing the Oscar's Animated Feature category.).

:

  • Tweety’s Granny
  • Villainess of Riki Tiki Tavi with
  • Orson Wells
  • Natasha Badenov
  • Rocket J. Squirrel,
  • Witch Hazel jocular nemesis of Bugs B
  • Cindy-Lou Wh alongside The Grinch
  • MuLan's Grandmother Fa

Only on the Rocky and Bullwinkle segment "Fractured Fairy Tales" did Foray really get to show her comedy chops, as the anthology format called for a rotating roster of tough cookies: independent-minded princesses and tart-tongued witches. Proscribed gender roles, yes — but each one different, and recognizably Foray['s].

She got a bit more room to play when she tackled villains like Witch Hazel, who tangled with Bugs Bunny on several occasions. The vain, coquettish hag always held her own, and took an infectious amount of joy in her work. She laughed at her own jokes — and invited you to join in.

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