Verna Felton

Verna Felton (July 20, 1890 – December 14, 1966) was an American character actress who was best known for providing many female voices in numerous Walt Disney Pictures animated films, as well as voicing Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law Pearl Slaghoople for Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones.

She also had roles on live-action films, however, she was most active in radio programs. She was known for her husky voice and no-nonsense attitude. Two of her most famous roles were as Mrs. Day, the protective and domineering mother, who was always looking after her son Dennis Day and trying to boss around Jack Benny on The Jack Benny Program and as Hilda Crocker on December Bride.

Early years

Felton was born in Salinas, California. Her father, a doctor, died when she was seven years old. When going over his accounts after his death, Felton's mother discovered that though her husband had a large medical practice in San Jose, there were no records of his patients' payments for treatment and no cash in the office. Shortly before her father's death, Felton had performed in a local benefit for victims of the Galveston Flood. Her singing and dancing attracted the attention of a manager of a road show company that was playing in San Jose at the time. The manager spoke to Felton's mother, offering to give Felton a job with his company. Since the family was experiencing difficult financial times with the loss of Felton's father, her mother contacted the road show manager. Felton quickly joined the cast of the show, growing up in the theater.^[1]

Radio and television

Photo of 1948 Raleigh Cigarettes Program cast: Standing: Pat McGeehan, The Four Knights, David Rose (orchestra leader). Seated: Verna Felton ("Grandma" to Skelton's "Junior" character), Rod O'Connor (announcer), Lurene Tuttle ("Mother" to Skelton's 'Junior' character). Front: Red Skelton.

She also worked extensively in radio, notably playing The Mom in The Cinnamon Bear, Junior the Mean Widdle Kid's grandmother on Red Skelton's radio series and Dennis Day's mother on The Jack Benny Program. In addition, she performed on radio as a regular on The Abbott and Costello Show and The Great Gildersleeve.

Felton appeared in a recurring role as the mother of Ruth Farley, a young woman played by Gloria Winters in the 1953-1955 ABC sitcom with a variety show theme, Where's Raymond?, renamed The Ray Bolger Show. The series starred Ray Bolger as Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who was repeatedly barely on time for his performances.^[2]

Though some sitcom aficionados might assume that her guest appearances on I Love Lucy led to a regular supporting role as Hilda Crocker on the CBS sitcom December Bride, Felton had played that same character on the radio version two years prior to the television production. December Bride also starred Spring Byington, Dean Miller, Frances Rafferty, and Harry Morgan. Felton continued her Hilda Crocker role on the December Bride spin-off, Pete and Gladys, with Harry Morgan and Cara Williams. For her performance on December Bride, Felton was nominated for The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1958 and in 1959.^[3]

She was the original voice of Pearl Slaghoople (Wilma Flintstone's mother), voicing the character as a semi-regular on Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones from 1961-1963.

In 1963, in the series finale of CBS's Dennis the Menace sitcom, Felton played character John Wilson's aunt in the episode entitled "Aunt Emma Visits the Wilsons". In the story line, Mr. Wilson (Gale Gordon) tries to convince Aunt Emma to leave her estate to him and his wife, Eloise (Sara Seegar). Wilson then becomes suspicious when Emma begins spending time with series protagonist Dennis Mitchell (Jay North).^[4]

Live-action films

During the 1940s and the early 1950s, Felton was in demand as a character actress on films, with roles in If I Had My Way (1940), Girls of the Big House (1945), The Fuller Brush Man (1948), Buccaneer's Girl (1950), Belles on Their Toes (1952), Don't Bother to Knock (1952) and her memorable role of Mrs. Potts in the film of William Inge's Picnic (1955).

Disney and MGM

Felton was a popular actress at the Walt Disney Studios and MGM Studios, lending her voice to several animated features, including:

• Dumbo (1941) as the Elephant Matriarch and Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo's Mother
• Cinderella (1950) as The Fairy Godmother
• Alice in Wonderland (1951) as the Queen of Hearts
• Lady and the Tramp (1955) as Aunt Sarah
• Sleeping Beauty (1959) as Flora and Queen Leah
• Goliath II (1960) as Eloise
• The Man from Button Willow as Mrs. Pomeroy, Mother and Lady on Trolley
• The Jungle Book (1967) as Winifred the Elephant (her final role, animated or live-action)

Personal life and death

Felton was married to radio actor Lee Millar (1888–1941), who also did animation voices (notably for Disney's Pluto). Their son, Lee Carson Millar, Jr. (1924–1980), appeared as an actor on a variety of television series between 1952 and 1967. Felton died of a stroke on the evening of December 14, 1966, the day before Walt Disney died. She enjoyed a film career stretching nearly fifty years, and is interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Filmography

Radio

Films

Television

Notes

References

• Terrace, Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924–1984. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9
• Tucker, Fredrick. Verna Felton. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59393-524-5

External links

• Verna Felton at the Internet Movie Database
• Verna Felton at Find a Grave
• portrait gallery(NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection)