Barbara Luddy

Barbara Luddy (May 25, 1908^{[citation needed]} – April 1, 1979)^[1] was an American actress best known for her voiceover work for Walt Disney Studios in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Early life

Born in Great Falls, Montana on May 25, 1908, Luddy was the daughter of Will^[2] and Molly Luddy^[3] of Helena, Montana.^[2] She sang in Vaudeville as a child.^[4] She attended Ursuline Convent in Great Falls, Montana.^[5]

Career

Stage

In 1929, Luddy toured with Leo Carrillo in Australia as part of a touring company that presented the play Lombardi, Ltd. A review in the Sydney Morning Herald cited Luddy's work portraying a mannequin as "a role in which Miss Barbara Luddy made a great hit by her pert audacity and vivaciousness."^[6]

Radio

Luddy was a member of the dramatic cast of the Chicago Theater of the Air.^[7] One of Luddy's better known roles on radio was being a regular performer on The First Nighter Program from 1936 until the series ended in 1953.^[7] In 1937, she and fellow First Nighter actor Les Tremayne set what a contemporary newspaper article called "a precedent ... when these signed long term contracts calling for their exclusive services" on the program."^[8]

She also played Veronica Gunn in the comedy Great Gunns.^[7] In soap operas, she played Judith Clark in Lonely Women^[7] Carol Evans Martin in The Road of Life,^[7] and Janet Munson in Woman in White.^[5]

Film

Luddy's film career began with silent pictures in the late 1920s. She is perhaps best remembered for her voice work in Disney animated films such as Lady and the Tramp (in which she played the titular Lady), Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Robin Hood and the Winnie-the-Pooh featurettes including Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too,^[9] all of which were edited into the composite feature The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Her other film credits include Terrified (1962) and the TV film Lost Flight (1969).

Television

Luddy guest starred in episodes of such television programs as Hazel, Dragnet, Adam-12, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Personal life

Luddy married R. Ned LeFevre, an actor and announcer, on September 18, 1942. They had two children.

On April 1, 1979, Luddy succumbed to lung cancer. She was 70-years-old at the time of her death, dying just one month before her 71st birthday.^[10]

Filmography

References

1. ^ Reinehr, Robert C. & Swartz, Jon D. (March 26, 2024). The a to Z of Old Time Radio. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-7616-3.
2. ^ "Helena Girl Gains Success on Stage". The Independent Record. January 6, 1930. p. 2. Retrieved July 17, 2016. – via Newspapers.com
3. ^ "Barbara Luddy Vacations in Filmdom". Long Beach Independent. October 7, 1943. p. 12. Retrieved July 17, 2016. – via Newspapers.com
4. ^ DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 170.
5. ^ "Joins "Woman in White"". Harrisburg Telegraph. May 31, 1941. p. 24. Retrieved July 17, 2016. – via Newspapers.com
6. ^ "Lombardi, Ltd.". The Sydney Morning Herald. September 2, 1929. p. 8. Retrieved July 17, 2016. – via Newspapers.com
7. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 74.
8. ^ "Signed for Fifty-Two Weeks". Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. June 1, 1937. p. 16. Retrieved July 17, 2016. – via Newspapers.com
9. ^ Mazurki, Jeannette (January 5, 1972). "Barbara Luddy voice of Disney cartoon characters". The Lowell Sun. Copley News Service. p. 50. Retrieved July 17, 2016. – via Newspapers.com
10. ^ "Co-Star with Tremayne in "First Nighter"". The Ironwood Times. October 14, 1942. p. 11. Retrieved July 17, 2016. – via Newspapers.com

External links

• Barbara Luddy at IMDb