Cecil Roy

Cecil Roy
Born	Cecil H. Roy (1900-10-02)October 2, 1900 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	January 26, 1995(1995-01-26) (aged 94) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actress

Cecil H. Roy (October 2, 1900 – January 26, 1995) was an American actress who was well known in radio broadcasting of the 1930s and 1940s as The Girl of a Thousand Voices.[1]

Early life

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, she grew up in Oklahoma. Her father was an opera singer.[2]

Career

Roy entered radio during the 1930s, appearing on The Rise of the Goldbergs, The Henry Aldrich Show, Pepper Young's Family. Marthy and Elmer, and many other programs.[3]

The "Girl of a Thousand Voices" label came about due to her ability to immediately shift through a wide range of characters and ages, from an elderly woman to a crying baby.[3]

Roy's roles on radio programs included those shown in the following table.

Program	Role
The Adventures of Dari-Dan	Stanley Hall[4]
Amanda of Honeymoon Hill	Aunt Mazie[5]
Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories	infant[2]
Big Sister	Jerry Jr.[6]
Kaltenmeyer's Kindergarten	Daisy Dean[5]: 187
Ma Perkins	Junior Fitz[5]: 335
The Timid Soul	Madge Milquetoast[5]: 187
Quiet Please	Carol Sue [5]: 187

She also was featured "enacting dilemmas" on Daily Dilemmas.[5]: 89 

Animation

Between 1943 and 1964, she provided voices for numerous animated cartoons, specializing in children's voices, originating the voice of Little Lulu.[2]

Recordings

Her recordings for children included the role of Winnie the Pooh on a recording with Jimmy Stewart,[3] and Cindy Bear on a Yogi Bear record.[7] Through Replica Records, Roy released at least one 33 rpm recording ("Helen's Holiday"), as well as three 45 rpm recordings with Helen Searles Westbrook and Betty Barrie: 1) Buddy's Butterfly 2) The Thistle/Buddy's Garden 3) Christmas Eve/Plasco Toys.^[citation needed]

Personal life

Roy spoke German and French and sang in Italian and French. She was reported to have a "polished repertoire of 20 dialects."[2] Her long-time partner, Beni (missing last name), was a hairdresser in New York City. His clientele included many Broadway and vaudeville stars. Cecil Roy also lived in Cozy Lake, Oak Ridge, New Jersey. Her "summer" or weekend home was a place where she entertained many of the neighborhood children with her accordion, singing, and voice talents.

References

1. 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. 233.
2. "CBS Radio". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Texas, Lubbock. July 15, 1956. p. 59. Retrieved August 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Cecil H. Roy; Voice for Animated Films, 94", The New York Times, February 11, 1995.
4. "Milkman's Adventures To Be on New Schedule". The Evening News. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. April 14, 1937. p. 33. Retrieved August 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Terrace, Vincent (1999).Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 21.
6. "High Frequency Questions". The Nebraska State Journal. Nebraska, Lincoln. February 28, 1943. p. 32. Retrieved August 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Don M. Yowp (July 21, 2010). "But He Was a Great Psychotic Motorboat". Stuff about early Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. And although the album cover is silent, Billboard magazine of the day revealed the identity of the woman lending a drawl to Cindy Bear on this LP. She had a bit of experience in the world of cartoon characters herself, having played Casper the Friendly Ghost and on Little Audrey and Little Lulu shorts for Famous Studios. She's none other than Cecil Roy.

External links

• Cecil Roy at IMDb