Actress. Born Grace Boyle, she took the stage name of Grace Stafford while performing as a vaudevillian and stage actress. She married fellow actor George Duryea, who later became known as cowboy film star Tom Keene, in 1919. They traveled to California in the 1920s with the Henry Duffy acting troupe, the repertory company for the El Capitan Theatre. She made her film debut in the 1935 feature, 'Dr. Socrates.' She appeared in such features as 'I Married a Doctor' (1936), 'Confessions of a Nazi Spy' (1939), and 'Blondie Brings Up Baby' (1939). She and her husband divorced in 1940, after which she met and married animator, Walter Lantz. It was on their honeymoon that a woodpecker hammered continuously on their roof and she suggested that Walter use it for a cartoon character. Through that inspiration, Woody Woodpecker came to be. The character's first voice, Mel Blanc, was soon lost to Warner Brothers and Lantz opened auditions for a new voice. Grace anonymously submitted an audition tape, and was chosen to be the new voice of the character. The couple worked together on Woody Woodpecker until the end of production in 1972, completing more than 200 cartoons. She voiced several other animated characters, including Mrs. Meany and Bessie Beary, during those years as well. She made a final feature film in 1975 with 'Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze' before retiring. She succumbed to spinal cancer at the age of 88.
Actress. Born Grace Boyle, she took the stage name of Grace Stafford while performing as a vaudevillian and stage actress. She married fellow actor George Duryea, who later became known as cowboy film star Tom Keene, in 1919. They traveled to California in the 1920s with the Henry Duffy acting troupe, the repertory company for the El Capitan Theatre. She made her film debut in the 1935 feature, 'Dr. Socrates.' She appeared in such features as 'I Married a Doctor' (1936), 'Confessions of a Nazi Spy' (1939), and 'Blondie Brings Up Baby' (1939). She and her husband divorced in 1940, after which she met and married animator, Walter Lantz. It was on their honeymoon that a woodpecker hammered continuously on their roof and she suggested that Walter use it for a cartoon character. Through that inspiration, Woody Woodpecker came to be. The character's first voice, Mel Blanc, was soon lost to Warner Brothers and Lantz opened auditions for a new voice. Grace anonymously submitted an audition tape, and was chosen to be the new voice of the character. The couple worked together on Woody Woodpecker until the end of production in 1972, completing more than 200 cartoons. She voiced several other animated characters, including Mrs. Meany and Bessie Beary, during those years as well. She made a final feature film in 1975 with 'Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze' before retiring. She succumbed to spinal cancer at the age of 88.
Bio by: Iola
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Voice and Creator of
Woody Woodpecker
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