NoHo Arts District, CA August 29th, 2013 – The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors has voted to bestow its prestigious Governors Award this year to prolific and Emmy Award-winning voice actress June Foray. The announcement was made by Television Academy Chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum.
Ms. Foray has enjoyed a show business career that has spanned more than eighty years, and for sixty of them, she has been one of the most famous and beloved voices in animation. Often referred to as "The First Lady of Cartoon Voices," Ms. Foray has lent her voice to such famous characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Natasha Fatale on "The Bullwinkle Show," Nell Fenwick on "The Dudley Do-Right Show," Cindy Lou Who in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Granny, the owner of Tweety and Sylvester on "The Bugs Bunny Show," and Jokey Smurf on "The Smurfs." Most recently, Ms. Foray received the 2012 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for her work on "The Garfield Show." She continues working to this day, providing the voice of Granny on "The Looney Tunes Show" and Magica DeSpell for the "DuckTales: Remastered" video game.
"Each year the Board of Governors recognizes a person or organization whose contributions to our industry will forever live on," said Television Academy Chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum. "June Foray absolutely embodies everything that this honor represents. A legend and a pioneer, June is not only in a class of her own, but she literally created that class. There is simply no one more deserving of this honor."
Ms. Foray exhibited talent at an early age, appearing on local radio dramas as young as 12 years old. By the time she was 15, she was working steadily on a wide array of series playing roles that were often much older than her. After graduating high school, Ms. Foray moved out to Los Angeles to focus on radio full time. Once television came along, Ms. Foray landed roles on Johnny Carson's first TV series, "Carson's Cellar," and dozens of other programs including "Andy's Gang." One of her first animated roles was voicing the character of Lucifer the Cat in 1950 for Disney's "Cinderella." This led to many more Disney roles for Ms. Foray, both in front of the microphone and also posing occasionally as a model to aid the animators. In addition to animated roles, Ms. Foray's voice was also heard on hundreds of live-action TV shows, including "Baretta," "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.," "Green Acres" and "The Twilight Zone". She has been heard (but not seen) in dozens of motion pictures including "Jaws," "Bells Are Ringing," "The Hospital" and "The Comic."
Created in 1978, the Governors Award salutes an individual, company or organization that has made a substantial impact and demonstrated the extraordinary use of television. A Governors Award Selection Committee presents up to seven candidates for the Board of Governors' review and final vote. There is a possibility of one or no award every year. The award will be presented during the 2013 Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 15th, at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE. A two-hour, edited presentation of the Creative Arts Emmys will air Saturday, September 21st at 9:00 PM (ET/PT) on FXX.
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