Janet Waldo, whose career in entertainment stretched from motion pictures to radio to television to the world of cartoons, died this morning. The cause was a brain tumor and her age…well, no one's quite sure how old Janet was but she sure never looked or sounded it. Since she made her radio debut playing ingenue roles in 1940, it's safe to say she was in her nineties.
She was a distant relative of Ralph Waldo Emerson. She was the widow of writer Robert E. Lee, whose credits as a playwright included collaborating on Inherit the Wind, Auntie Mame, The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail and many others. Lee passed in 1994 and Janet kept his office intact in the home they shared together. Once when I visited her there, she made me sit in his writing chair and told me wonderful stories of this fine writer.
She appeared in more than two dozen movies but established herself in radio, mostly notably as the star of Meet Corliss Archer. Her most memorable role in television was probably the episode of I Love Lucy in which she played Peggy, a teenager with a crush on Ricky Ricardo.
In 1962, she spoke for Judy Jetson in the animated series, The Jetsons. It was her first cartoon but it launched an entire new career in that area, mainly working for Hanna-Barbera. She was Josie in Josie and the Pussycats, Penelope Pitstop in Wacky Races and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Granny Sweet in the Precious Pup cartoons and was heard in hundreds of other roles.
She continued voicing Judy Jetson in many incarnations of The Jetsons but in the 1990 animated feature, a controversy erupted. Janet recorded the speaking role of Judy and it was expected that the then-current pop sensation, Tiffany, would only supply the singing voice. Tiffany was signed but she and/or her managers reportedly insisted that Tiffany also replace the spoken lines. At the insistence of Universal Pictures, which was releasing the film, this was done. Janet was upset, though comforted by an incredible outpouring of support from her many fans. In 1997 at a retirement party for her frequent co-star Don Messick, Joe Barbera spoke and took the opportunity to apologize in front of most of the voiceover community to Janet for letting that happen. She forgave him and that more or less buried that matter.
Janet continued working until just a few years ago when illness prevented her from continuing. It was about the only thing that could. She was a wonderful lady and a great trouper and talent. I had the honor of working with her on several occasions and I can't think of anything she ever did wrong or anyone who knew her who did not absolutely adore her.
And as I said, I don't know how old she was. But I can tell you that well into her nineties, she could still sound like the teenage Judy Jetson. I think I'll just assume she was always that age.