Joan Gardner (November 16, 1926 – December 10, 1992) was an American voice actress who was most active in voice over roles. She was also a screenwriter, songwriter, author and composer.

Early life

She was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

on November 16, 1926, to Jack "Jumbo" Gardner, a prominent jazz musician and Adelaide (Cline) Gardner.

Career

She started her career on the stage. In 1948–1949, she wrote scripts for the television programs ''

Pantomime Quiz ''Pantomime Quiz'', initially titled ''Pantomime Quiz Time'' and later ''Stump the Stars'', was an American television game show produced and hosted by Mike Stokey. Running from 1947–59, it was one of the few television series – along with ...

'' and ''

Time For Beany ''Time for Beany'' is an American children's television series, with puppets for characters, which was broadcast locally in Los Angeles starting on February 28, 1949, and nationally (by kinescope) by the improvised Paramount Television Network fr ...

''. Apart from writing scripts and books, Gardner also worked as a music composer for films. However, she was most active as an actress for radio and television animated series. She voiced Spunky in '' The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole'', Tanta Kringle and various other female roles on the Christmas special ''

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas music, Christmas song written by John Frederick Coots, J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, and first recorded by Harry Reser and His Orchestra. When it was covered by Eddie Cantor on his radio show ...

'', Bonnie Bonnet and Madame Esmerelda on the TV special ''

Here Comes Peter Cottontail ''Here Comes Peter Cottontail'' is a 1971 Japanese-American Easter stop-motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, currently distributed by Universal Television and based on the 1957 novel, ''The Easter Bunny That Ove ...

'', played Josephine Bonaparte opposite

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...

's Napoleon in the animated special ''

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians ''The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians'' is a 1970 American animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. After the Christmas special ''Frosty the Snowman'' (1969), it was Rankin/Bass' second hand-drawn animated work to be outsourced to ...

'' and Zazu the Fairy Godmother on ''

Pound Puppies Pound Puppies is a toy line that was created by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, two animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries. The ...

''.

Personal life

She married producer Edward Janis on December 8, 1960, and wrote under the name Joan Janis. Joan Gardner died on December 10, 1992, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at 66 years old.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1986) - Zazu, the Fairy Dogmother * ''

Galtar and the Golden Lance ''Galtar and the Golden Lance'' is a 30-minute American animated sword and sorcery television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired in syndication in 1985–86 as part of ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera''. The show ra ...

'' (TV series) (1985) - Additional Voices (unknown episodes) * ''

Snorks ''Snorks'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and SEPP International S.A. in collaboration with 3M France and ran for a total of 4 seasons, consisting of a pilot episode and 65 episodes (108 segments), on N ...

'' (1984–1988) - Mrs. Wetworth * '' The All-New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' (1983–1984) - Additional voices * ''

The First Easter Rabbit ''The First Easter Rabbit'' is an animated Easter television special that premiered April 9, 1976, on NBC and later aired on CBS. Created by Rankin/Bass Productions, it tells the story of the Easter Bunny's origin. The special is loosely based on ...

'' (1976) (TV special) - Elizabeth/Calliope * '' The Story of the First Christmas Snow'' (1975) (TV special) aka The First Christmas (USA: video title) - Sister Jean * ''

Valley of the Dinosaurs ''Valley of the Dinosaurs'' is an American animated television series produced by the Australian studios of Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on CBS from September 7 to December 21, 1974, and in syndication from 1977 to 1983. The series, ab ...

'' (1974) - Gara * ''The City That Forgot About Christmas'' (1974) (TV special) * ''

Kid Power ''Wee Pals'' is an American syndicated comic strip about a diverse group of children, created and produced by Morrie Turner. It was the first comic strip syndicated in the United States to have a cast of diverse ethnicity, dubbed the "Rainbow Ga ...

'' (1972) TV series - Various Characters * ''

'' (1971) (TV special) - Bonnie Bonnet and her store's owner/Madame Esmeralda/Mother's Day mother/disbelieving President's Day mother * ''

'' (1970) - Tanta Kringle * ''

'' (1970) - Josephine Bonaparte (TV special) * ''

The Beach Girls and the Monster ''The Beach Girls and the Monster'' (retitled ''Monster from the Surf'' for 1966 TV release) is a horror and beach party film, released in 1965, directed by and starring Jon Hall. It is notable for its surf music instrumental soundtrack, bad ac ...

'' (1965) (screenwriter) * '' The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo'' - Additional voices (4 episodes, 1964) * ''

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol ''Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol'' is a 1962 animated musical holiday television special produced by UPA. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', and it features UPA's character Mr. Magoo as Ebenezer Scroog ...

'' (1962) (TV special) - Tiny Tim / Ghost of Christmas Past * ''

Gay Purr-ee ''Gay Purr-ee'' is a 1962 American animated musical film produced by United Productions of America and released by Warner Bros. It features the voice of Judy Garland as Mewsette, a feline living in the French countryside wanting to go to Paris ...

'' (1962) - Provence lady * ''

The Dick Tracy Show ''The Dick Tracy Show'' is an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's Dick Tracy, comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by United Productions of America, UPA. In the show, Chief of Detectives ...

'' - Additional voices (1961–1962) * '' The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole''- Spunky (2 episodes, 1958–1961) ** "A Message to Marcia" (1958) TV episode - Spunky ** "The Frozen Planet" (1958) TV episode - Spunky * ''

Time for Beany ''Time for Beany'' is an American children's television series, with puppets for characters, which was broadcast locally in Los Angeles starting on February 28, 1949, and nationally (by kinescope) by the improvised Paramount Television Network fr ...

'' (1949) (TV series) - Additional voices (credited as Joan Janis)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Joan 1926 births 1992 deaths Actresses from Chicago American voice actresses Deaths from cancer in California Screenwriters from Illinois Writers from Chicago 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American screenwriters