Merrie Virginia Eggers (née Erlandson; August 8, 1925 – July 13, 2012), known professionally as Ginny Tyler, was an American voice actress who performed on dozens of

cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

and

animated films Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

from 1957 to 1993. In 2006, she was named a Disney Legend.

Early life

Tyler was born the elder of two children of Erland Alfred and Harriet (née Ruttenberg) Erlandson in 1925 in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The family moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, where her brother Donald was born. Later her parents were divorced and her mother remarried and Ginny's step-father adopted Ginny and she became Merrie Virginia Eggers.

Work

Tyler grew up in Seattle and her family had a rich legacy of storytelling and imitation of animal sounds, which proved very useful to her later on in her career as an artist. She first appeared before a radio microphone sometime in the 1930s and co-hosted, alongside Al Priddy the radio show ''Make Believe Island'' on KOL station. The show was moved to television, on KOMO-TV and renamed ''Magic Island'' by the early 1950s. Tyler began to work more and more offscreen as a voice artist, appearing in several cartoons and narrating vinyl recordings of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

films like ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

'' and '' Babes in Toyland''. She provided the voice of an amorous squirrel who falls in love with the young

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...

(while he is in the form of a male squirrel) in '' The Sword in the Stone''. She sang the voices of several barnyard animals in the "

Jolly Holiday "Jolly Holiday" is a song from Walt Disney's 1964 film ''Mary Poppins''. It was composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The song is sung in the film by Bert (Dick Van Dyke) and Mary (Julie Andrews) in the pastel fantasy sequence bef ...

" sequence of ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film star ...

''. From 1960 to 1962, she also performed several voices for the series ''

Davey and Goliath ''Davey and Goliath'' is a Christian clay-animated children's television series, whose central characters were created by Art Clokey, Ruth Clokey, and Dick Sutcliffe, and which was produced first by the United Lutheran Church in America and la ...

'', including Davey's mother and his sister Sally. She was replaced by Nancy Wible, who had a similar voice (from both of their works in other series), but would use a louder tone than Ginny. The two played roles of carhops on the ''

Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbor ...

'' episode "The Drive Inn" (made around the same time as the first episodes of ''Davey & Goliath'') in 1960. In 1964, Tyler appeared as the Genie in several performances of ''Aladdin and His Genie'' for the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

. In 1968, she was Flirtacia on Hanna-Barbera's ''

The Adventures of Gulliver ''The Adventures of Gulliver'' is a 1968 television cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show is loosely based on the 1726 satirical novel ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift. The show aired Saturday mornings on ABC-TV and las ...

''. She also played Jan on ''

Space Ghost Space Ghost (Tad Ghostal) is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1960s for TV network CBS. He was designed by Alex Toth. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his teen sidekicks, Jan and Ja ...

'' and Sue Richards, the Invisible Woman in the 1978 television series ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...

''. Although Tyler later retired and moved back to Seattle, she still did some recording for local productions. She died on July 13, 2012, aged 86 at a Washington nursing home.

Filmography

*''The Christmas Visit'' (1959) - Kolya (voice) *'' Mice Follies'' (1960) - Alice / Trixie (voice) *''

Son of Flubber ''Son of Flubber'' is a 1963 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The sequel to ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' (1961), Fred MacMurray reprises his role from the first film as N ...

'' (1963) - Baby Walter (voice, uncredited) *'' The Sword in the Stone'' (1963) - Little Girl Squirrel (voice) *''

'' (1964) - Lambs (voice, uncredited) *''

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree ''Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree'' is a 1966 animated featurette based on the first two chapters of ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' by A. A. Milne. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions, and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution on February ...

'' (1966, Short) - Bees (voice, uncredited) *''

Doctor Dolittle Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 '' The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in th ...

'' (1967) - Polynesia (voice, uncredited) *''The Adventures of the Polar Cubs'' (1993, English dub of 1979 anime)

Audio recordings

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

' ''I'm Popeye the Sailor Man'' (as Olive Oyl) *''

'' (1960) *'' Babes in Toyland'' *''

Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and ...

'' (1962) *''Hans Brinker'' *''More Mother Goose'' (1962) *''More Jungle Book'' (1968) *''The Superscope Storyteller'' (1973/1975) *''Trick or Treat (1974)''

Television

*''

The Gumby Show ''Gumby'' is an American clay animation Media franchise, franchise, centered on the titular green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey. Gumby stars in two television series, the feature-length ''Gumby: The Movie'', and oth ...

'' (1956) - additional voices *''

The Huckleberry Hound Show ''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and the second series produced by the studio following '' The Ruff and Reddy Show''. The show first aired in syndication on September ...

'' (1959) - Mother (1 episode) *'' The Loretta Young Show'' (1960) - Juck (1 episode) *''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

'' (1960–1962) - Daisy (voice) (2 episodes), Carhop (voice) *''

'' (1961) - Various Female Characters (13 episodes) *''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'' (1961) - Parrot (voice) (1 episode) *''

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to '' I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distin ...

'' (1962–1964) - The cockatiel / Sheep (voice) *'' The New Casper Cartoon Show'' (1963) - Casper & Various Other Characters (voice, uncredited) (8 episodes) *''

Mister Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...

'' (1963–1966) - Parrot / Tootsie / Claudia (voice) *'' Space Ghost and Dino Boy'' (1966–1967) - Jan / Black Widow (voice) *''

'' (1967) - Princess Anelle (voice) (1 episode) *''

'' (1968–1969) - Flirtacia (voice) *''

Cattanooga Cats ''Cattanooga Cats'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired on ABC from September 6, 1969, to September 4, 1971. The show was a package program similar to the Hanna-Barbera/NBC show ''The Banana Splits'', ...

'' (1969–1971) - additional voices *''

Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's th ...

'' (1971) - Parrot (1 episode) *''

ABC Afterschool Special ''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presented situations, often controve ...

s'' (1972) - Bird Calls (voice) *'' Jeannie'' (1973) - (voice) *'' Devlin'' (1974) - Aunt Martha / Polly (voice) (16 episodes) *''

The Oddball Couple ''The Oddball Couple'' is an animated half-hour Saturday morning show that ran on the ABC TV network from September 6 to December 20, 1975. The show was a production of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in association with Paramount Television, and was ...

'' (1975) - additional voices (1 episode) *''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

'' (1976) - Police Dispatcher (1 episode) *''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'' (1976) - M in Space Cartoon *'' Fred Flintstone and Friends'' (1977) - (voice) (16 episodes) *'' The New Fantastic Four'' (1978) - Sue Richards / The Invisible Girl (voice) (13 episodes) *'' Casper the Friendly Ghost: He Ain't Scary, He's Our Brother'' (1979, TV Movie) - Lovella / Dowager / Rural Lady (voice) *'' Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' (1979) - Tessie (voice) (1 episode) *''

The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show ''The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'' is an animated television series produced by Ruby-Spears Productions from 1979 to 1981; it was shown right after ''Super Friends'' on the ABC Network. The show featured various adventures of the DC Comic ...

'' (1979–1980) - additional voices (16 episodes) *''Space Stars'' (1981) - additional voices (66 episodes) *''

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

'' (1986) - additional voices (1 episode) *''Brer Rabbit's Tales'' (1991) - (voice) *''Brer Rabbit's Christmas Carol'' (1992, TV Movie) - Miz Possum (voice) (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Ginny 1925 births 2012 deaths Animal impersonators American child actresses American radio actresses American television actresses Native American actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Seattle 21st-century American women