Verna Felton

Verna Felton
Felton in 1954
Born	(1890-07-20)July 20, 1890 Salinas, California, U.S.
Died	December 14, 1966(1966-12-14) (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1900–1966
Known for	Voice of Mrs. Jumbo and Elephant Matriarch in Disney's Dumbo (1941) Voice of The Fairy Godmother in Disney's Cinderella (1950) Voice of the Queen of Hearts in Disney's Alice in Wonderland (1951) Voice of Aunt Sarah in Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955) Voice of Flora and Queen Leah in Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959) Voice of Pearl Slaghoople in Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones (1962–1963) Voice of Winifred the Elephant in Disney's The Jungle Book (1967)
Television	The Jack Benny Program (1939–1955; on radio) (1955–1962; on television) December Bride (1952–1953; on radio) (1954–1959; on television)
Spouse(s)	Lee Carson Millar Sr. ​ ​ (m. 1923; died 1941)​
Children	1

Verna Felton (July 20, 1890 – December 14, 1966) was an American actress who was best known for providing many voices in numerous Disney animated films.

She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law* in seasons two and three of Hanna-Barbera's landmark TV series The Flintstones and had roles in live-action films. However, she was most active in radio programs, where her characters were known for their husky voices and no-nonsense attitudes. Two of her most famous roles were as Dennis Day's mother, Mrs. Day on The Jack Benny Program (1939–1962) and as Hilda Crocker on the CBS sitcom December Bride (1952–1959).

*Fred's mother-in-law was not named during Felton's run; the "Slaghoople" name was mentioned season four when Janet Waldo debuted in the role.

Early years[]

Verna Felton was born in Salinas, California, on July 20, 1890. Her father, Horace W. Felton, a doctor, died shortly before her ninth birthday. When going over his accounts after his death, Felton's mother Clara Felton (née Lawrence) discovered that although her husband had a large medical practice in San Jose, there were no records of his patients' payments for treatment and no cash in the office. Shortly before her father's death, Felton had performed in a local benefit for victims of the Galveston Flood. Her singing and dancing attracted the attention of a manager of a road show company that was playing in San Jose at the time. The manager spoke to Felton's mother, offering to give Felton a job with his company. Since the family was experiencing difficult financial times with the loss of Felton's father, her mother contacted the road show manager. Felton quickly joined the cast of the show, growing up in the theater.^[1]

Early career[]

An August 19, 1900, newspaper advertisement for Fischer's Concert House in San Francisco listed among the performers "Little Verna Felton, the Child Wonder."^[2] By 1903, she was acting with the Allen Stock Company,^[3] which that year toured the west coast of the United States and performed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.^[4] By 1907, she was still with the Allen troupe, but she had progressed from child performer to leading lady.^[5] Herbert Bashford wrote a play, The Defiance of Doris, specifically for Felton, and the Allen company included it among the group's productions in 1910.^[6]

She acted in stage plays at the in the late 1920s, playing the lead role in Goldfish, Stella Dallas, and The Second Mrs. Tanqueray.^[7] Future husband directed the band for these plays.

Radio and television[]

Raleigh Cigarettes Program 1948 cast: Standing: Pat McGeehan, The Four Knights, David Rose (orchestra leader). Seated: Verna Felton ("Grandma" to Skelton's "Junior" character), Rod O'Connor (announcer), Lurene Tuttle ("Mother" to Skelton's "Junior" character). Front: Red Skelton.

Felton worked extensively in the 1930s and 1950s in radio, notably playing The Mom in The Cinnamon Bear, Junior the Mean Widdle Kid's grandmother on Red Skelton's radio series, Hattie Hirsch on Point Sublime, and Dennis Day's protective, domineering, and authoritative mother, Mrs. Day, who was always looking out for him while trying to boss around Jack Benny on The Jack Benny Program. In addition, she performed on radio as a regular on The Abbott and Costello Show and The Great Gildersleeve. She played the fairy godmother in re-imaginings of the Cinderella story included in episodes of the series Screen Directors Playhouse, and Hallmark Playhouse.

Felton's first television appearance was in a 1951 episode of The Amos 'n Andy Show as a Nurse. She appeared in a recurring role as the mother of Ruth Farley, a young woman played by Gloria Winters in the 1953–55 ABC sitcom with a variety show theme, Where's Raymond?, renamed The Ray Bolger Show. The series starred Ray Bolger as Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who was repeatedly barely on time for his performances.^[8]

Though some sitcom aficionados might assume that her guest appearances on I Love Lucy led to a regular supporting role as Hilda Crocker on the CBS sitcom December Bride, Felton had played that same character on the radio version two years prior to the television production. December Bride also starred Spring Byington, , Frances Rafferty, and Harry Morgan. Felton continued her Hilda Crocker role on the December Bride spin-off, Pete and Gladys, with Harry Morgan and Cara Williams. For her performance on December Bride, Felton was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1958 and in 1959.^[9]

Felton was the original voice of Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople, voicing the character as a semi-regular on Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones from 1962 to 1963. In 1963, in the series finale of CBS's Dennis the Menace sitcom, Felton played John Wilson's aunt in the episode entitled "Aunt Emma Visits the Wilsons". In the story line, Mr. Wilson (Gale Gordon) tries to convince Aunt Emma to leave her estate to him and his wife, Eloise (Sara Seegar). Wilson becomes suspicious when Emma begins spending time with Dennis Mitchell (Jay North).^[10]

Film and animation[]

Felton's first film appearance was in the 1917 silent film, The Chosen Prince, or the Friendship of David and Jonathan. During the 1940s and the early 1950s, she was in demand as a character actress on films, with roles in If I Had My Way (1940), Girls of the Big House (1945), The Fuller Brush Man (1948), Buccaneer's Girl (1950), Belles on Their Toes (1952), Don't Bother to Knock (1952), and her memorable role as Mrs. Potts warmly acting as surrogate mother to William Holden in the 1955 film adaptation of William Inge's stage play Picnic.

Felton was a popular actress at the Walt Disney Studios and MGM Studios, lending her voice to several animated features, including:

• Dumbo (1941) as the Elephant Matriarch and Mrs. Jumbo, Dumbo's Mother
• Cinderella (1950) as The Fairy Godmother
• Alice in Wonderland (1951) as the Queen of Hearts
• Lady and the Tramp (1955) as Aunt Sarah, Jim Dear's aunt (Felton's son voiced Jim Dear and the dogcatcher)
• Sleeping Beauty (1959) as Flora, the Red Fairy and Queen Leah, Princess Aurora's mother
• Goliath II (1960) as Eloise
• The Man from Button Willow (1965) as Mrs. Pomeroy, Mother and Lady on Trolley
• The Jungle Book (1967) as Winifred the Elephant (her final role, animated or live-action)

Personal life and death[]

Felton was married to radio actor Lee Millar (1888–1941), who also did animation voices (notably for Disney's Pluto). Their son, Lee Carson Millar Jr. (1924–1980), appeared as an actor on a variety of television series between 1952 and 1967, including, coincidentally, in two episodes of Dennis the Menace as Tommy Anderson's father, but not on the same episode as his mother.^{[citation needed]}

Felton died at the age of 76 from a stroke on the evening of December 14, 1966, the day before Walt Disney died. She is interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.^[11]

Filmography[]

Radio[]

Film[]

Television[]

Discography[]

• Walt Disney's Cinderella: Little Miller Series (1949, RCA/Camden) - The Fairy Godmother
• Walt Disney's Cinderella (1954, RCA/Camden) - The Fairy Godmother
• Disney Songs and Story: Sleeping Beauty (2012, Walt Disney Records) - Flora / Queen Leah

References[]

Other sources

• Terrace, Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924–84. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9
• Tucker, Fredrick. Verna Felton. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59393-524-5

External links[]

• Verna Felton at IMDb
• Verna Felton at Find a Grave
• Portrait gallery (NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection)