Grace Lantz (née Boyle, November 7, 1903 â€" March 17, 1992), also
known by her stage name Grace Stafford, was an American actress and
the wife of animation producer Walter Lantz. Stafford is best known
for providing the voice of Woody Woodpecker, a creation of Lantz's,
from 1950 to 1991.Stafford appeared in feature live-action films from
1935's Dr. Socrates to 1975's Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. Some of
her more notable roles were in the films Anthony Adverse and Blossoms
in the Dust.Around the time the Woody Woodpecker short Drooler's
Delight was in production, Mel Blanc, who had originally supplied
Woody's voice and laugh, filed a lawsuit against producer Walter
Lantz, claiming that Lantz had used his voice in later cartoons
without permission. The judge, however, ruled for Lantz, saying that
Blanc had failed to copyright his voice or his contributions. Though
Lantz won the case, he paid Blanc in an out-of-court settlement when
Blanc filed an appeal. Wanting to avoid any future retaliation from
voice artists wanting to sue him, Lantz opted to find a new voice
actor to replace Ben Hardaway as Woody's talking voice, as well as a
definitive version of the laugh for his star woodpecker.In 1950, Lantz
held anonymous auditions. Stafford offered to do Woody's voice, but
Lantz turned her down because Woody was a male character. Not
discouraged in the least, Grace made her own anonymous audition tape
and submitted it to the studio. Not knowing who was behind the voice
he heard, Lantz picked Grace's voice for Woody Woodpecker. Stafford
provided Woody's voice from 1950 to 1991. At first, she asked not to
be credited in the role, as she believed that audiences both young and
old would be "disillusioned" if they knew Woody was voiced by a woman.
But she soon came to enjoy being known as Woody's voice and, starting
with 1958's Misguided Missile, finally allowed her name to be credited
on screen.
known by her stage name Grace Stafford, was an American actress and
the wife of animation producer Walter Lantz. Stafford is best known
for providing the voice of Woody Woodpecker, a creation of Lantz's,
from 1950 to 1991.Stafford appeared in feature live-action films from
1935's Dr. Socrates to 1975's Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. Some of
her more notable roles were in the films Anthony Adverse and Blossoms
in the Dust.Around the time the Woody Woodpecker short Drooler's
Delight was in production, Mel Blanc, who had originally supplied
Woody's voice and laugh, filed a lawsuit against producer Walter
Lantz, claiming that Lantz had used his voice in later cartoons
without permission. The judge, however, ruled for Lantz, saying that
Blanc had failed to copyright his voice or his contributions. Though
Lantz won the case, he paid Blanc in an out-of-court settlement when
Blanc filed an appeal. Wanting to avoid any future retaliation from
voice artists wanting to sue him, Lantz opted to find a new voice
actor to replace Ben Hardaway as Woody's talking voice, as well as a
definitive version of the laugh for his star woodpecker.In 1950, Lantz
held anonymous auditions. Stafford offered to do Woody's voice, but
Lantz turned her down because Woody was a male character. Not
discouraged in the least, Grace made her own anonymous audition tape
and submitted it to the studio. Not knowing who was behind the voice
he heard, Lantz picked Grace's voice for Woody Woodpecker. Stafford
provided Woody's voice from 1950 to 1991. At first, she asked not to
be credited in the role, as she believed that audiences both young and
old would be "disillusioned" if they knew Woody was voiced by a woman.
But she soon came to enjoy being known as Woody's voice and, starting
with 1958's Misguided Missile, finally allowed her name to be credited
on screen.
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