Lucille Bliss

Lucille Bliss was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in Universal City, CA.  She talked about her early work in USO shows in San Francisco and her first big break as a voice artist on Walt Disney’s Cinderella as stepsister “Anastasia.”  She described the creation of the television series The Happy Birthday To You Show, a local children’s show that she hosted in San Francisco.  She talked about the format of the show, memorable moments as host, and how it inspired The Mickey Mouse Club.  Bliss spoke in great detail about her part as the voice of the title character in television’s very first cartoon, Crusader Rabbit.   She described the premise of the show, the contributions of collaborators Alex Anderson and Jay Ward, and how her part came to be recast for the later version of the series.  Bliss talked about the difficulties of a performer who must battle with occasional rejection and bad breaks, which included for her, the loss of a lucrative contract at Hanna-Barbera for Ruff and Reddy and her replacement as the voice of “Elroy” on The Jetsons.  She talked about her most well-known role as “Smurfette” on the 1980s animation hit The Smurfs.   For this series, she discussed her casting, described her character, and talked about her work with the ensemble cast that included Paul Winchell as the villainous “Gargamel.”  Finally she talked about her later work both on camera and as a voice artist, including the cult animated series Invader ZIM.  B-roll consisted of stills from The Happy Birthday To You Show (illustrating the Disney merchandise that the series was given by the studio), as well as a few stills from Bliss’ early career.  The interview was conducted by Gary Rutkowski on August 26, 2005.