Mary Kay Bergman | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1961-06-05)June 5, 1961 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 11, 1999(1999-11-11) (aged 38) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Burial place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Shannen Cassidy |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1978–1999 |
| Spouse | |
| Parents |
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Mary Kay Bergman (June 5, 1961 – November 11, 1999), also briefly credited asShannen Cassidy, was an American voice actress and voice-over teacher. She was the official voice of theDisney characterSnow White from 1989 to 1999[1][2] and the lead female voice actress on the adult animated television seriesSouth Park from the show's debut in 1997 until her death in 1999. Bergman was also the voice actress of Claudette and Laurette inBeauty and the Beast, Dr. Blight inCaptain Planet and the Planeteers (replacingMeg Ryan), Katie inFamily Dog, andDaphne Blake in theScooby-Doo franchise from 1997 to 1999. Throughout her career, Bergman performed voice work for every aspect in media, including over 400 television commercials.[1]
Bergman was born in Los Angeles, California. She had an interest in animation and impersonation early in her life. After acting in her first professional role in the television filmReturn Engagement, Bergman studied theater arts atUCLA for three years. Struggling to find a job suited for her, Bergman was trained under her voice-acting teacher Kat Lehman and started performing radio voiceovers. Bergman was chosen as the replacement of Snow White after a long search of talent agencies and voiceover classes. She joinedThe Groundlings to sharpen her voice acting skills, which contributed to her audition forFamily Dog. In 1994, Bergman started teaching voice acting classes. In 1997, she was cast as nearly every female character inSouth Park after she gaveTrey Parker andMatt Stone ideas they originally did not have.
Bergman sufferedgeneralized anxiety disorder in her private life. Her condition, which led to physical symptoms and severe stress, was kept private. On November 11, 1999, Bergman wrote two suicide notes and shot herself in the head. Shortly after she died, Bergman's widower,Dino Andrade, established the Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Fund.
Bergman was born on June 5, 1961, in Los Angeles, California.[3][4][5] An only child,[6] her mother, Patricia McGowen,[7] was ananimation cel painter forMax Fleischer onPopeye cartoons in New York City.[3] Her parents performed as a singing duo at lounges and clubs inReno and Las Vegas, Nevada, and Los Angeles.[3] They settled in Los Angeles after her mother became pregnant.[3] Bergman was piqued by her mother's interest in animation, which led to a shared interest by watchingSaturday-morning cartoons together.[3]
At an early age, Bergman wanted to be a film star.[3] Her early passion for impersonating was influenced bySnow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a film she watched in theaters at the age of six or seven.[3] Bergman grew up around the corner from the home ofAdriana Caselotti, the original voice ofSnow White, whom she idolized.[6] Bergman attended Joseph Le Conte Middle School andHollywood High School.[8]
At age 16, Bergman received her first professional acting job in the television filmReturn Engagement, which starredElizabeth Taylor.[3] However, Bergman's scene at the end of the film was ultimately cut out, which left her disappointed.[9] Shortly, Bergman joined theScreen Actors Guild.[10] Upon graduating from Hollywood High School in June 1978 with top academic honors,[citation needed] Bergman enrolled atUCLA and studied theater arts from 1978 until 1981.[9][11][12] According to her husband,Dino Andrade, Bergman attended the university because she was a fan ofCarol Burnett and wanted to attend the same university as Burnett did.[10] Bergman was a classmate and friend of futureThe Simpsons voice actressNancy Cartwright.[10] After three years in the university, Bergman received a role in a play outside of school and dropped out to start her professional life.[10]
Bergman joined a small agency in the valley of Los Angeles, which started six months before she joined.[10] Bergman auditioned for an exercise program that was scheduled to appear on cable programming.[10] A week after she received the role, the agency was closed, and reopened as a candy store.[10] Bergman described the experience as "the worst agent story in the business".[10] Her next role was as a receptionist for theBoy Scouts of America.[10] Bergman enjoyed the job and was pleased to work with the people of the organization.[10] She also received compliments about her speaking voice, which added to her frustration.[13] Bergman also worked as a receptionist for an insurance company, and from there, she moved up the ranks to become an assistant underwriter, which she found "extremely boring".[14] To break the monotony, Bergman thought about becoming a disc jockey but could not find information about where to take classes.[14]
While working as a receptionist, Bergman received an invitation to a party from one of her co-workers at the insurance company.[14] When Bergman attended the party, she danced and sang with akaraoke machine.[14] Her impersonation ofEthel Merman caught the attention of voice-over teacher Kat Lehman.[14] Bergman studied voice acting and took all Lehman's classes.[14] After her final class, Bergman recorded a demo tape and was delivered to Bergman's first voice-acting agency, Abrams, Rubaloff, and Lawrence.[14] Bergman soon quit her job as a receptionist after realizing that "squeezing auditions into her regular work schedule was not working".[14] Her first voice role was a frightened woman in a radio commercial for a small home security company on a local station in 1986.[citation needed]
While performing radio voiceovers, Bergman found a part-time job at a department store to supplement her income.[14] Bergman went with her personal agent Libby Westby after Westby switched agencies to Sutton, Barth, and Vennari.[14] At around the same time,The Walt Disney Company was looking for a replacement for Adriana Caselotti, the original voice of Snow White, who was not always available to work.[14] Bergman was chosen by former Disney executive Les Perkins after a "long and tedious search" of talent agencies and voiceover classes throughout Los Angeles.[15] Upon learning that she would be the official replacement of Snow White, Bergman expressed trepidation, describing the voice as "very difficult".[15] Her first voiceover appearance as Snow White was for a book on tape, but Bergman needed a day off for the recording.[15] After her boss at a department store refused, Bergman had a choice to keep the job at a department store or do voiceover work as Snow White.[15] She chose the latter, and she agreed to lend her voice only when Caselotti was unavailable.[15] At its peak of popularity, Bergman was chosen to voice Dr. Blight inCaptain Planet and the Planeteers by the producers of the show afterMeg Ryan opted out.[16] Bergman also voiced two of the Bimbettes, Claudette and Laurette, inBeauty and the Beast.[16] She began doing matches for other actors such asJodie Foster,Gillian Anderson,Helen Hunt,Julia Roberts,Jennifer Tilly,Emma Thompson, andAlfre Woodard.[16]
To further improve her acting skills, Bergman joinedThe Groundlings, which helped her use her skills while auditioning forFamily Dog.[16] During audition, Bergman would be asked on "how [she act] to be sexy".[17] She improvised "her best sexy dog" while feeling "like an idiot", worrying that she did "everything wrong" to the casting director.[17] Three weeks after the audition, Bergman received a call notifying her that she not only received the role of Katie, but her tape was chosen out of hundreds that were submitted bySteven Spielberg.[17] The show became one of Bergman's favorite projects.[17] She stated that she would do five or six voices in each episode, which she enjoyed.[17] Bergman also metFrank Welker, one of her mentors, which was considered a positive experience for her.[17]Family Dog was scheduled to debut on March 20, 1991, but the show was ultimately pushed back until 1993 for the animation to be completed.[18][19] The show's first episode debuted on June 23, 1993, onCBS.[20]
When Disney was working on a restored version ofSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs onLaserDisc, Caselotti was brought back in to record a rediscovered scene that was missing its audio track.[15] After the studio executives listened to her work, they decided to bring in Bergman to record the voice instead.[15] She also voiced Snow White for the65th Academy Awards instead of Caselotti.[15] Caselotti was unaware her voice had been replaced until the 65th Academy Awards when Snow White presented the award forBest Animated Short Film.[15] In 1995, Bergman expressed dismay on voicing her for the ceremony, stating that it was "one of the most uncomfortable times in [her] entire career".[21] Bergman also felt disappointed for her, expressing that a responsibility should be made to keep the character as an important part of Caselotti's career.[16] Disney received hundreds of complaints after the ceremony, noting the changes to the Snow White character thatJeffrey Katzenberg had made, including a more modernized look to match her updated voice.[16] Katzenberg issued written apologies, and Bergman did not publicly admit to voicing Snow White while Caselotti was still alive.[16]
In 1994, Bergman started teaching the technique of doing voice-overs for animation at the Kalmenson & Kalmenson Studios inBurbank.[11][12]Trey Parker andMatt Stone were looking for a different voice actress for the female characters inSouth Park, as they were unhappy withKarri Turner's performance in the series'unaired pilot.[17] Bergman attended a recast in Los Angeles and gave them several ideas they originally did not have.[17] The ideas she gave included portrayingLiane Cartman as a "1950s sitcom-style mother", interjectingSheila Broflovski's catchphrase "What, what, what!" when she gets flustered, and adding a lisp toStan Marsh's sister,Shelley.[22] Parker and Stone cast Bergman as nearly every female character in the series.[22] Her characters included Liane Cartman, Sheila Broflovski, Shelly Marsh,Sharon Marsh,Carol McCormick, andWendy Testaburger. In her interview withEntertainment Weekly in 1999, Bergman creditedSouth Park for distancing her out of her reputation known for voicing characters in children's animation.[23]
Although the show appealed to Bergman's "dark sense of humor", she was credited as Shannen Cassidy (taken fromShannen Doherty andDavid Cassidy) in the first two seasons due to the concerns that her voice role as Snow White would be taken out if the Walt Disney Company knew that she was inSouth Park.[23][22] Additionally, Bergman's husband, Dino Andrade, noted that nobody believed thatSouth Park was going to last.[22] However, afterSouth Park became a success, Shannen Cassidy began to receive copious amounts of fan mail and Bergman decided to abandon the alias.[23] Bergman also performed 16 voices for the filmSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.[22] She overdubbed nine separate voices for the film's song "Blame Canada".[22] Bergman was nominated forOutstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production for her performance as Sheila Broflovski at the27th Annie Awards.[1][2]
Bergman married voice actorDino Andrade on April 7, 1990.[24] They remained married until her death.[25] At the height of her popularity, Bergman started to physically suffer frominsomnia,myalgia, andnausea.[22] She was diagnosed withgeneralized anxiety disorder by her physician, which was determined to be caused by severe stress.[22] This was hidden as a secret to everyone, including her husband, family, and friends.[2][26] Bergman also privately admitted to her husband that she was afraid of losing her abilities and that her career would end because of her condition.[26]
On the morning of November 11, 1999, Bergman contributed to a radio program celebratingDisneyland's 45th anniversary,[6] performing the voice of Snow White for a radio commercial.[26] Later in the evening, Andrade returned to their home in the Los Angeles neighborhood ofVenice to find that Bergman had fatally shot herself in the head, with twosuicide notes, the first one for Andrade and the second one for John Bell, a close friend of the couple, stating that she could not "handle [her] fear anymore".[1][6][23] Attorney Robert Harrison originally stated that Bergman had shown no signs of depression.[23] TheLos Angeles County Coroner's Office reported that the cause of death was ruled as a self-inflicted shotgun wound.[27][2][28]
Bergman is buried atForest Lawn Memorial Park in theHollywood Hills.[26] Andrade revealed that she was buried there since one of her biggest thrills was attending private screenings ofBeauty and the Beast in the Walt Disney Company's original screening room, which is located near her grave.[26]
News of Bergman's death was published on several websites, includingSouth Park's website.[1][23] The revelation triggered an outpouring of grief from her fans and friends.[23]South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were initially "too distraught" to issue a statement.[23] On March 2, 2000, during an interview at thePaley Center for Media, Parker and Stone spoke about Bergman and the challenge of replacing her work, stating they realized that "one person wasn't going to do it" because of her talent, and that it would take "a lot of talented voice people".[29]
On November 15, 1999, Sutton, Barth, and Vennari ran a full memorial to Bergman on theVariety magazine.[1] To honor Bergman and encourage others to seek help, Dino Andrade established the Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Fund at the Suicide Prevention Center of Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center,[30] which raised thousands of dollars toward the cause.[26] Her official website, mkbmemorial.com, was converted to support a mental health program for those diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.[26]
Bergman was known for her distinctive voice acting on her "sweet, cute little characters".[23] Her voice-acting skills also increased over time, which included her experience with The Groundlings.[16][23] Bergman credited the troupe with "honing her ability to come up with voices on demand", which included her skills when auditioning forFamily Dog.[16] In her interview withEntertainment Weekly in 1999, Bergman stated that she had "more of a range as [she has] gotten older".[23]
At an early age, Bergman envisioned herself becoming a film star.[3] When Bergman was six or seven, her mother took her to watch a theatrical re-release ofSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[3] Bergman cited it as an inspiration to crossover from a mere fan to a performer, stating that the film "made a complete impression" on her.[3] Shortly thereafter, Bergman began impersonating everything, includingLily Tomlin onRowan & Martin's Laugh-In and her neighbor's barking dogs.[3] Voice actorFrank Welker, one of Bergman's mentors, was also cited as an inspiration to her outlook.[3]
Bergman's friend and studentGrey DeLisle inherited the role of Daphne Blake in theScooby-Doo franchise. DeLisle said of her:
She was just the sweetest, most wonderful person in the world... and then she killed herself. Her husband came and stayed with me at my house, because he said, "I can't stay over there, it's too painful." And about a week later, they asked me to audition for Daphne ... and I didn't know what to do, because I just thought, "Gosh, I just don't know if I can do that." I told him, "They asked me to audition, but I'm not going to audition, because it's just weird." And he said, "Grey, you have to do it, because Mary Kay would've wanted you to do it. You were her star student, she loved you, and she would've wanted you to do Daphne. Somebody's going to do it. It might as well be someone who loved her." And I was, like, "I didn't really think about it like that." So I went in, and I didn't study it, because I just thought, "You know what? I’m just going to go in, and I’m just going to do my best interpretation of the character. I'm not going to try and sound-match her, because it would just be too sad to listen to her voice." So I went in, and Eddie – the engineer at the time – andCollette Sunderman, the director, she just said, "When you came in, Grey, it was just eerie. It was like there was some other hand in it, because you sounded exactly like Mary Kay." So I guess it was meant to be, because I didn't try. It just came out that way.[31]
Voice actressTara Strong replaced Bergman as the voice of Timmy Turner inThe Fairly OddParents.[32]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Beauty and the Beast | Claudette, Laurette | [28][33] | |
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Quasimodo's Mother, Djali | [33] | |
| 1997 | Annabelle's Wish | Hens | [33] | |
| Hercules | Earthquake Lady, Nymphs, Teenage Girls,Athena | [28][33] | ||
| 1998 | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero | Barbara Gordon / Batgirl | Direct-to-video film | [2][28][33] |
| Kiki's Delivery Service | Old Woman | English dub | ||
| Mulan | Female Ancestor | [33] | ||
| Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island | Daphne Blake | [28][33] | ||
| Rusty: A Dog's Tale | Myrtle the Duck | [33] | ||
| The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue | Additional voices | Direct-to-video film | ||
| 1999 | The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars | |||
| South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut | Liane Cartman,Sheila Broflovski,Sharon Marsh,Carol McCormick,Wendy Testaburger,Clitoris, additional voices | Nominated -Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production | [28][33] | |
| The Iron Giant | Hogarth (screaming and sleeping vocals) | [23][28][33] | ||
| Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein | Mother | Direct-to-video film | ||
| Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost | Daphne Blake | [28][33] | ||
| Toy Story 2 | Jessie (yodeling sounds) | Posthumous release | [33] | |
| Maxine's Christmas Carol | Doris Lundquist, Billy's mom | Posthumous role | ||
| 2000 | The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus | Martha, Nymph, Tycus | Direct-to-video film; posthumous release | [33] |
| Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders | Daphne Blake | Direct-to-video film; posthumous release; dedicated in memory | [33] | |
| 2001 | Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure | Si the Siamese Cat | Direct-to-video film; posthumous release | [33] |
| 2002 | Balto II: Wolf Quest | Cunning Trickster, Wolverine #3 | Direct-to-video film; posthumous release (final film role) | [33] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | Additional voices | Episode: "The C-Team/The Chipettes" | ||
| 1991–1996 | Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Dr. Blight, Blight-5, Betty Blight | 27 episodes (replacingMeg Ryan) | [33] | |
| 1992–1993 | The Little Mermaid | Arista, Spot, additional voices | 6 episodes | [33] | |
| 1993 | Family Dog | Katie, additional voices | 4 episodes | [33] | |
| The Wild West | Mattie, Eliza, May | Live-action Episode: "Cowboys/Settlers" | |||
| 1994 | The Bears Who Saved Christmas | Holly | Television film | ||
| Fantastic Four | Princess Anelle, additional voices | Episode: "Behold, a Distant Star" | [33] | ||
| 1995 | Annie: A Royal Adventure! | Miss Hannigan, New York Children, British Children | Live-action; television film | ||
| Sing Me a Story with Belle | Fifi, Hansel, Gretel, Elf, Witch, additional voices | [33] | |||
| Space Strikers | Additional voices | 13 episodes | [33] | ||
| The Tick | Ants, Secretary, Ottoman | 2 episodes | |||
| The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat | Tickets, Mermaid, Girls | 2 episodes | [33] | ||
| 1996 | The Fantastic Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor | Daphne, Queen, Maiden Malamatr | [33] | ||
| 1996–1998 | What a Cartoon! | Doris ("The Kitchen Casanova"),[33] additional voices | 6 episodes | ||
| 1997 | Roar | Additional voices | Live-action | [33] | |
| USA High | Ricki Lake | Live-action Episode: "Once Upon an Elevator" | |||
| Extreme Ghostbusters | Banshee | 2 episodes | |||
| 1997–1998 | Recess | Additional voices | 15 episodes | ||
| The New Adventures of Zorro | Ursula | 26 episodes | [33] | ||
| 1997–1999 | South Park | Wendy Testaburger, Sharon Marsh, Shelia Brofloski, Liane Cartman, Carol McCormick,Shelly Marsh,Principal Victoria,Mayor McDaniels,Ms. Crabtree,Nurse Gollum, additional voices | Seasons 1–3 Credited as Shannen Cassidy in the first two seasons "Starvin' Marvin in Space" and "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" dedicated in memory | [2][28][33][34] | |
| 1998 | Spider-Man: The Animated Series | Gwen Stacy | Episode: "Spider Wars, Chapter 2: Farewell, Spider-Man" | ||
| Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Marla, Gabriela, Princess, Old Woman | Episode: "Selflessness" | |||
| I Am Weasel | Sandy Weasel | Episode: "Honey, I Are Home" | |||
| Rugrats | Spokes, Friendly Boy | Episode: "Uneasy Rider/Where's Grandpa?" | |||
| Hercules | Artemis | ReplacingReba McEntire | |||
| 1998–2000 | Jay Jay the Jet Plane | Jay Jay, Herky, Savannah, Revvin' Evan | 38 episodes (some aired posthumously). Replaced byDebi Derryberry, and later Donna Cherry. | [33] | |
| 1998–2001 | Oh Yeah! Cartoons | Timmy Turner, additional voices | 10 episodes, in theFairly OddParents segment. Redubbed byTara Strong in reruns. | ||
| 1999 | The Scooby-Doo Project | Daphne Blake | Television special | [33] | |
| 1998–1999 | The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs | Mitzy, Ayanna, Timmy, Various others | Main role | [33] | |
| 1999–2000 | Men in Black: The Series | Queen Bug | 3 episodes; posthumous role | ||
| 2000 | Family Guy | Sherry | Episode: "Let's Go to the Hop"; posthumous role | [23] | |
| Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Alien Mom, Alien Kid, Zurg's Answering Machine | Episode: "A Zoo Out There"; posthumous role | |||
| 2001 | Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot | Pierre | 2 episodes; posthumous role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! | Char Donay, Cav Vuarnet | ||
| Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers | Gerde, Little Boy, Old Lady | [28] | ||
| 1996 | Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! | Drew Baringmore, Jamie Lee Coitus, Wydoncha Jugg, Peggy | ||
| Disney's Animated Storybook: 101 Dalmatians | Perdita / Anita | |||
| 1997 | 101 Dalmatians: Escape from DeVil Manor | Anita | ||
| Ready to Read with Pooh | Singing Honey Pots | |||
| I Can Be a Dinosaur Finder | Addie the Kangaroo | |||
| The Curse of Monkey Island | Minnie "Stronie" Goodsoup (Ghost Bride) | [28] | ||
| 1998 | I Can Be an Animal Doctor | Addie the Kangaroo | ||
| South Park | Liane Cartman, Wendy Testaburger, Shelly Marsh | |||
| Leisure Suit Larry's Casino | Cavaricchi Vuarnet, Drew Baringmore, Wydoncha Jugg, Female Announcer, Miss Bowling, Peggy | |||
| Disney's Math Quest with Aladdin | Fortune Teller | |||
| Disney's Animated Storybook: Mulan | Ancestor | |||
| Mulan Story Studio | ||||
| King's Quest: Mask of Eternity | Apothecary Gnome, Swamp Witch | [28] | ||
| Arthur's Math Carnival | D.W., Muffy, Francine, Prunella, The Brain | |||
| 1999 | Arthur's Brain Teasers | |||
| Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | Additional voices | [23][28] | ||
| Disney's Princess Fashion Boutique | Snow White | |||
| Scooby-Doo! Mystery of the Fun Park Phantom | Daphne Blake | Posthumous release | ||
| 2000 | Arthur's Thinking Games | D.W., Muffy, Francine, Prunella, The Brain | ||
| South Park Rally | Wendy Testaburger, Mayor McDaniels, Freda, Ms. Crabtree, Shelly Marsh | |||
| Alundra 2 | Milena, Natasha, Royal Boy C | |||
| Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins | Kagami |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Return Engagement | Mary | Television film | [3] |
| 1999 | South Park | Woman | Live-action footage | |
| Goin' Down to South Park | Self | Documentary | ||
| 2000 | Bob's Video | Lady in Red, Telephone Voice, Radio Dispatcher | Posthumous release |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Nightcap | Self | Posthumous role, dedicated in memory |
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