Billie Mae Richards, Voice of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the Classic Holiday Special
The Toronto native did extensive voice-over work in a career spanning four decades.
Billie Mae Richards, a voice actress who played the title character in the 1964 animated television classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, died Sept. 10, 2010, in Burlington, Canada. She was 88.
According to news reports, the cause was a stroke.
Richards, a native of Toronto, Canada, was a theater performer in her youth and later worked extensively in radio and as a voice-over performer. She was particularly adept at imitating the voice of a boy.
In the credits of her most enduring work, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, she was listed as “Billy Richards” to conceal her gender.
The classic stop-motion animated special is the longest-running Christmas television special and a holiday tradition for many families.
She gave voice to Rudolph again in Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, in 1976, and Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July, in 1979.
Other credits included the voice of Tenderheart Bear in the first two Care Bear movies and in the Care Bear television series. She also provided the voice of Brightheart Raccoon in a later Care Bears series.
In addition, she lent her voice to Willie McBean and his Magic Machine, The King Kong Show, The Smokey Bear Show, The Daydreamer, Spider-Man, The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo, The Toothbrush Family, Maniac Mansion, My Secret Identity, War of the Worlds, and The Hidden Room.
She is survived by four children and 12 grandchildren.