A Grammy Award Winning Disney Icon From Shreveport Has Died

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Actress, comedian, and voice over legend Pat Carroll has passed away. She was 95.

Deadline reports that she passed this weekend, on July 30th, at her home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She was recovering from a bout of pneumonia.

Carroll was born in Shreveport on May 5th, 1927. She spent her first five years in the city, before her family moved to Los Angeles. Almost right away, Carroll got involved in show business. She worked in local productions in the LA area, before enlisting in the US Army after high school.

Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer/Disney Parks via Getty Images

Carroll broke into Hollywood in 1947, when she played the character Lorelei in the movie Hometown Girl. She really hit her stride on TV, appearing on shows like The Red Buttons Show, The Danny Thomas Show, The Saturday Night Revue, The Red Skelton Show, General Electric Theatre, The Carol Burnett Show, and dozens more.

Her career was an award winning one. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Caesar's Hour in 1957. A Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein in 1981, for which she also won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play in 1980.

Carroll found plenty of on-stage roles in her career. Including her Broadway debut that led to a Tony Nomination in Catch a Star! in 1955. Carroll was involved in productions for Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Her stage career lasted for 6 decades, spanning from 1955 to 2002.

But it wasn't until 1989 that Carroll would be launched into pop culture icon status. One voice role in a Disney film that wouldn't be the same if anyone else had voiced it. Carroll was the iconic voice of Ursula in Disney's The Little Mermaid...

Ursula is one of the Disney villains who has found a fandom, a big one. It happened almost right away too. As Roger Ebert, the legendary film critic, called Ursula Disney's "most satisfying villainess since" 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarf's. Carroll was given the credit for the popularity, gaining praise across the board.

Over the last 4 decades, Carroll continued to provide life to Ursula through her voice. Appearing in multiple films, TV shows, and even video games. Carroll's voice appeared in 6 releases of the Kingdom Hearts video game series, playing Ursula in all.

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