Mary Kay Bergman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Kay Bergman
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
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Voice actress voice-over teacher
Years active	1978–1999
Spouse(s)	Dino Andrade ​ (m. 1990)​

Mary Kay Bergman (born June 5, 1961 – died November 11, 1999) was an American voice actress and a teacher for voice acting. She was the main female voice on the TV show South Park from when it started in 1997 until she passed away. During her career, Mary Kay voiced over 400 TV commercials and more than 100 characters in cartoons, movies, and video games.

Mary Kay was born in Los Angeles, California. She loved fantasy and animation from a young age. She acted in plays in high school and studied theater at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). When it was hard to find acting jobs on screen, she started working as a voice actress. In 1989, she began voicing Snow White for Disney. In the 1990s, she voiced Daphne Blake in three Scooby-Doo movies and also Timmy Turner in Oh Yeah! Cartoons. After Mary Kay passed away, her husband Dino Andrade created the Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Fund to help others.

Early Life and Education

Mary Kay Bergman was born on June 5, 1961, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents, David and Patricia, were musicians. She grew up near the home of Adriana Caselotti, who was the first voice of Snow White.

Her parents performed as singers in clubs in Reno, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Los Angeles. They settled in Los Angeles when her mother became pregnant. Mary Kay's mother used to ink and paint cels for cartoons, which sparked her interest in animation. Mary Kay shared this interest by watching Saturday-morning cartoons with her mom. Some of her favorite cartoons were Jonny Quest, The Flintstones, and Wait Till Your Father Gets Home.

Mary Kay went to Joseph Le Conte Middle School and Hollywood High School. She graduated from high school in June 1978 with excellent grades. She then studied theater arts at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1978 to 1981. She was friends with Nancy Cartwright, who later became a famous voice actress for The Simpsons.

Starting Her Career

Mary Kay decided to leave UCLA after getting a role in a play. She had started acting in high school plays and found an agent for TV commercials, movies, and television. She also took private acting lessons for several years. At 16, Mary Kay got her first professional acting job in a TV movie called Return Engagement, which starred Elizabeth Taylor.

After leaving school, Mary Kay joined a small agency. She auditioned for a TV exercise show and got the part because she had a "nice figure" and could also dance, be funny, sing, or do impressions. However, the agency closed less than a week after she got the job. Mary Kay felt discouraged and thought about giving up her dream of becoming a star.

Her next job was as a receptionist for the Boy Scouts of America. She liked the job and the people she worked with. Many people told her she had a "lovely speaking voice" and should do something with it. She then worked as a receptionist for an insurance company, which she found very boring. To make things more interesting, Mary Kay thought about becoming a disc jockey or even joining the air force.

Becoming a Voice Actress

Mary Kay's journey into voice acting began at a co-worker's party. Someone brought a karaoke machine, and Mary Kay started having fun, using many different voices. One of the guests suggested she take a class with his voice-over teacher, and she did.

Mary Kay took many voice-over classes to learn different styles and voices. Some classes focused on animation, others on commercial work or improvisation. She also learned how to match the voices of famous people. Mary Kay found it easy to do different accents, like Chinese, Japanese, Australian, English, American, French, German, Spanish, and Italian.

In 1994, Mary Kay started teaching voice-overs for animation at Kalmenson & Kalmenson Studios in Burbank, California. After voicing the villain Dr. Blight in the series Captain Planet and the Planeteers, she became known for matching voices. She began doing voice matches for other actors like Jodie Foster, Gillian Anderson, Helen Hunt, and Julia Roberts.

Voicing Snow White

Mary Kay's first voice role was for a radio commercial in 1986. By 1989, she wasn't earning enough from voice work, so she worked part-time at a department store. During this time, she got a big role with Disney: she became the voice of Snow White on tape, taking over from Adriana Caselotti. She had to leave her department store job because her boss wouldn't give her time off for the recording.

Disney was happy with her performance. Mary Kay agreed to take future jobs only if Caselotti was not available. However, Disney had other plans. When Disney released a restored version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, they chose Mary Kay to record a missing scene instead of Caselotti.

South Park Characters

Mary Kay was the first voice for most of the female characters on South Park and the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999). Her characters included Liane Cartman, Sheila Broflovski, Shelly Marsh, Sharon Marsh, Carol McCormick, and Wendy Testaburger. At first, she was credited as "Shannen Cassidy" because she was worried it might cause problems with her work as Disney's Snow White.

Mary Kay said that South Park helped her get out of being typecast. She was known for voicing "sweet, cute little characters" in Disney films. Her agents had trouble getting her auditions for edgier shows because people thought she wasn't right for them. After Mary Kay passed away, two South Park episodes were dedicated to her memory.

Other Voice Roles

Mary Kay worked on over 400 TV commercials, including voicing Mrs. Butterworth for Mrs. Butterworth's syrup. She had roles in many Disney movies, such as Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, and Toy Story 2. She also voiced characters in video games like The Curse of Monkey Island.

She worked on other TV shows like Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Oh Yeah! Cartoons, The Fairly OddParents, and several female voices in The Tick. She also voiced Gwen Stacy in the last episode of Spider-Man. Mary Kay voiced Daphne Blake in three Scooby-Doo movies: Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998), Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999), and Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000). The last Scooby-Doo movie was released after she passed away and was dedicated to her.

Mary Kay also sang on the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi".

Personal Life

Mary Kay Bergman married voice actor Dino Andrade on April 7, 1990. They were married until Mary Kay passed away in November 1999.

Passing Away

Mary Kay Bergman faced personal health challenges that she kept private from her family and friends. Her husband, Dino Andrade, later shared that she was worried about her voice acting skills and feared her career might end. She kept these worries to herself.

On November 11, 1999, Mary Kay contributed to a radio program. Later that evening, her husband and a friend returned home to find that she had passed away.

After Her Passing

Mary Kay Bergman's grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, showing characters she voiced on South Park.

Dino Andrade created the Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Fund. This fund helps support the Suicide Prevention Center at the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center. A special concert and celebration were held in March 2000 to benefit the fund. Many voice actors attended and sang in a choir.

A short film called Bob's Video, which Mary Kay and her husband had worked on, was shown after her passing at film festivals and a memorial screening. This film included her only live-action role, some voice roles, and her work as an executive producer.

An interview Mary Kay did for a show called Nightcap was aired after she passed away and was dedicated to her.

Al Lowe, who worked with Mary Kay on some video games, wrote a tribute to her. He said, "Mary Kay was the sort of person who could light up a room just by entering. She was a joy to work with."

Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders was the last Scooby-Doo film where Mary Kay voiced Daphne, and it was dedicated to her memory.

Mary Kay Bergman is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

Who Took Over Her Roles?

Mary Kay's friend and student Grey DeLisle took over the role of Daphne Blake in the Scooby-Doo series. Voice actresses Mona Marshall and Eliza Schneider replaced Mary Kay for some of the female characters on South Park.

Voice actress Tara Strong replaced Mary Kay as the voice of Timmy Turner in The Fairly OddParents.

Voice actress Debi Derryberry was chosen to replace Mary Kay as the voice of Jay Jay, Herky, Savannah, and Revvin' Evan on Jay Jay the Jet Plane.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Video Game Roles

Live-Action Roles

See also

In Spanish: Mary Kay Bergman para niños