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Obituaries

Billie Mae Richards | Voice of 'Rudolph,' 88

Billie Mae Richards, 88, a Canadian actress best known for voicing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the enduring animated 1964 television special, died last Friday at her home in Burlington, Canada, after a series of strokes, said Rick Goldschmidt, who documented the history of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and its producers.

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Billie Mae Richards, 88, a Canadian actress best known for voicing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the enduring animated 1964 television special, died last Friday at her home in Burlington, Canada, after a series of strokes, said Rick Goldschmidt, who documented the history of

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

and its producers.

Like most of the cast, Ms. Richards was a veteran of Canadian radio when the producers traveled north to assemble the voices for the program based on the 1949 song. Radio dramas were still going strong in Canada in the early 1960s, providing producers with a stable of voice actors, Ms. Richards told Filmfax magazine in 2005.

Her trademark - being able to speak like a young boy - was well-established when she took the part of Rudolph, the misfit reindeer. She was credited as "Billy Richards," which further obscured her gender. Producers Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass also went to Canada because they could record the voices for the special more cheaply, according to Goldschmidt.

Burl Ives, who was the voice of Sam the Snowman, was the show's only celebrity. He also was the only actor to receive long-term residuals, a point that rankled Ms. Richards and others.

- Los Angeles Times

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