Cecil Roy

Cecil H. Roy (October 2, 1900 – January 26, 1995) was an American actress who was well-known in radio broadcasting of the 1930s and 1940s as The Girl of a Thousand Voices.^[1]

Cecil Roy
Born	Cecil H. Roy (1900-10-02)October 2, 1900 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	January 26, 1995(1995-01-26) (aged 94) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actress

Early life

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, she grew up in Oklahoma. Her father was an opera singer.^[2]

Career

Roy entered radio during the 1930s, appearing on The Rise of the Goldbergs, The Henry Aldrich Show, Pepper Young's Family. Marthy and Elmer, and many other programs.^[3]

The "Girl of a Thousand Voices" label came about due to her ability to immediately shift through a wide range of characters and ages, from an elderly woman to a crying baby.^[3]

Roy's roles on radio programs included those shown in the following table.

Program	Role
The Adventures of Dari-Dan	Stanley Hall[4]
Amanda of Honeymoon Hill	Aunt Mazie[5]
Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories	infant[2]
Big Sister	Jerry Jr.[6]
Kaltenmeyer's Kindergarten	Daisy Dean[5]: 187
Ma Perkins	Junior Fitz[5]: 335
The Timid Soul	Madge Milquetoast[5]: 187
Quiet Please	Carol Sue [5]: 187

She also was featured "enacting dilemmas" on Daily Dilemmas.^[5]: 89

Animation

Between 1943 and 1964, she provided voices for numerous animated cartoons, specializing in children's voices, originating the voice of Little Lulu.^[2]

Recordings

Her recordings for children included the role of Winnie the Pooh on a recording with Jimmy Stewart,^[3] and Cindy Bear on a Yogi Bear record.^[7] Through Replica Records, Roy released at least one 33 rpm recording ("Helen's Holiday"), as well as three 45 rpm recordings with Helen Searles Westbrook and Betty Barrie: 1) Buddy's Butterfly 2) The Thistle/Buddy's Garden 3) Christmas Eve/Plasco Toys.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Roy spoke German and French and sang in Italian and French. She was reported to have a "polished repertoire of 20 dialects."^[2] Her long-time partner, Beni (missing last name), was a hairdresser in New York City. His clientele included many Broadway and vaudeville stars. Cecil Roy also lived in Cozy Lake, Oak Ridge, New Jersey. Her "summer" or weekend home was a place where she entertained many of the neighborhood children with her accordion, singing, and voice talents.