Mary Kay Bergman

Mary Kay Bergman
File:Mkbergman2.jpg
Born	Mary Kay Bergman June 5, 1961 Los Angeles, California, United States
Died	November 11, 1999 (aged 38) November 11, 1999 (aged 38) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Voice actress
Years active	1991–1999
Spouse(S)	Dino Andrade (1990-1999)

Mary Kay Bergman (June 5, 1961 – November 11, 1999) was an American voice artist, best known for her work on South Park. She was the original voice actor of Timmy Turner in the Oh Yeah! Cartoons shorts.

Personal life

Bergman was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were Jewish, but Bergman was non-practicing and converted to Roman Catholicism after exploring several Christian denominations; although she still remained proud of her Jewish heritage. She grew up around the corner from the home of Adriana Caselotti, the original voice of Snow White. At an early age, she found herself drawn to fantasy entertainment ranging from science fiction to anything Disney. She was always proud of the fact that as a child she and her mother wrote letters to NBC to help keep the original Star Trek on the air for a third season. With regard to Disney, she regularly visited Disneyland and was once quoted as saying, "My one regret is that I never got to meet Walt Disney." Later, with her husband, Dino Andrade, she enjoyed Star Trek conventions while continuing to visit Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disneyland Paris.

Career

Bergman was known for voicing most of the female characters in animated series such as Fox Kids' The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs, where she played a dog named Mitzy and also a number of other characters. She also voiced the yodeling and TV voice of Jessie on Toy Story 2. She also voiced characters for South Park and the 1999 feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Her characters included Liane Cartman, Sheila Broflovski, Sharon Marsh, Mrs. McCormick, and Wendy Testaburger. Originally, Bergman was credited on South Park as Shannen Cassidy because she was also serving as Disney's official Snow White voice. The South Park episode "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" was dedicated to her, as was the episode "Starvin' Marvin in Space," the first episode to air after her death.

Death

After suffering from depression and anxiety, Bergman committed suicide in her West Los Angeles, California apartment, on November 11, 1999. Andrade, along with a friend, discovered her body and suicide note and later established the Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Fund, which contributes to the operation of the Suicide Prevention Center at the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center.

After Bergman's death, voice actresses Eliza Schneider and Mona Marshall took over all of her voice roles on South Park. Grey DeLisle replaced Bergman as Daphne Blake in Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase. Tara Strong also took over her voice roles of Timmy Turner, the main character in animated television series The Fairly OddParents, and Batgirl in Batman: The Animated Series (Bergman had previously voiced the character in the movie SubZero).

Bergman was a self-described "geek," as she was an avid fan of science-fiction, horror, and fantasy. Andrade later created the geek dating website SoulGeek.Com in her memory.

Trivia

• In the 1998 film, Doo on Zombie Island Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, Mary Kay Bergman, the original voice actor for Timmy Turner voiced Blake Daphne Blake and Tara Strong , Bergman's successor voiced the villianess, Dupree Lena Dupree.

External links

• Mary Kay Bergman Personal Site and Memorial
• CNN's Obituary