Melendy Britt
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1943 or 1944 (age 81–82)
Melendy Britt | |
|---|---|
 Britt at the 2015 Phoenix Comicon | |
| Born | Harriet Melendy 1943 or 1944 (age 81–82) |
| Occupations | Television and voice actress |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Children | 2 |
Melendy Britt (born Harriet Melendy;[1] 1943 or 1944[2]) is an American actress and voice actress. She is best known for her voice work in animation, particularly for voicing She-Ra in the 1985 animated series She-Ra: Princess of Power and for her extensive work in various Filmation productions. Britt has also appeared in live-action television and film roles, contributing to a diverse body of work throughout her career since the 1970s. [3]
Britt was born Harriet Melendy[1] in North Carolina and moved to Texas with her family in 1949.[2] Her mother remarried after a divorce from her merchant-mariner father.[4] She gained early experience on children's television[2] and began performing on stage when she was 12 years old.[4] Venues included the Alley Theater and The Playhouse in Houston.[2] While she was a student at Lamar High School in Houston, she appeared regularly on the program Teen Time Party on KPRC-TV.[5] In the summer of 1961 she was one of a dozen apprentices who learned various aspects of theatrical production at the Alley Theatre in Houston.[6] She graduated from Lamar in 1961.[7]
Career
Britt's most notable animated work is for Filmation, voicing characters such as She-Ra, and the second animated Batgirl (Jane Webb was the first).[8][9][10][11] She also provided the voice for Penny, would-be love interest and aide to Plastic Man on The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, which was produced by Ruby-Spears. She was also the voice of Kanna in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
On television Britt was seen in Then Came Bronson[12] and The Psychiatrist.[1] She also appeared in three different roles in three episodes of The Rockford Files, and on Cheers she played Kelly Gaines' mother, Roxanne Gaines, in the episode "Woody or Won't He". Her film credits include roles in Gray Lady Down (1978) and Being There (1979).
Britt portrayed an alcoholic mother in "Francesca, Baby", an episode of ABC Afterschool Special in October 1976.[13]
Britt's work on stage included performing in the farce-comedy Once Over Nightly at the On Broadway theater in San Francisco.[14] and in the musical comedy Bottoms Up '68 at the Hotel Sahara-Tahoe.[15] Her work in Carnival at the Playhouse in Houston led a critic to write, "Harriet Melendy, as The Incomparable Rosalie, a jealous beauty with a btroublesome liaison, is another solid hit — a definite wow in the show's funniest song, 'Here's to a Son', let us say."[16]
Personal life
She married singer Jimmy Britt, and they had two children.[2]
