Corinne Conley

Corinne Conley
Born
Corinne Alexandra Conley

(1929-05-23) May 23, 1929 (age 95)
Le Roy, New York, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Mary Washington
OccupationActress
Years active
  • 1953-2018
Spouse
Bonar Stuart
​
​
(m. 1950; died 2015)​
Children2

Corinne Alexandra Conley (born May 23, 1929)[1] is an American retired actress who spent the majority of her career in Canada, notable for having won the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists' Best Actress Award.[2] Conley is known for her voiceover work in various films and television productions and is better recognized for voicing Rudolph's mother and presumably Dolly for Sue in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964).

Conley's acting career spanned seventy years, receiving several nominations for her work. She has also made prominent and notable appearances in Tales of the Wizard of Oz as Dorothy Gale (1961), Days of Our Lives as Phyllis Anderson (1973-1982), the Goosebumps episode "Monster Blood" as Aunt Katherine (1996), Quads! as Sister Butch (2001-2002), A Christmas Horror Story as Aunt Edda (2015), and voicing multiple characters in the Watch Dogs: Legion video game (2020).

Acting career

For two years, she played the ingenue lead in The Common Glory, an outdoor drama in Williamsburg, Virginia.[3]

For four years,[4] Conley portrayed Phyllis Anderson on the NBC-TV daytime drama Days of Our Lives.[2] She also provided the voice of Dolly Sue and Rudolph’s mother in the 1964 animated NBC-TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.[5]

Conley was a winner of the Canadian radio talent competition Opportunity Knocks.[5] Beginning in 1955, she was hostess of Open House, a daily program on CBC Television.[6] She played the female lead in CBC-TV's adaptation of the soap opera Search for Tomorrow.[7] Other Canadian TV programs on which she appeared included Playdate,[8] G. M. Presents,[9] and Portrait.[10] She also was heard on Crime Quiz on CBC Radio, and she made commercials for radio and TV.[11]

On Broadway, Conley portrayed Pearl Vambrance in Love and Libel (1960).[12] Her other stage experience includes productions of the National Classic Theatre (NCT) in New York,[3] which presented plays across the United States in colleges and high schools,[5] and The Mountain Playhouse, Beaver Lake, and Vineland Summer Theatre, all in Canada.[13] She also performed with the comedy duo Wayne and Shuster across Canada.[14]

In an interview with Saturday Morning Rewind in 2013, Conley admitted to having no memory of voicing Dolly for Sue during the production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), but remembers voicing Rudolph's mother.[15][16] She told the interviewer that the possibility of voicing Dolly is likely, but has no memory of it. According to several movie databases and websites, Corinne Conley is credited as Dolly for Sue and additional voices.[16]

In 2018, Conley defended the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV film against claims of bigotry and bullying.[17]

Personal life

Conley was born in New York and spent most of her youth in Radford, Virginia. After graduating from high school in Radford, she graduated from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.[5]

Conley married Bonar Stuart, whom she met when both worked with the NCT.[5] They have two sons, Tony and Curtis.[18]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ King, Bob; Wagner, Laura; Cross, Lon (January 2019). "Senior Film & TV Celebrities". Classic Images (523): 27.
  2. ^ a b "Corinne Conley joins cast". The Courier-News. New Jersey, Bridgewater. April 30, 1973. p. 16. Retrieved January 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Famous Comedy By Van Druten Opening at Playhouse Monday". The Gazette. Canada, Montreal. July 28, 1951. p. 20. Retrieved January 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "ABC expanding 'General Hospital'". Public Opinion. Pennsylvania, Chambersburg. December 3, 1977. p. 30. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e Davis, Kristin (July 26, 2012). "Nights With Mrs. Bushnell Led to "Days of Our Lives"". University of Mary Washington Magazine. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  6. ^ "The Hostess with the Mostes'". The Ottawa Citizen. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. November 26, 1955. p. 10. Retrieved January 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Gonsalves, Jim (January 26, 1957). "Esse Ljungh Offers Defence Time-Honored Soap Operas". The Ottawa Citizen. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. p. 26. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Guy with gimmick is winner". The Province. Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver. September 29, 1962. p. 14. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Horton, Conley Star In Comedy Sunday". The Gazette. Canada, Montreal. June 3, 1961. p. 24. Retrieved January 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "(photo caption)". The Vancouver Sun. Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver. August 6, 1965. p. 64. Retrieved January 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Corinne Conley". Calgary Herald. Canada, Alberta, Calgary. January 21, 1967. p. 55. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Corinne Conley". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  13. ^ "Comedy by F. Hugh Herbert Opening on Monday". The Gazette. Canada, Montreal. July 23, 1955. p. 22. Retrieved January 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "'Days Of Our Lives' Has Talent Of Musical". The Times and Democrat. South Carolina, Orangeburg. November 17, 1974. p. 27. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Corinne Conley podcast interview". Saturday Morning Rewind. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  16. ^ a b 20: Corinne Conley interview (Rankin Bass Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas Special), December 16, 2013, retrieved December 20, 2021
  17. ^ "'Rudolph' Actor Defends Christmas Classic Against Claims of Bullying and Bigotry". TMZ. December 2, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  18. ^ Hassard, Kathy (June 11, 1959). "Helpful Husband Major Asset in Stage Career". The Vancouver Sun. Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver. p. 53. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.