Eleanor Audley

Eleanor Audley (née Eleanor Zellman; November 19, 1905 – November 25, 1991) was an American actress best remembered for her distinctive, aristocratic voice that defined two of Disney's most iconic villains. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she moved with her family to Manhattan by 1917 and began using the stage name Eleanor Audley before the 1940s. Her Broadway debut came at age 21 in the 1926 production Howdy, King, launching a prolific stage career that included titles such as On Call, Susan and God, and In Bed We Cry. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s she became a fixture of radio, portraying Mrs. Cooper on My Favorite Husband and Mrs. Smith on Father Knows Best, while also contributing to popular programs like Lux Radio Theatre, Escape, and Suspense. Audley's transition to screen involved numerous uncredited and supporting film roles, but her lasting legacy was forged in animation; she supplied the voice of Lady Tremaine in Disney's Cinderella (1950) and the fearsome Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty (1959), even serving as a live‑action reference model for the animators. Despite battling tuberculosis and initially declining the role of Maleficent, she delivered a performance that has influenced villain portrayals for decades. On television she was a regular guest star, appearing on I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and most notably as Oliver Douglas's mother Eunice on Green Acres from 1965 to 1969. Her voice also animated the spectral Madame Leota for Disney’s Haunted Mansion attractions. Audley retired from acting in 1970 and passed away from respiratory failure in Los Angeles on November 25, 1991, six days after her 86th birthday, leaving behind a body of work that continues to enchant audiences.