Actress Pat Carroll, Voice of Ursula in Disney's "The Little Mermaid," Dead at Age 95
Actress Pat Carroll, most recently known for her role as the voice of Ursula in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” died July 30th at the age of 95.
According to a report by Fox News, Carroll was recovering from pneumonia when she passed away at her Cape Cod home in Massachusetts.
Carroll was a comedian, beloved by generations, with a long and hilarious career. “Carroll found a niche as a comedian on the late-night circuit beginning in the 1940s, and voiced several cartoon characters through the years before earning an Emmy for her work on “Sid Caesar’s Hour.”
Pat Carroll, Emmy-Winning Actress and Voice of Ursula in ‘The Little Mermaid,’ Dies at 95 https://t.co/YYfPc0tWfM
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 31, 2022
Many remember her funny role as one of the wicked stepsisters, Prunella, in the 1965 television production of “Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” starring Lesley Warren, Stuart Damon, and Celeste Holm.
A report by ABC News states that “Carroll was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1927. Her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was 5 years old.”
“She graduated from the local, all-girls Immaculate Heart High School, who notable alumni include Meghan Markle, Diane Disney (the daughter of Walt and Lillian Disney), Mary Tyler Moore, Lucie Arnaz, Tyra Banks and Yara Shahidi,” according to Fox News.
ABC News stated that Carroll’s “first film role came in 1948 in ‘Hometown Girl’ but she found her stride in television.
“She won an Emmy for her work on the sketch comedy series ‘Caesar’s Hour’ in 1956, was a regular on ‘Make Room for Daddy’ with Danny Thomas, a guest star on ‘The DuPont Show with June Allyson’ and a variety show regular stopping by ‘The Danny Kaye Show,’ ‘The Red Skelton Show’ and ‘The Carol Burnett Show.'”
Carroll won a Grammy in 1980 “for the recording of her one woman show ‘Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein.’”
In 1989, Carroll was introduced to a generation of Disney animation lovers as the voice of Ursula in “The Little Mermaid.” The ABC News interview quotes her as saying, “Carroll would often say that Ursula was one of her favorite roles. She said she saw her as an ‘Ex-Shakespearean actress who now sold cars.'”
“‘She’s a mean old thing! I think people are fascinated by mean characters,’ Carroll said in an interview. ‘There’s a fatal kind of distraction about the horrible mean characters of the world because we don’t meet too many of them in real life. So when we have a chance, theatrically, to see one and this one, she’s a biggie, it’s kind of fascinating for us.'”
Fox News reports that “Carroll is survived by daughters Kerry Karsian, Tara Karsian and granddaughter Evan Karsian-McCormick.”
With such an extensive body of work endearing her to many generations, Pat Carroll will be long-remembered for bringing joy and laughter to the world through her comedy.
