Voiceover Icon Janet Waldo Was "Crushed" When Tiffany Replaced Her as "Judy" in 'Jetsons: The Movie'

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It's been eight years since versatile actress and animated voiceover artist Janet Waldo passed away at 96 in 2016. Best known as the beloved cartooned voices of Judy Jetson on The Jetsons, and Josie on Josie and the Pussycats, Waldo began her career in radio and early TV appearances on shows like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. In 1990, however, Waldo was "crushed" when then-contemporary music star Tiffany was hired to voice the role of Judy in Jetsons: The Movie. Here's a closer look.

Look Who's Talking

Jeanette Marie Waldo was born one of four children in Yakima, Washington, on February 4, 1919, to Jane Althea Blodgett, a singer who trained at the Boston Conservatory of Music, and Benjamin Franklin Waldo, a distant cousin of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Janet attended the University of Washington, where her performance in a student film caught the attention of Bing Crosby and a Paramount Studio talent scout. Soon after a winning screen test, Waldo signed a contract with the studio.

Waldo was cast in minor roles in various movies and starred in three Westerns, while her breakthrough role was transmitted through radio on Cecil B. DeMille's Lux Radio Theater.

From there, her unmistakable yet always-changing voice was featured with the title character in Meet Corliss Archer.

Other radio shows followed including Edward G. Robinson's Big Town, Four Star Playhouse, Sears Radio Theater, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Then Came Television

Janet Waldo was later seen in the TV adaptation of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as well as other TV shows including Young Love, in which she co-starred with Jimmy Lydon on CBS from 1949 to 1950. She also made live-action appearances on TV sitcoms including I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show.

Sometime after that, when Waldo was in her 40s, she provided the comedically overzealous teenage voice of Judy Judy, the daughter of George and Jane in the classic future-set animated space-com, The Jetsons.

Then It Happened

In 1990, Janet Waldo was baffled, dismayed, and hurt when pop singer Tiffany took over the role of Judy in the feature film, Jetsons: The Movie. "I was totally crushed,'' Waldo told The Orlando Sentinel. ''I originated the character, and I feel very sentimental about Judy. If they had recast the whole show, there wouldn't have been any problem at all. But the fact that my part was the only one that was changed just threw me."

Hearing Other Voices

In addition to being what many consider the best voice of Judy Jetson, Janet Waldo voiced characters on other successful animated franchises including The Flintstones (the pre-historic cartoon that ultimately led to the future-time Jetsons), The Smurfs, and King of the Hill. She also lent her unique vocal techniques to playing Nancy in Shazzan, the lead in Penelope Pitstop, and as Princess from Battle of the Planets.

In Real Life

In real life, Janet Waldo was happily married to playwright Robert Lee for 46 years until his demise in 1994. They had two children (Lucy and Jonathan).