Jean Vander Pyl biography

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Actress. Born around 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A woman who gave voice to numerous characters, Jean Vander Pyl is perhaps best known as Wilma, the prehistoric housewife and mother, on the animated series The Flintstones. Early in her career, she performed on the radio in such shows as Calling all Cops and Amos 'n' Andy. Vander Pyl played Margaret Anderson on the radio version of Father Knows Best, a role that Jane Wyatt took over when the show moved to television.

Jean Vander Pyl made the move to television in 1950s. While she made appearances on Leave It to Beaver and other shows, she became more famous for voicing her characters than her on-screen roles. She worked for legendary cartoon producers William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for many years. Her most famous role started in 1960 with the premiere of the prime time animated series The Flintstones. Her character Wilma was a housewife, married to loud, but lovable Fred (voiced by Alan Reed), a dinosaur operator at the Slaterock Gravel Co. Later they had a daughter named Pebbles, which made things interesting for Vander Pyl since she voiced both Wilma and Pebbles. The couple lived next door to their friends, Barney and Betty Rubble (Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet). Audiences loved to watch the Flintstones and the Rubbles have their misadventures in the ancient, yet somewhat suburban town of Bedrock. The show lasted for six seasons.

While The Flintstones continued to be popular in syndication, Jean Vander Pyl did not benefit from the show's continued success, having taken a deal for a lump sum instead of residuals. She reprised the role of Wilma numerous times over the years, including 1977's A Flintstone Christmas. Vander Pyl also made a cameo appearance in the 1994 feature film version of The Flintstones. According to a Los Angeles Times article, she told actress Elizabeth Perkins, the film's Wilma, that the key to her character was to "remember Fred is a two-syllable word."

Jean Vander Pyl died of lung cancer on April 13, 1999, in Dana Point, California. Married twice, she had four children, Kathleen, Michael and Timothy O'Meara and Roger DeWitt.

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