December 18, 2024 • 7 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Billie Mae Richards is a Canadian actress best known for voicing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the 1964 stop-motion television classic. The special first aired on December 6, 1964, on NBC. Here’s Billie Mae to share her story.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American people.
And to search for the Our American Stories podcasts, go
to the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts. Billy May Richards is the Canadian actress best
known for voicing frut Off, the Red Nose Reindeer. The
(00:32):
special first aired on December sixth, nineteen sixty four, on NBC.
Here's Billy May to share her story.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I go back almost over seventy five years now. I've
been in every kind of child business. I'm quite proud
of the work in the Navy show as part of
the war effort in World War Two, we went all
across Canada back and then overseas and we did a
command performance for the King and Queen and went into
(01:04):
Paris and we played for the American troops in Paris,
and then Brussels and Amsterdam and Innto, Germany. So after
the World War Two, that is so you know how
long ago it is, I took my credits from the
Navy and I joined Lauren Green's Academy of Radio Arts,
and he, of course did a very famous Canadian and
(01:26):
he died Bonanza. That was a great series. And so
I joined the Academy of Radio Arts because I had
already done stage work and I was a musician and
an actor and everything, but I didn't know the technique
for actually for radio and drama. So that's why I
went there, and out of that I graduated in everybody
(01:48):
that heard me gave me a part of the child.
So that's where my first big show was a big
drama and on the stage series and in Canada went
from there. So I spent twenty five years in the
CBC doing school podcasts, and then when the cartooning came
our way, then it was just part of a natural
(02:11):
progression to go into voice works because you're not you know,
I'm not a I'm not a television actor and certainly
not now hey, Larice, Hey, after practice? Would you would
you go off? You'll get back here, it's trying you all, gee,
I gotta go back? Would you want to go? Would be?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Uh huh Rudolph, I think you're cute.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'm cute. I du man, I'm kid.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I gud shit that I cut.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I just want you to know that I'm still cute. Well,
I see Hermie once in a while, and I always
wanted to be like Hermie. I wanted to be independent.
He wanted to be a dentist. So we were mixed together. Hey,
what do you say we both be independent together? Huh?
(03:16):
You wouldn't mind my red not not if you don't
mind me being a dentist. It's a deal. So that
was fun, you know. So the whole show was fun
to do, and it was all Canadian. All the voices
are Canadian except for Burlives. They'll say, I thought it
(03:36):
wasn't an American show. No, you know, while it was
partly Bernard collin A was directing it along with with
Jewels Bath, and they came up to Toronto because we
we have all the voices from radio because our radio
never died, you know, it's it kept on with because
(03:58):
of the Canadian broadcast in corporation. You know, we'd all
been still working in radio. So we had the voices
for radio. Because the puppets are actually three dimensional and
they have to be filmed, you know, one little teeny
movement at a time. With the three D puppets, you
might say, but they're not puppets. They're moved. Each little
(04:22):
teeny little bit as they moved through the snow. For instance,
the snowman goes through the snow and he's he's the
snow is pushed in front of him. It's a unique
process that Rank and in Bad first developed, and they
went on to do other ones. Of course, the shows
I did were all aimed for children, because that's all
(04:43):
I ever did were a voice voices, so like care
bears and things like that. You know, I don't tell
anybody either, because it spoiled the illusion, especially for children.
I hate to say it, you know, especially now. Oh
I have children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. They think it's wonderful.
They when they were little, they went to school and
(05:04):
told their teeth that their their mother was Rudel, and
the teacher looked at them and said, oh, yes, dear,
of course. So we get on with the work now,
you know. But I sometimes I go to schools and
it's very good to teach kids how important it is
to learn to read, not only for pleasure, but there
(05:25):
actually is a side of that that can be a profession.
So it's a it's a boost for children and in
the reading, and that's when your character voice is, you know,
then you can say, by the way, we thought it
did go one year, maybe two at the most, and
that was it. But that's you know, that's fine. Look
(05:46):
what's happened to it? You realize that it had become
a classic, you know, sort of like you know Wizard
of Odd you know that that type of show that
has a it has a moral to it, and uh,
you know, everything works out in the end, and so
I mean, there you go. What more can you ask?
(06:07):
You know, it all worked out in the end. It
revived Rudolph from being just the dog and a little
Christmas book and made it into something that could be
watched every Christmas. It became a Christmas classic because you know,
my grandchildren even now are almost beyond it, but they
(06:27):
still watch because they say, oh, but it's so cute.
You know. Rudolph is also of course, I'm Rudolph in
Rudolph's Shiny New Year and the one that's Christmas in
July with Rocky Snowman. So whatever, there's a Rudolph that's
my voice. Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you
(06:49):
guide my slade tonight? It will be an honor, sir.
And it was wonderful to see it all put together
with the actual figures because we didn't really know what
they were going to look like. So it was the
really fun thing. And I'm very proud that it's been
on this long, and they're not too many people that
can say that, so it's really great. But I enjoyed
(07:13):
the work that I do and I'm quite happy, and
that's good enough for me.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
At a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler. The story of the woman
who voice Rudolph Here on our American Stories. Here are
in our American Stories, we bring you inspiring stories of history, sports, business, faith,
and love. Stories from a great and beautiful country that
(07:39):
need to be told. But we can't do it without you.
Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not
free to make. If you love our stories in America
like we do, please go to our American Stories dot
com and click the donate button. Give a little, give
a lot, help us keep the great American stories coming.
That's our American Stories dot Com.
This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American people.
And to search for the Our American Stories podcasts, go
to the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts. Billy May Richards is the Canadian actress best
known for voicing frut Off, the Red Nose Reindeer. The
(00:32):
special first aired on December sixth, nineteen sixty four, on NBC.
Here's Billy May to share her story.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I go back almost over seventy five years now. I've
been in every kind of child business. I'm quite proud
of the work in the Navy show as part of
the war effort in World War Two, we went all
across Canada back and then overseas and we did a
command performance for the King and Queen and went into
(01:04):
Paris and we played for the American troops in Paris,
and then Brussels and Amsterdam and Innto, Germany. So after
the World War Two, that is so you know how
long ago it is, I took my credits from the
Navy and I joined Lauren Green's Academy of Radio Arts,
and he, of course did a very famous Canadian and
(01:26):
he died Bonanza. That was a great series. And so
I joined the Academy of Radio Arts because I had
already done stage work and I was a musician and
an actor and everything, but I didn't know the technique
for actually for radio and drama. So that's why I
went there, and out of that I graduated in everybody
(01:48):
that heard me gave me a part of the child.
So that's where my first big show was a big
drama and on the stage series and in Canada went
from there. So I spent twenty five years in the
CBC doing school podcasts, and then when the cartooning came
our way, then it was just part of a natural
(02:11):
progression to go into voice works because you're not you know,
I'm not a I'm not a television actor and certainly
not now hey, Larice, Hey, after practice? Would you would
you go off? You'll get back here, it's trying you all, gee,
I gotta go back? Would you want to go? Would be?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Uh huh Rudolph, I think you're cute.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'm cute. I du man, I'm kid.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
I gud shit that I cut.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I just want you to know that I'm still cute. Well,
I see Hermie once in a while, and I always
wanted to be like Hermie. I wanted to be independent.
He wanted to be a dentist. So we were mixed together. Hey,
what do you say we both be independent together? Huh?
(03:16):
You wouldn't mind my red not not if you don't
mind me being a dentist. It's a deal. So that
was fun, you know. So the whole show was fun
to do, and it was all Canadian. All the voices
are Canadian except for Burlives. They'll say, I thought it
(03:36):
wasn't an American show. No, you know, while it was
partly Bernard collin A was directing it along with with
Jewels Bath, and they came up to Toronto because we
we have all the voices from radio because our radio
never died, you know, it's it kept on with because
(03:58):
of the Canadian broadcast in corporation. You know, we'd all
been still working in radio. So we had the voices
for radio. Because the puppets are actually three dimensional and
they have to be filmed, you know, one little teeny
movement at a time. With the three D puppets, you
might say, but they're not puppets. They're moved. Each little
(04:22):
teeny little bit as they moved through the snow. For instance,
the snowman goes through the snow and he's he's the
snow is pushed in front of him. It's a unique
process that Rank and in Bad first developed, and they
went on to do other ones. Of course, the shows
I did were all aimed for children, because that's all
(04:43):
I ever did were a voice voices, so like care
bears and things like that. You know, I don't tell
anybody either, because it spoiled the illusion, especially for children.
I hate to say it, you know, especially now. Oh
I have children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. They think it's wonderful.
They when they were little, they went to school and
(05:04):
told their teeth that their their mother was Rudel, and
the teacher looked at them and said, oh, yes, dear,
of course. So we get on with the work now,
you know. But I sometimes I go to schools and
it's very good to teach kids how important it is
to learn to read, not only for pleasure, but there
(05:25):
actually is a side of that that can be a profession.
So it's a it's a boost for children and in
the reading, and that's when your character voice is, you know,
then you can say, by the way, we thought it
did go one year, maybe two at the most, and
that was it. But that's you know, that's fine. Look
(05:46):
what's happened to it? You realize that it had become
a classic, you know, sort of like you know Wizard
of Odd you know that that type of show that
has a it has a moral to it, and uh,
you know, everything works out in the end, and so
I mean, there you go. What more can you ask?
(06:07):
You know, it all worked out in the end. It
revived Rudolph from being just the dog and a little
Christmas book and made it into something that could be
watched every Christmas. It became a Christmas classic because you know,
my grandchildren even now are almost beyond it, but they
(06:27):
still watch because they say, oh, but it's so cute.
You know. Rudolph is also of course, I'm Rudolph in
Rudolph's Shiny New Year and the one that's Christmas in
July with Rocky Snowman. So whatever, there's a Rudolph that's
my voice. Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you
(06:49):
guide my slade tonight? It will be an honor, sir.
And it was wonderful to see it all put together
with the actual figures because we didn't really know what
they were going to look like. So it was the
really fun thing. And I'm very proud that it's been
on this long, and they're not too many people that
can say that, so it's really great. But I enjoyed
(07:13):
the work that I do and I'm quite happy, and
that's good enough for me.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
At a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler. The story of the woman
who voice Rudolph Here on our American Stories. Here are
in our American Stories, we bring you inspiring stories of history, sports, business, faith,
and love. Stories from a great and beautiful country that
(07:39):
need to be told. But we can't do it without you.
Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not
free to make. If you love our stories in America
like we do, please go to our American Stories dot
com and click the donate button. Give a little, give
a lot, help us keep the great American stories coming.
That's our American Stories dot Com.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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