Jean Vander Pyl was an American actress on radio, television and movies.
Although her career spanned many decades, she is best remembered as the
voice of Wilma Flintstone for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Flintstones.
She also provided the voice for Pebbles Flintstone. She also provided the voice
of Rosie the robot maid from the animated series The Jetsons, among many
others, such as Fifi and additional voices in Top Cat and Winsome Witch on
The Secret Squirrel Show. Life and career
Jean Vander Pyl was born in Philadelphia to John H. and Kathleen Hale Vander Pyl.
Her grandfather had come from the Netherlands. Her father was the district
manager for Knit Underwear, her mother was a Southerner from Tennessee. The two
died within six months of each other in the early 1950s. The family came to Los
Angeles by the mid-1930s. On radio she was heard on such programs
as The Halls of Ivy and on Father Knows Best during the early 1950s, where she
portrayed Margaret Anderson; the role was played on television by Jane Wyatt.
Her husband, Carroll G. O'Meara, died on February 18, 1962, at age 53. He was a
graduate of Stanford University who worked as a copywriter at KHJ radio in
the mid-1930s and later became an advertising executive. She later married
Roger Wells DeWitt, who also predeceased her.
Vander Pyl made numerous TV appearances as an actress in programs such as Leave
It to Beaver, The Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best, The Beverly
Hillbillies, That Girl, and Petticoat Junction. One of her final TV
appearances was in the opening scene of the Season Two Murder, She Wrote
episode, "One Good Bid Deserves a Murder". Vander Pyl also had a very
brief cameo appearance in the 1994 live-action film version of The
Flintstones as Mrs. Feldspar, an elderly woman in a conga line.
= Voice work= Vander Pyl was the voice of Wilma
Flintstone, her best-known character, in the original Flintstones series. She
told an interviewer in 1995 that she received $250 per episode for making The
Flintstones, and in 1966, when the series ended, she rushed to accept
$15,000 in lieu of residual payments from syndication. "The Flintstones" ran
in syndication across the globe for decades. At the time, Vander Pyl lived
in San Clemente, California, and remarked: "If I got residuals, I
wouldn't live in San Clemente. I'd own San Clemente."
Most of her other voice acting work was also for the Hanna-Barbera studio, where
she played her first voice role in 1958 on an episode of The Huckleberry Hound
Show, voicing an actress in The Yogi Bear episode, "Show Biz Bear". She did
additional voices, particularly Southern belles and beautiful girls, on The Quick
Draw McGraw Show, Snagglepuss and The Yogi Bear Show. In 1961-62, Vander Pyl
played Nurse Larue, Charlie the baby, Goldie, Lola Glamour and additional
voices on multiple episodes of Top Cat and in 1962, she did another memorable
role, as Rosie, the Jetsons' robotic maid, and 23 years later in 1985 she
reprised the character on the returning series.
Later, she did the voices of Maw Rugg and her daughter Floral Rugg on a rural
cartoon, Hillbilly Bears, and Winsome Witch; both shows were part of The Atom
Ant/Secret Squirrel Show. Jean Vander Pyl was also the voice of Little Ogee on
The Magilla Gorilla Show. In 1969, Vander Pyl guest starred on the
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? episode "Foul Play in Funland", playing Sarah Jenkins.
In the 1970s, she was the voice of Marge Huddles, the main character's wife on
Where's Huddles?, in which she played a role similar to that of Wilma Flintstone
and was reunited with her Flintstones cast members Alan Reed and Mel Blanc.
She went on to voice Mrs. Finkerton on Inch High Private Eye, as well as
several female characters on Hong Kong Phooey, The Tom and Jerry Show and
Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. In the 1980s and 1990s, the talented
voice actress did voices on The Mister T Show, The Snorks, Yogi's Treasure Hunt
and also on The Flintstone Kids as Mrs. Slaghoople. She mostly reprised Wilma
Flintstone on spin-off series and films, such as The Flintstone Comedy Show, The
New Fred and Barney Show, The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, I Yabba-Dabba Do!,
Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby, and A Flintstones Christmas Carol.
Her last roles were again as Wilma Flintstone on The Cartoon Cartoon Show
episode "Dino Stay Out" in 1995, on The Flintstones Christmas in Bedrock in
1996, and on The Weird Al Show in 1997. Death
On April 10, 1999, Vander Pyl died of lung cancer at her home in Dana Point,
California. She was 79 years old. She was survived by her three sons, Michael
and Timothy O'Meara, and Roger DeWitt, Jr. DeWitt, Jr. is also an actor and
singer. Her daughter, Tina O'Meara, died in the 1970s. Vander Pyl was interred in
Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California. Her most prominent character
Wilma Flintstone is engraved on her gravestone.
Filmography Hey There, It's Yogi Bear - Various
Voices The Man Called Flintstone - Wilma
Flintstone The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones - TV
Movie - Wilma FlintstoneMrs. Spacely Rockin' with Judy Jetson - TV Movie -
Rosie Jetsons: The Movie - Rosie the Robot
I Yabba-Dabba Do! - TV movie - Wilma Flintstone/Mrs. Slate
Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby - TV Movie - Wilma Flintstone
The Flintstones - Mrs. Feldspar A Flintstones Christmas Carol - TV Movie
- Wilma Flintstone Television
The Huckleberry Hound Show - Various voices
The Quick Draw McGraw Show - Various voices - 14 episodes
Mister Magoo - Various voices The Flagstones - Pitch Reel Pilot
Loopy DeLoop - Various Voices The Flintstones - 166 episodes - Wilma
Flintstone, Pebbles Flintstone & additional voices
The Yogi Bear Show - Various voices Top Cat - Various voices
The Jetsons- 6 episodes 1962 & 39 episodes 1985-1987 - Rosie the Robot &
Mrs. Spacely The Magilla Gorilla Show - Ogee
/additional voices The Secret Squirrel Show - 26 episodes -
Winsome Witch/additional voices The Atom Ant Show - 26 episodes - Ma
Rugg / Floral Rugg Scooby Doo, Where Are You! - episodes -
A Clue for Scooby Doo, Decoy for a Dognapper,What the Hex Going On?, Never
Ape an Ape Man, Foul Play in Funland, Which Witch is Which?, & possibly others
- Mrs. Cutler, Candy Mint, Princess's Owner, Sarah Jenkins, Witch, & Swami
Customer Where's Huddles? - 10 episodes - Marge
Huddles The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show - Wilma
Flintstone The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
- episode - 11-4-1971 - Herself The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie -
episode - Yogi's Ark Lark - Maw Rugg/Floral Rugg/Woman
The Flintstone Comedy Hour - 18 episodes - Wilma Flintstone
Yogi's Gang - Various voices Inch High, Private Eye - 13 episodes -
Mrs. Finkerton Hong Kong Phooey - Various
A Flintstone Christmas - TV Special - Wilma Flintstone/Pebbles Flintstone
Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels - Various voices
Dinky Dog - Additional Voices The Flintstones: Little Big League - TV
Special - Wilma Flintstone The Flintstones Meet Rockula and
Frankenstone - TV Special - Wilma Flintstone/Gladys
The New Fred and Barney Show - 17 episodes - Wilma Flintstone/Pebbles
Flintstone The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling - TV
Special - Wilma Flintstone/Pebbles Flintstone
The Flintstones' New Neighbors - TV Special - Wilma Flintstone
The Flintstone Comedy Show - 18 episodes - Wilma Flintstone
The Flintstones: Jogging Fever - TV Special - Wilma Flintstone/Pebbles
Flintstone The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma - TV
Special - Wilma Flintstone/Pebbles Flintstone
The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show - various voices
Mister T - Various voices Hardcastle and McCormick - episode -
Games People Play - Agnes O'Toole Murder, She Wrote - episode - One Good
Bid Deserves a Murder - Fan The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary
Celebration - TV Movie documentary - Wilma Flintstone
The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special - TV Special - Pearl
Slaghoople/Various voices A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration: 50 years
of Hanna-Barbera - TV Movie documentary - Wilma Flintstone
Wake, Rattle & Roll - Segment - Fender Bender 500 - 50 episodes - Winsome Witch
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera - Ride show - Wilma Flintstone/Rosie the
Robot Maid A Flintstone Family Christmas - TV
Special - Wilma Flintstone The Flintstones: Wacky Inventions -
Video short - Wilma Flintstone/Pebbles Flintstone
The Cartoon Cartoon Show - episode - Dino Stay Out - Wilma Flintstone
References External links
Jean Vander Pyl at the Internet Movie Database
Jean Vander Pyl at AllMovie Jean Vander Pyl at Find a Grave