Eleanor Audley

Eleanor Audley (born Eleanor Zellman; November 19, 1905 – November 25, 1991) was an American actress who had a distinctive voice in radio and animation, in addition to her TV and film roles. She is best remembered on television as Oliver Douglas's mother, Eunice Douglas, on the CBS sitcom, Green Acres (1965–69); and for providing Disney animated features with the villainess voices of Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's evil stepmother, from Cinderella (1950); and the evil fairy, Maleficent, from Sleeping Beauty (1959). She was known in her career for mostly playing characters with snobbish mean attitudes. Audley also provided the voice of Madame Leota, the spirit medium, from Disney's Haunted Mansion attractions. 2Early life Audley was born Eleanor Zellman in New York on November 19, 1905 and raised in the United States. 2Stage Audley made her Broadway debut in the 1926 production of Howdy, King. Other stage appearances include: On Call (1928); Pigeons and People (1933); Thunder on the Left (1933); Kill That Story (1934); Ladies' Money (1934); Susan and God (1937); and In Bed We Cry (1943). 2Radio Audley worked extensively in the 1940s and '50s in Hollywood radio on such programs as Escape; Suspense; My Favorite Husband (as mother-in-law, Mrs. Cooper); The Story of Dr. Kildare (as receptionist Molly Byrd); and Father Knows Best (as a neighbor of the Anderson family