Julie McWhirter-Dees is a retired American actress, and the first person to ever voice Huckleberry Pie, T.N. Honey, and Custard the cat.
Biography[]
Julie McWhirter was born on October 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana. She graduated from DePauw University in 1970 with a degree in speech.
Her career in acting began with the 1970 variety show Happy Days (not to be confused with the sitcom), where she performed in 10 episodes. Her first voice acting role (outside of various minor background voices) was as Terry Barkley in the short-lived animated series The Barkleys.
Julie McWhirter would star as the title character of Jeannie, an animated cartoon based on the live-action sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. The cartoon consisted of 16 episodes, though she would also appear in a crossover with Scooby-Doo in The New Scooby Doo Movies.
In 1977, Julie married American radio personality and disk jockey Rigdon Osmond Dees III (also known as Rick Dees), and the two remain married to this day. They have one son named Kevin Dees.
Julie McWhirter was involved with the Strawberry Shortcake franchise for the first three original specials. In all three specials, she was the voice actor for Huckleberry Pie. In Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City she voiced T.N. Honey, and in Strawberry Shortcake: Pets on Parade she voiced Custard.
She is also well known for being the voice of Casper the Friendly Ghost in the 1979 series and television specials, and Baby Smurf in The Smurfs.
Julie retired from voice acting in 1993, with her final roles in The Town Santa Forgot as additional voices. She currently resides in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, with her husband.
Voice Roles in Strawberry Shortcake[]
- Huckleberry Pie (1980-1981) - Debuted in The World of Strawberry Shortcake
- T.N. Honey (1981) - Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City
- Custard (1982) - Strawberry Shortcake: Pets on Parade