{{short description|American actress|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Corinne Conley | image = Corinne Conley GooseBumps Monster Blood Episode.webp | caption = Corinne Conley as "Aunt Kathryn," in the episode "Monster Blood" from ''Goosebumps'' (1996). | birth_name = Corinne Alexandra Conley | birth_date = {{birth date and age | 1929|5|23}} | birth_place = New York, U.S. | occupation = Actress | years_active = {{hlist|1953-2020}} | alma_mater = University of Mary Washington | spouse = {{marriage|Bonar Stuart|1950|2015|reason=died}} | children = 2 }}
'''Corinne Alexandra Conley''' (born May 23, 1929)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=King |first1=Bob |last2=Wagner |first2=Laura |last3=Cross |first3=Lon |title=Senior Film & TV Celebrities |journal=Classic Images |date=January 2019 |issue=523 |page=27}}</ref> is an American retired actress whose career spanned almost seven decades.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} She spent the majority of her career in Canada, notable for having won the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists' Best Actress Award.<ref name="cn">{{cite news |title=Corinne Conley joins cast |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27825056/corinne_conley/ |accessdate=30 January 2019 |work=The Courier-News |date=April 30, 1973 |location=New Jersey, Bridgewater |page=16|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> Conley is known for her voiceover work in various films and television productions and is better recognized for voicing Rudolph's mother and presumably Dolly Sue in ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (1964).
Conley's acting career spanned seventy years, receiving several nominations for her work. She has also made prominent and notable appearances in ''Tales of the Wizard of Oz'' as Dorothy Gale (1961), ''Days of Our Lives'' as Phyllis Anderson (1973-1982), the ''Goosebumps'' episode "Monster Blood" as Aunt Katherine (1996), ''Quads!'' as Sister Butch (2001-2002), ''A Christmas Horror Story'' as Aunt Edda (2015), and voicing multiple characters in the ''Watch Dogs: Legion'' video game (2020).
==Acting career== For two years, she played the ingenue lead in ''The Common Glory'', an outdoor drama in Williamsburg, Virginia.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Famous Comedy By Van Druten Opening at Playhouse Monday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27835736/the_gazette/ |accessdate=30 January 2019 |work=The Gazette |date=July 28, 1951 |location=Canada, Montreal |page=20|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
For four years,<ref>{{cite news |title=ABC expanding 'General Hospital' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27948779/public_opinion/ |accessdate=2 February 2019 |work=Public Opinion |date=December 3, 1977 |location=Pennsylvania, Chambersburg |page=30|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> Conley portrayed Phyllis Anderson on the NBC-TV daytime drama ''Days of Our Lives''.<ref name="cn" /> She also provided the voice of Dolly Sue and Rudolph’s mother in the 1964 animated NBC-TV special ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer''.<ref name="umw">{{cite news|last1=Davis|first1=Kristin|date=July 26, 2012|title=Nights With Mrs. Bushnell Led to "Days of Our Lives"|work=University of Mary Washington Magazine|url=https://magazine.umw.edu/summer2012/departments/alumni-profiles/nights-with-mrs-bushnell-led-to-days-of-our-lives/|url-status=live|accessdate=30 January 2019|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20190130222040/https://magazine.umw.edu/summer2012/departments/alumni-profiles/nights-with-mrs-bushnell-led-to-days-of-our-lives/|archivedate=30 January 2019}}</ref>
Conley was a winner of the Canadian radio talent competition ''Opportunity Knocks''.<ref name="umw" /> Beginning in 1955, she was hostess of ''Open House'', a daily program on CBC Television.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Hostess with the Mostes' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27838532/corinne_conley/ |accessdate=30 January 2019 |work=The Ottawa Citizen |date=November 26, 1955 |location=Canada, Ottawa, Ontario |page=10|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> She played the female lead in CBC-TV's adaptation of the soap opera ''Search for Tomorrow''.<ref name="oc">{{cite news |last1=Gonsalves |first1=Jim |title=Esse Ljungh Offers Defence Time-Honored Soap Operas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27937652/the_ottawa_citizen/ |accessdate=2 February 2019 |work=The Ottawa Citizen |date=January 26, 1957 |location=Canada, Ottawa, Ontario |page=26|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> Other Canadian TV programs on which she appeared included ''Playdate'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Guy with gimmick is winner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27946949/the_province/ |accessdate=2 February 2019 |work=The Province |date=September 29, 1962 |location=Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver |page=14|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> ''G. M. Presents'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27835352/corinne_conley/|title=Horton, Conley Star In Comedy Sunday|date=June 3, 1961|work=The Gazette|accessdate=30 January 2019|location=Canada, Montreal|page=24|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and ''Portrait''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27835485/corinne_conley/|title=(photo caption)|date=August 6, 1965|work=The Vancouver Sun|accessdate=30 January 2019|location=Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver|page=64|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She also was heard on ''Crime Quiz'' on CBC Radio, and she made commercials for radio and TV.<ref name="ch">{{cite news |title=Corinne Conley |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27947495/corinne_conley/ |accessdate=2 February 2019 |work=Calgary Herald |date=January 21, 1967 |location=Canada, Alberta, Calgary |page=55|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
On Broadway, Conley portrayed Pearl Vambrance in ''Love and Libel'' (1960).<ref>{{cite web |title=Corinne Conley |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/corinne-conley-105000 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |accessdate=30 January 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130221118/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/corinne-conley-105000 |archivedate=30 January 2019}}</ref> Her other stage experience includes productions of the National Classic Theatre (NCT) in New York,<ref name=":0" /> which presented plays across the United States in colleges and high schools,<ref name="umw" /> and The Mountain Playhouse, Beaver Lake, and Vineland Summer Theatre, all in Canada.<ref>{{cite news |title=Comedy by F. Hugh Herbert Opening on Monday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27825347/the_gazette/ |accessdate=30 January 2019 |work=The Gazette |date=July 23, 1955 |location=Canada, Montreal |page=22|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> She also performed with the comedy duo Wayne and Shuster across Canada.<ref>{{cite news |title='Days Of Our Lives' Has Talent Of Musical |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27948047/the_times_and_democrat/ |accessdate=2 February 2019 |work=The Times and Democrat |date=November 17, 1974 |location=South Carolina, Orangeburg |page=27|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
In an interview with ''Saturday Morning Rewind'' in 2013, Conley admitted to having no memory of voicing Dolly for Sue during the production of ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (1964), but remembers voicing Rudolph's mother.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Corinne Conley podcast interview|url=http://www.saturdaymorningrewind.com/corinne-conley-podcast-interview.html|access-date=2021-12-20|website=Saturday Morning Rewind|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Citation|title=20: Corinne Conley interview (Rankin Bass Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas Special)|date=2013-12-16|url=https://open.spotify.com/episode/71GqNOWz240Scrj8oSqKbh|language=en|access-date=2021-12-20}}</ref> She told the interviewer that the possibility of voicing Dolly is likely, but has no memory of it. According to several movie databases and websites, Corinne Conley is credited as Dolly for Sue and additional voices.<ref name=":1" />
In 2018, Conley defended the ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' TV film against claims of bigotry and bullying.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Rudolph' Actor Defends Christmas Classic Against Claims of Bullying and Bigotry|url=https://www.tmz.com/2018/12/02/rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer-critics-bully-problematic-corrine-conley/|access-date=2022-02-16|website=TMZ|date=December 2, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
As of 2021, Corinne is the last surviving of the ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' special's voice cast, following the deaths of long surviving co-stars Carl Banas in April 2020,<ref>{{cite web | title=Visit Carl Banas (1929 - 2020) Online Memorial - ForeverMissed | url=https://www.forevermissed.com/carl-banas/about }}</ref> Paul Soles in May 2021,<ref>{{cite web | title=Paul SOLES Obituary (1930 - 2021) - Toronto, ON - the Globe and Mail | website=Legacy.com | url=https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/theglobeandmail/name/paul-soles-obituary?id=40380134 }}</ref> and Alfie Scopp in July 2021.<ref>{{cite web | title=Versatile character actor Alfie Scopp never stopped working | work=The Globe and Mail | date=August 13, 2021 | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-versatile-character-actor-alfie-scopp-never-stopped-working/ }}</ref>
==Personal life== Conley was born in New York and spent most of her youth in Radford, Virginia. After graduating from high school in Radford, she graduated from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.<ref name="umw" />
Conley married Bonar Stuart, whom she met when both worked with the NCT.<ref name="umw" /> They have two sons.<ref name="vs">{{cite news|last1=Hassard|first1=Kathy|date=June 11, 1959|title=Helpful Husband Major Asset in Stage Career|page=53|work=The Vancouver Sun|location=Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27938101/corinne_conley/|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=2 February 2019}}</ref>
==Filmography== *''Tit-Coq'' (1953) - Rosie *''Flight into Danger'' (1956) - Janet *''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (1964) - Dolly for Sue and Rudolph's mother *''The Return of Count Yorga'' (1971) - Witch *''The Night God Screamed'' (1971) - Betty Coogan *''Check It Out!'' (1988) - Darla Fontaine, Episode: Educating Leslie *''Mark Twain and Me'' (1991) - Saleswoman *''Final Judgment'' (1991) - Dr. Monroe *''Search for Diana'' (1992) - Dr. Woodhouse *''Deadly Matrimony'' (1992) - Genevieve Capstaff *''Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story'' (1993) - Female Judge *''Butterbox Babies'' (1995) - Mrs. Chadaway *''Salt Water Moose'' (1996) - Grandma *''Cleveland Woods Last Day on Earth'' (short film, 1996) *''Her Desperate Choice'' (1996) - Jody's Mother *''The Care and Handling of Roses'' (1996) - Margaret *''The Defenders: Payback'' (1997) - Judge Turner *''Dead Husbands'' (1998) - Mrs. Catcher *''Custody of the Heart'' (2000) - Connie *''Franklin and the Green Knight: The Movie'' (2000) - Granny Turtle (voice only) *''Guilty Hearts'' (2002) - Mae Moran *''RFK'' (2002) - Rose Kennedy *''Christmas Rush'' (2002) - Gramma Pat *''The Berenstain Bears'' (2002) - Grizzly Gran (voice only) *''Big Spender'' (2003) - Rita *''Love Rules!'' (2004) - Grandma Betty *''Saving Emily'' (2004) - Grandma Wilton *''Heidi'' (2005) - Grannie (voice only) *''Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure'' (2006) - Granny Turtle (voice only) *''Legacy of Fear'' (2006) - Mimi Wickersham *''Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story'' (2006) - Maud *''Nature of the Beast'' (2007) - Lucy Sullivan *''The Way It Used to Be'' (short film, 2009) - Rebecca *''Old Stock'' (2012) - Gloria *''Cas & Dylan'' (2013) - Rose *''WolfCop'' (2014) - Mayor Bradley *''A Christmas Horror Story'' (2015) - Aunt Edda *''A Simple Favor'' (2018) - Librarian
== References == <!--- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes on how to create references using <ref></ref> tags, these references will then appear here automatically --> {{Reflist}}
== External links == *[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0174766/ Corinne Conley] at IMDb
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conley, Corinne}} Category:1929 births Category:American film actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:Actresses from Virginia Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Living people Category:American expatriate actresses in Canada Category:University of Mary Washington alumni