Pat Carroll, a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning actress, best known as the voice of Ursula from The Little Mermaid, has died at 95.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write that my mother, Pat Carroll, has passed away at the grand old age of 95. We ask that you honor her by having a raucous laugh at absolutely anything today (and every day forward) because, besides her brilliant talent and love, she leaves my sister Kerry and me with the greatest gift of all, imbuing us with humor and the ability to laugh… even in the saddest of times.” Tara Karsian, her daughter, announced on her Facebook page
Patricia Ann Carroll was born May 5, 1927, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was five, and she soon began acting in local productions. She graduated from Immaculate Heart High School and then attended the Catholic University of America after enlisting in the US Army.
A frequent film actress and television guest star and series regular starting in the late 1940s, her work was seen on the Jimmy Durante Show, The Danny Thomas Show, Laverne & Shirley, ER, and many other shows, and voiced several cartoon series like Pound Puppies, Galaxy High School, Foofur and Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure. She appeared in my shows in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, including shows headlined by Steve Allen, Red Buttons, Danny Kaye, Red Skelton, and Carol Burnett.
In 1965 she costarred as “Prunella,” one of the wicked stepsisters in the 1965 production of the musical version of Cinderella.
In 1989, Carroll portrayed the sea witch Ursula in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, singing “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” She called the role one of her favorites. She reprised the voice role in 2000’s direct-to-video sequel and in a pair of Mickey specials, Mickeys Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse and Mickey’s House of Villain, as well as in the Kingdom Hearts video game series.
In 1996, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Special for The Royale, in which she voiced the character Mildred Wak.
Most recently, Carroll made cameo appearances in Nancy Drew and Bridesmaids, making her final on-screen appearance in the comedy film BFFs.
Carroll died Saturday, July 30th, 2022, of pneumonia at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She is survived by her daughters Kerry Karsian, Tara Karsian, and granddaughter Evan Karsian-McCormick. No memorial plans have been revealed.
