Betty Jean Ward[1] (born September 12, 1944)[2] is an American actress. She is the creator and the star of Stand-Up Opera, a musical one-woman show.
Personal life
Ward was first married to Donald Trenner in 1966, they divorced in 1978,[1] She was later married to director Gordon Hunt from 1995 until his death in 2016.[3]
Career
Early career
She made her debut on the stage in 1960, in the original off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks, where she was an understudy for the role of Luisa/the Girl. B.J. Ward had gotten the part by calling the producer of the show.[1]
She toured with the Groundlings for a short while before starting her own voice over career starting with Hanna-Barbera's Jana of the Jungle in 1978.[4]
Singing career
Ward also worked as a singer. She is well known for her acclaimed one-woman show, "Stand-Up Opera", which became a massive success with critics and audiences alike.[5] She has released seven albums throughout her singing career.
Though Ward is best known as a voice actress, she has also appeared on television. In 1985, she made a rare film appearance in the TV movie Malice in Wonderland alongside Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Alexander.
She has guest-starred on television series such as Frasier, ER, and In-Laws.
Ward has also done voices for video games and for
theme parks, including:
Johnny Bravo – episodes -Johnny Bravo/Jungle Boy in 'Mr. Monkeyman'/Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women, The Sensitive Male/Bravo Dooby Doo & I Used to Be Funny/My Fair Dork/'Twas the Night – Velma Dinkley / Aunt Jebidisa / additional voices (1997)
^ ab"BJ Ward (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 30, 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)