Mary Kay Bergman, who provided her voice to a plethora of characters in the “South Park” cartoons and many other films and television shows, has passed away. She was 38 years old.
Bergman allegedly committed suicide on Thursday night, according to her lawyer Robert Harrison. Later this week, there will be a memorial service.
Mary Kay Bergman Cause of Death
Bergman’s versatility on “South Park” made her a household name in the competitive field of voice acting. Mrs. Cartman, Wendy Testaburger, Stan’s Mom, Kenny’s Mom, Mayor McDaniels, Ms. Crabtree, Principal Victoria, Shelly Marsh, and Nurse Gollem are all voiced by her. For the 2018 film “South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut,” she sang nearly all of the parts in the song “Blame Canada.”
Bergman has been the recognized voice of Snow White since 1989. Her 14-year career included voicing roles in this summer’s “Star Wars, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace,” the 1996 Disney film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” in which she played Quasimodo’s mother, and this year’s critically acclaimed “The Iron Giant.”
More than 400 commercials featured her voiceover. Among them are commercials for Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal, American Express, Honda, and other brands in which she has acted as the lead voiceover artist in national campaigns.
This year, at the 27th annual Annie Awards, which honor excellence in the animation industry, Bergman was nominated for an award. The role of Sheila Broflovski in “South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut” earned her a nomination. Minnie Driver, Ralph Fiennes, Eli Marenthal, and Suzanne Pleshette also got nominated for their voices in animated features.
Both Bergman’s mother, Patricia McGowan, and her husband, Dino Andrade, have expressed their sadness over her passing. According to Harrison, Bergman’s death shocked her family because she had shown no signs of depression. “That makes it a double tragedy,” he says. “They feel there was nothing they could have done.”
Multiple websites, including the official “South Park” website, have reported her death. Rita Vennari, head of the voice-over department at Sutton, Barth & Vennari (SBV), says that Disney and other companies connected to Bergman are likely to run their own tributes to the actress this week.
“We miss her,” says Vennari, who says SBV represented Bergman for many years. “She was wonderful, there was nobody like her. There was something very special about her, with her big brown eyes and curly red hair — she was one of a kind.
“There’s a whole group of animation people so involved in the techniques and the talent of (voice-over work), and she was one. She was really in the club. At such a young age she’d already been accepted by her peers.”
Today we remember Mary Kay Bergman, who was born on this day in 1961.
She voiced Daphne in Zombie Island, Witch’s Ghost, and Alien Invaders. pic.twitter.com/gxTJ2TUESq— Scooby-Doo History (@scoobyhistory) June 5, 2022
Bergman’s work on “South Park” may be the role for which she is best remembered, but according to Vennari, Bergman would have been unable to choose a favorite. “She considered all her work important, that was the best thing about her. It was all-important to her.”
It’s not clear how Bergman’s death might affect the yet-to-be-made episodes of the third season of “South Park.”
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