April Winchell

April Winchell
Winchell in Las Vegas, Nevada
Born	April Terri Winchell January 4, 1960 New York City, New York, U.S.
Other names	April Foley
Occupation	Voice actress, actress, writer, talk radio host, commentator, comedian
Years active	1972–present
Spouse(s)	Mick Kuisel (?-?; divorced) John Foley (m. 2013)
Parent(s)	Paul Winchell Nina Russel
Website	www.aprilwinchell.com

April Winchell Foley (born January 4, 1960) is an American voice actress, actress, writer, talk radio host, commentator and comedian.

Winchell is the daughter of Paul Winchell.^[1]

Early life

Winchell was born April Terri Winchell in New York City, New York on January 4, 1960.

Career

Acting

Winchell in Los Angeles, California in June 2004

Winchell's projects include the role of Sylvia in Wander Over Yonder, a Disney animated series featuring Jack McBrayer in the title role. Created by The Powerpuff Girls producers Craig McCracken and Lauren Faust, the show chronicles the adventures of "Wander" and his trusty (and cynical) steed Sylvia, as they travel the universe. The program premiered on the Disney Channel in September 2013.^[2]

As a voice actress, she has been heard in hundreds of animated television programs, such as Goof Troop (Peg Pete), Recess (as Mrs. Muriel Finster), Disney's House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (as Clarabelle Cow), Bonkers (as Lucky's wife, Dyl Piquel), Pepper Ann (as Pepper Ann's mom, Lydia Pearson),^[3]and Kids from Room 402 (as Miss Gracie Graves the School teacher, along with a number of other characters that appear on the show), The Legend of Tarzan (taking over for Rosie O'Donnell as Terk), 101 Dalmatians: The Series (as Cruella De Vil), SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (as Molly Mange), Robot and Monster, Phineas & Ferb and Kim Possible.

She has also voiced roles in numerous films, including Antz, Who Framed Roger Rabbit,^[1] Monsters University and Rob Zombie's The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. Winchell portrayed the "Glendale Federal Bank" lady – a cranky, cynical customer mollified by the service at her new bank – in a series of highly successful radio commercials, which Winchell wrote and directed herself. The commercials caught the attention of Roseanne, who hired her as a writer on her eponymous sitcom.^[1] She was also tested for the part of Regan in Тhe Exorcist until she fell ill and was taken out of consideration.^[4]

Radio

Besides her many contributions to radio advertising as a director, writer, and performer, Winchell also hosted a radio talk show program on KFI, a Los Angeles radio station. This weekend program aired for three years, and enjoyed the fastest growing audience in the history of the station. Subsequent to the end of this program in November 2002, she appeared semi-regularly on the Ask Mr. KABC program, on KABC, an AM station also in Los Angeles – until the show ended in February 2007.

In 2005, Winchell signed a deal with U.S. pay-TV service HBO to develop and host a show on Sirius Satellite Radio. However, on her official website on May 3, 2006, she announced that negotiations had stalled out between HBO and Sirius, leaving her program in limbo.

On March 16, 2007, she returned to semi-regular radio appearances on The Marc "Mr. K" Germain Show on KTLK-AM (the new show hosted by the former Mr. KABC) and appeared twice a month. (Her appearances on Germain's show are available at her website in addition to KTLK's website.) During March, Winchell was "banned for life" from KABC (AM) in Los Angeles at the behest of ABC radio host Bill O'Reilly, over a retelling of an occurrence she dubbed "Croissantgate" (KABC provided Bill O'Reilly with croissants that were not fresh enough for his taste, causing a commotion at the station).

Theater

Ted Hardwick and April Winchell (as "Teddy Towne" and "Sheila Sands") provide color commentary for the 1998 Christopher Street West Gay Pride Parade, in West Hollywood, California, from atop the Monaco Liquor Store sign on Santa Monica Boulevard.

As a musical theater actor, she starred as Ado Annie in the Columbia Artists revival of Oklahoma!, and also appeared opposite Kevin Spacey in Gypsy.

Additionally, Winchell wrote and starred as "Sheila Sands" in her show at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles to sold out crowds. The show was produced by Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, who discovered her at Cafe Largo in Hollywood. Winchell reprised the character to open for Brad Garrett at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2013.

She has also been a frequent panelist on the live-stage version of What's My Line at the Acme Comedy Theatre in Hollywood.

Advertising

In 1992, Winchell and her then-husband Mick Kuisel formed Radio Savant Productions, a radio advertising production company.^[5] Since that time, Winchell has received many awards including Cannes, Clio, The $100,000 Mercury Award^[6] and The International Grand Andy (bestowed by The Association of Independent Commercial Producers) – it was the only time the Andy was given for radio. Winchell has provided the award winning radio and television advertising for Big Bear Mountain Resorts since the early 1990s. In 2007, she began appearing in their television ads as a reporter-on-the-scene dealing with a hapless studio anchorman.

Internet

Winchell's official website contains a link to her IMDB biography and library of unusual and outsider music pieces.

Prior to 2009, Winchell maintained a personal Web site that, in addition to the music pieces, chronicled the actor's activities, which include her professional, personal, and romantic life. In October 2009, Winchell (under the pseudonym "Helen Killer") launched Regretsy, a blog website which satirized Etsy.^[7] Within four days, the site had received nearly 90 million hits. This huge viral success caught the attention of Random House, who subsequently won a bidding war to publish a book based around the Regretsy website. The book, which was published April 6, 2010, features humorous and bizarre crafts and artwork from several different artists, as well as essays about Winchell's personal life, childhood and own crafting failures.^[8] As of March 1, 2012, the Regretsy site had raised over $200,000 for charitable causes.^[9] The popularity of Regretsy's "Not Remotely Steampunk" section even inspired a viral "chap hop" music video.^[10] Winchell ceased updating Regretsy on February 1, 2013.^[11]

Other work

Winchell worked on the 1996 video game Toonstruck in which she voiced a number of characters including Ms. Fit, Polly, Punisher Polly and Dr. Payne's Receptionist. Not only did she voiced the characters but she has also worked as casting and dialogue director for the game. She also worked as a punch writer for Recess: School's Out and wrote three episodes of the American sitcom Roseanne.

Personal life

Winchell is the daughter of ventriloquist, actor, and comedian Paul Winchell, and his second wife, Nina Russel.^[5] In her weblog writings and appearances on radio, she describes her childhood with many references to the great talent of her father as well as the many disturbing incidents owing to his mental health issues. Ms. Winchell did not speak publicly about his mental illness and drug use for many years, due to the "tremendous responsibility" she felt to his fans, and the people who had fond childhood memories of his work from the 1950s through the late 1980s. But her silence ended in March 2004 after her father published his autobiography Winch, in which he openly criticized his ex-wife, Nina, and other family members.

In broadcasts of her KFI show, on her web diary and several other websites, Winchell revealed she and Kevin Spacey dated for a while after high school, during the run of the Gypsy musical, and went to New York together.^[12][13] She and Spacey remained friends ever since. Since 2013, Winchell has been married to John Foley.

On August 19, 2005, she announced on her website that she was diagnosed with cancer and underwent successful surgery and radiation treatment. To promote solidarity during her radiation treatment, she issued her own rubber wristbands. Where Lance Armstrong's wrist bands were yellow, April's were "Glow in the Dark" so one could "glow along" with April. Winchell is also widely known as a supporter of various charity causes, including Project Angel Food, a Los Angeles-based service providing meals for homebound people living with AIDS. Her website, Regretsy, generated charitable funds through selling of Regretsy merchandise. On, April 17, 2011, Winchell created April's Army, one of the largest selling teams on Etsy. The Army's members ran monthly campaigns, and all the profits gathered from their store went to a selected Regretsy member who has encountered hardships. On December 5, 2011, Regretsy began a Secret Santa program, collecting donations for presents for needy children. Regretsy raised so much money so quickly that PayPal froze the Regretsy account – as well as Winchell's unrelated personal account – for six months in order to "investigate." As this move effectively destroyed Christmas for 200 needy families, public outcry was massive, resulting in Regretsy becoming a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. After publicly apologizing, PayPal reinstated Winchell's accounts and donated $20,000 to the families she was raising money for.^[14]

Filmography

Roles in television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972–1973	Kid Power	Connie	Voice role Animated series
1992	Defenders of Dynatron City	Additional voices	Voice role TV special
1992	Monster in My Pocket: The Big Scream	Helga	Voice role TV special
1992	Darkwing Duck	Bianca Beaksley	Voice role Animated series
1992–1993	Goof Troop	Peg Pete / Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
1993	Tom & Jerry Kids	Additional voices	Voice role Animated series
1993	Marsupilami	Additional voices	Voice role Animated series
1993	Problem Child	Additional voices	Voice role Animated series
1993–1994	Bonkers	Dyl Piquel	Voice role Animated series
1993–1994	SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron	Molly Mange	Voice role Animated series
1994	Limboland	Various
1994	Aladdin	Woman	Voice role Animated series
1994	Sonic the Hedgehog	Additional voices	Voice role Animated series
1995	Bump in the Night	Auntie Matta The Princess The Cute Dolls	Voice role Animated series
1995	The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show	Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
1995–1999	Timon & Pumbaa	Additional voices	Voice role Animated series
1996	Gargoyles	Shauna Coyle	Voice role Animated series
1996	Earthworm Jim	Ilene	Voice role Animated series
1996	Grace Under Fire	Ms. Salem
1996	Quack Pack	Female Viking Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
1996–1997	Mighty Ducks	Tanya	Voice role Animated series
1996–1997	Jungle Cubs	Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
1996–1998	The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper	Miss C. / Baby Casper	Voice role Animated series
1997	The Blues Brothers: The Animated Series	Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
1997	Johnny Bravo	Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
1997	Extreme Ghostbusters	The Waitress	Voice role Animated series
1997–1998	101 Dalmatians: The Series	Cruella De Vil	Voice role Animated series
1997–2000	Pepper Ann	Lydia Pearson	Voice role Animated series
1997–2001	Recess	Muriel Finster	Voice role Animated series
1998	Hercules	Amazon Guard	Voice role Animated series
1998	Men in Black: The Series	Additional voices	Voice role Animated series
1998	All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series	Tiffany	Voice role Animated series
1998–1999	Mad Jack the Pirate	Additional voices	Voice role Animated series
1998–1999	CatDog	Sadie / Space Grannies	Voice role Animated series
1999	The Wild Thornberrys	Gemsbok #2	Voice role Animated series
1999	Time of Your Life	Karen
1999–2000	Mickey Mouse Works	Clarabelle Cow	Voice role Animated series
1999–2000	Kids from Room 402	Miss Gracie Graves / Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
2000	Buzz Lightyear of Star Command	Pwerta	Voice role Animated series
2000	Rugrats	Argenta	Voice role Animated series
2000–2001	Clerks: The Animated Series	Judge	Voice role Animated series
2001–2002	House of Mouse	Clarabelle Cow	Voice role Animated series
2001–2003	The Legend of Tarzan	Terk / Bibi's Mother	Voice role Animated series
2002	Totally Spies!	Ms. Catherine Brooks / Principal Vegan	Voice role Animated series
2002	That '80s Show	Mrs. Nealon
2002	Ozzy and Drix	Lunchlady	Voice role Animated series
2002–2003	Teamo Supremo	Hypnotheria	Voice role Animated series
2002–2003	Lloyd in Space	Nora Nebulon	Voice role Animated series
2003	The Mummy: The Animated Series	Aglaophone #1	Voice role Animated series
2003	Rocket Power	Announcer	Voice role Animated series
2003–2006	Lilo & Stitch	Mrs. Edmonds	Voice role Animated series
2003; 2007	Kim Possible	Bernice Trisha	Voice role Animated series
2004	Fatherhood	Ms. Huffington	Voice role Animated series
2006	Bratz	Gertrude	Voice role Animated series
2006	Catscratch	Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
2006	The X's	Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
2006–2007	Eloise: The Animated Series	Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
2006–2007	Legion of Super Heroes	Winema Wazzo	Voice role Animated series
2006–2016	Mickey Mouse Clubhouse	Clarabelle Cow	Voice role Animated series
2007	Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, TheThe Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy	Mr. Slither	Voice role Animated series
2007	Slacker Cats	Additional voices	Voice role Animated series
2007–2008	Tak & the Power of Juju	Donna	Voice role Animated series
2008–2014	Phineas and Ferb	Blanca Dishob Bridgette Oshinomi Princess Leia	Voice role Animated series
2009	As Told by Ginger	Cleaning Lady	Voice role Animated series
2009	King of the Hill	Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
2010–2011	Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil	Helga	Voice role Animated series
2011	Curious George	Chilla DeWinter Melanie	Voice role Animated series
2011	Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated	Various Characters	Voice role Animated series
2011	Fish Hooks	Lady Eelbottom	Voice role Animated series
2011–2014	Jake and the Never Land Pirates	Singsong Bird Slippery Serpent	Voice role Animated series
2011–present	Minnie's Bow-Toons	Clarabelle Cow	Voice role Animated series
2012	Robot and Monster	Grandma Arpa	Voice role Animated series
2012–2015	Gravity Falls	Ma Duskerton	Voice role Animated series
2013	Ben 10: Omniverse	Queen Voratia Rumbletum	Voice role Animated series
2013	Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness	Mistress Mugan	Voice role Animated series
2013	Monsters vs. Aliens	Soap Opera Alien Educational Television	Voice role Animated series
2013–2016	Wander Over Yonder	Sylvia	Voice role Animated series
2014–2015	Breadwinners	Mama Monster	Voice role Animated series
2015	Star vs. the Forces of Evil	Riddle Sphinx	Voice role Animated series

Roles in film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Who Framed Roger Rabbit	Mrs. Herman Baby Herman (on-camera)	Voice role
1990	Jetsons: The Movie	Additional Voices	Voice role
1993	Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby	Additional voices	Voice role Television film
1997	Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off	Tanya	Voice role Direct-to-video
1998	Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World	Chandeleria	Voice role Direct-to-video
1998	Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World	Additional voices	Voice role Direct-to-video
1998	Antz	Additional voices	Voice role
1999	Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas	Firefighter Mother	Voice role Direct-to-video
2000	Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman	Madame Raya	Voice role Direct-to-video
2001	Recess: School's Out	Miss Finster Mrs. Detweiller	Voice role
2001	Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure	Mrs. Mahoney	Voice role Direct-to-video
2001	Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse	Mother Von Drake	Voice role Direct-to-video
2001	Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street	Miss Finster	Voice role Direct-to-video
2002	Hunchback of Notre Dame II, TheThe Hunchback of Notre Dame II	Lady DeBurne	Voice role Direct-to-video
2002	Tarzan & Jane	Terk	Voice role Direct-to-video
2002	Mickey's House of Villains	Clarabelle Cow	Voice role Direct-to-video
2002	Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe in Santa	Nana	Voice role
2003	Recess: All Growed Down	Miss Finster	Voice role Direct-to-video
2003	Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade	Miss Finster	Voice role Direct-to-video
2004	Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers	Clarabelle Cow Additional voices	Voice role Direct-to-video
2004	Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas	Additional voices	Voice role Direct-to-video
2005	Mulan II	Matchmaker	Voice role Direct-to-video
2005	Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama	Reporter	Voice role Direct-to-video
2005	Tarzan II	Additional voices	Voice role Direct-to-video
2005	Kronk's New Groove	Hildy Marge Tina Additional voices	Voice role Direct-to-video
2006	Asterix and the Vikings	Vikea	Voice role
2006	Queer Duck: The Movie	Additional voices	Voice role Direct-to-video
2006	Fox and the Hound 2, TheThe Fox and the Hound 2	Additional voices	Voice role Direct-to-video
2007	Happily N'Ever After	Additional voices	Voice role
2009	Haunted World of El Superbeasto, TheThe Haunted World of El Superbeasto	Dame Grace Appleton Liza Babs Dolly Joan Gloria Scripty Helga Strudel	Voice role Direct-to-video
2010	Superman/Batman: Apocalypse	Female Radio Caller #1 Tresha	Voice role Direct-to-video
2012	Strange Frame	Pawnbroker	Voice role
2013	Monsters University	Additional Voices	Voice role
2013	Despicable Me 2	Additional Voices	Voice role
2015	Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League	Giganta	Voice role
2015	Home	Boov	Voice role

References

1. Sinton, Peter (August 14, 1996), "GLENDALE FEDERAL BASHES BIG BANKS / The Brains, Voice Behind the Barbs / April Winchell – Glen Fed's radio warrior", San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved September 24, 2011
2. Nordyke, Kimberly (August 12, 2013). "D23 Expo: Jack McBrayer on New Disney Channel Series 'Wander Over Yonder' (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter.
3. Childs, T. Mike (2004). Rocklopedia fakebandica. Macmillan. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-312-32944-0.
4. 5 things you don't know about April Winchell, Mr. KABC Radio Show audio archive, accessed February 8, 2007
5. Oakner, Larry (2002). And now a few laughs from our sponsor: the best of fifty years of radio commercials. John Wiley and Sons. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-471-20218-9.
6. Oakner, Larry (2002). And now a few laughs from our sponsor: the best of fifty years of radio commercials. John Wiley and Sons. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-471-20218-9.
7. Greenfield, Jeremy (November 20, 2009). "Regretsy Creator Revealed: April Winchell Discusses New Book Deal". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
8. April Winchell “Regretsy: Where DIY Meets WTF”. ISBN 978-0-345-52318-1
9. Winchell, April (August 1, 2011). "A New Record".
10. Pikedevant (Nov 29, 2011). "Just Glue Some Gears On It (And Call It Steampunk)". Youtube. Retrieved December 4, 2011. Inspired by the category 'Things That Are Not Steampunk' on Regretsy
11. Winchell, April. "LET'S WRAP THIS UP NOW". regretsy.com. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
12. Winchell, April. "Sexual secrets revealed".
13. Winchell, April. "memoir contest".
14. Killer, Helen. "CATS 1, KIDS 0". Regretsy. Retrieved December 6, 2011.

External links

• Official website
• April Winchell at the Internet Movie Database
• Video of Winchell and "Mr. K" appearing on KABC Radio, July, 2006