Pat Carroll, Voice Of Ursula In ‘The Little Mermaid’, Dead at 95

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We have some very sad news to report on Disney fans. Pat Carroll, known to many as the voice of one of Disney’s most iconic villains, has died at the age of 95. Carroll catapulted to Disney legend status in 1989 when she voiced Ursula the sea witch in the film The Little Mermaid. Carroll’s gruff, low-pitched voice and the incredible inflection in her voice made her the perfect person to voice Ursula. Carroll not only voiced Ursula in The Little Mermaid, but reprised the role for The Little Mermaid series, as well as Little Mermaid read-along books and video games.

Deadline Hollywood was one of the first to break the news of Carroll’s death, revealing that she died while covering from pneumonia. Per Deadline: 

Comedian and actress Pat Carroll, a television pioneer and an Emmy, Drama Desk and Grammy winner, died at her home on Cape Cod, Massachusetts on July 30, while recovering from pnuemonia.

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. She voiced Ursula in The Little Mermaid, and voiced several cartoon series.

Patricia Ann Carroll was born May 5, 1927 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was five years old, and she soon began acting in local productions. She graduated from Immaculate Heart High Schol and then attended Catholic University of America after enlisting in the US Army.

Carroll’s acting career started in 1947 with the film Hometown Girl. In 1956, Carroll won an Emmy Award for her work on Sid Caesar’s House, and was a regular on the sitcom Make Room for Daddy from 1961 to 1964.

She also appeared on many variety shows of 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.

Carroll won several theater awards for her one-woman show on Gertrude Stein, and the recorded version won a 1980 Grammy for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama.

While Carroll said in the past that voicing Ursula was one of her favorite roles, it was not the first time that she worked with The Walt Disney Company. In 1976, Carroll appeared on the ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley, where she played Lily Feeney, Shirley’s mother, in an episode titled Mother Knows Worst. 

Disney is currently working on a live-action version of The Little Mermaid, with comedian Melissa McCarthy taking over the role as the evil sea witch. The film is scheduled to premiere in theaters on May 26, 2023.

Carroll is survived by her daughters, Kerry Karsian, Tara Karsian and granddaughter Evan Karsian-McCormick.

Melissa McCarthy Was Shocked She Got Ursula Role Instead of Lizzo

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Via DisDining.com

All the way back in 2016, Disney announced that they were developing a live-action remake of the classic film, The Little Mermaid. The remake was just one of many remakes Disney was going to remake. Disney has also remade Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Pete’s Dragon, The Lion King, and Mulan, among others.

Details on The Little Mermaid were scant, but over time, it was announced that Halle Bailey would be playing the titular sea creature. Javier Bardem was also announced for the role of the sea king, King Triton. Hamilton star Daveed Diggs was given the role of Sebastian and comedian Awkwafina will be playing Ariel’s friend Scuttle.

Little Mermaid casting

Also cast in the new movie is veteran comedic actress Melissa McCarthy — who will play the sea witch Ursula. Some were surprised to see McCarthy cast in a musical role, considering she has never been in a musical. One of those who was surprised — and slightly disappointed — was superstar singer Lizzo. Lizzo had expressed interest in the past for The Little Mermaid role.

The songstress even shared a video of herself dressed as Ursula and singing the song “Poor Unfortunate Souls”.

Lizzo recently spoke to Variety and shared that she had actually run into Melissa McCarthy and told her that she had auditioned for the role McCarthy ended up getting. Per Variety:

Lizzo ended up running into McCarthy during the taping of Adele’s “One Night Only” CBS concert special in Los Angeles, and the two women bonded over their shared Ursula history.

“She was like, ‘Hi, I’m Melissa,’” Lizzo said. “And I was like, ‘Hi, I’m Melissa. And I also auditioned for Ursula.’ And she was like, ‘Well, why the hell did I get the part?,’ which is a classic Melissa McCarthy thing to say. And then I was like, ‘Girl, because my audition was terrible.’ And I say that as Tyler Perry walks by. And I was like — ruined my chances there. And then she goes, ‘This is my daughter Vivian.’ And I’m like, ‘Get out of here, because my name is Melissa Viviane.’ We were looking at each other like, ‘What the hell is going on?’”

Melissa McCarthy

After a series of delays due to COVID, filming has wrapped on the live-action film, and it is currently in post-production. Disney has announced that the film will be released on Memorial Day weekend, hitting theaters on May 26, 2023. Even though the film is being released later than originally expected, Bailey has assured fans that it is worth the wait.

Actress Melissa McCarthy As Ursula

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Actress Melissa McCarthy landed the role of Ursula in Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, and she just couldn’t be happier.

“The world of Disney and (director) Rob Marshall is a world that I wish everyone could experience because it’s so creative, kind, and lovely,” the Ghostbusters actress gushed. “Going to singing class every day, I got to record with an orchestra, which is a mind-bender for someone who is not a singer, but it was such a fun process.”

The new take on the story of Ariel has been in the works for a while now, and though filming has ended, the release date isn’t slated for a while yet: 2023, to be exact.

The film is directed by Rob Marshall. Original composer Alan Menken has been on hand to create music for the new film, and the ever-talented Lin-Manuel Miranda has lent his creative talents to music for the film as well.

Grownish actress Halle Bailey stars as Ariel in the retelling of the tale of the mermaid who longs for legs and her willingness to do what it takes to get them. This is Bailey’s first major film role.

Javier Bardem plays Ariel’s father, King Triton, and Jonah Hauer-King plays the role of Ariel’s love interest, Prince Eric. (Sorry, Harry Styles.)

Actress Awkwafina plays Scuttle the Seagull, and Daveed Diggs plays King Triton’s chief assistant crustacean, Sebastian, and Jacob Tremblay plays Ariel’s sidekick (or sideswimmer?) Flounder.

Melissa McCarthy, who says Ursula is one of her favorite villains, happily plays the role of the evil sea witch who hopes to take Ariel’s voice and keep her from Prince Eric.

“It’s going to be incredible,” McCarthy shared. “To me, Ursula is everything. She’s one of my absolute favorite villains so to play her was delicious.”

Though it’s not her first major role, The Little Mermaid will be the first musical in which McCarthy has starred, and we can’t wait to see the transformation of McCarthy into the half-human/half-octopus Ursula!