Thea White facts for kids

Thea Ruth White (née Zitzner; April 15, 1940 – July 30, 2021) was an American voice actress best known for her work as Muriel Bagge in the animated TV show Courage the Cowardly Dog.

Early life

White was born in Newark, New Jersey on April 15, 1940, as the daughter of Arthur and Theatrice (née Hazard) Zitzner. White's mother and maternal grandmother Eva were both actresses: Theatrice began acting as a child, and continued to do so as an adult, while Eva made her acting debut as a teenager and retired following marriage, later opening a movie theater with her husband. White moved to North Caldwell with her parents at the age of 12. She graduated high school and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the American Theater Wing.

Career

White began her career on several stage productions in Dallas, Texas. While acting on stage, Broadway and theater, she served as the personal assistant for Marlene Dietrich, during Dietrich's later career.

After marrying her husband, White retired from acting and became a librarian and outreach specialist at the Livingston Public Library in Livingston, New Jersey. She returned to acting when she was offered the role of Muriel Bagge on Cartoon Network's Courage the Cowardly Dog. She voiced Muriel during the entire series run, and reprised her role in the 2006 video game Cartoon Network Racing and the 2014 short The Fog of Courage, as well as the 2021 Scooby-Doo! crossover Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog.

Personal life

She had resided in Caldwell. She met her husband, Andy White, while acting in the play Goodbye Charlie; they later married in 1983 and remained so until his death in 2015. Andy was best known as the man who played drums on The Beatles' first single "Love Me Do". She previously worked as a librarian at the Livingston Public Library.

White died from an infection at the Cleveland Clinic, on July 30, 2021, at the age of 81. She had undergone two liver cancer-related surgeries in the days leading up to her death.

Work