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Pat Carroll, voice of Ursula in ‘The Little Mermaid,’ dies

Actor Pat Carroll died Saturday in her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, multiple news outlets reported Sunday. She was 95 years old.

Her voice is familiar to generations thanks to her role as villainous sea creature Ursula in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Carroll’s acting career spanned film, television and the stage.


By the time she took away Ariel’s voice in the 1989 animated “Little Mermaid,” Carroll had dozens of acting credits to her name dating back to the 1940s. Carroll had a recurring role on the sitcom “Make Room for Daddy” and made regular appearances on sketch and variety shows, like the “The Carol Burnett Show.” She won an Emmy award for her work on the sketch comedy series “Caesar’s Hour” in 1957.

Her voice acting as Ursula may not have won her any prestigious awards, but Carroll’s voice did earn her a Grammy in 1981. She won in the category for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording, for her reading of “Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein.”

Carroll died of pneumonia, her daughter told The Hollywood Reporter.

No plans for a public memorial have been announced, according to Deadline.

Two other notable celebrity deaths were also announced Sunday. NBA great Bill Russell passed away at age 88, his family announced. “Star Trek” actress and trailblazer Nichelle Nichols died at 89, her son said.