A Christmas classic has been silenced.
Billie Mae Richards, the Canadian radio actress who provided the male voice for plucky Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, died Friday at her home near Toronto. She was 88.
Doing that special, she was one of a group of Canadian actors assembled by CBC announcer Bernard Cowan to do voice acting for animation. The group also included Paul Soles, Larry Mann, Paul Kligman, and others who did other Rankin-Bass programs like "Tales of the Wizard of Ox", and shows like Spider-Man and Rocket Robin Hood.