Jean Vander Pyl (October 11, 1919 – April 10, 1999) was an American actress on radio, television and movies. Although her career spanned many decades, she is best remembered as the voice of
Wilma Flintstone from the
Hanna-Barbera cartoon
The Flintstones. She also provided the voice for
Pebbles Flintstone, as well as
Rosie the Robot Maid from the animated series
The Jetsons, among many others, such as Fifi in
Top Cat and
Winsome Witch on
The Secret Squirrel Show.
Radio
On radio she was heard on such programs as
The Halls of Ivy and
Father Knows Best, where she portrayed Margaret Anderson; the role was played on television by
Jane Wyatt.
Television
She made numerous TV appearances as an actress in programs such as
Leave It to Beaver, The Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best and
Petticoat Junction. One of her final TV appearances was in the opening scene of the Season Two
Murder, She Wrote episode, "One Good Bid Deserves a Murder". Vander Pyl also had a very brief cameo appearance in the live-action film version of
The Flintstones as Mrs. Feldspar, an elderly woman in a conga line.
She told an interviewer in 1995 that she received $250 per episode for making
The Flintstones, and in 1966, when the series ended, she rushed to accept $15,000 in lieu of residual payments from syndication. When she gave the interview, she lived in
San Clemente, California and remarked: "If I got residuals, I wouldn't live in San Clemente. I'd own San Clemente."
[The New York Times, "Jean Vander Pyl, 79, the Voice of Wilma on 'The Flintstones'" (Obituary published April 15, 1999). Retrieved on October 17, 2008.]
Personal life
Her husband, Carroll G. O'Meara, died in February 18, 1962, age 53. He was a graduate of
Stanford University who worked as a copywriter at
KHJ radio in the mid-1930s and later became an advertising executive.
[The Los Angeles Times, "Rosary Will Be Recited for Carroll G. O'Meara" (Obituary published February 21, 1962)]
Death
On April 10, 1999, Vander Pyl died of
lung cancer at her home in
Dana Point, California. She was 79 years old. She was survived by her three sons, Michael O'Meara, Timothy O'Meara, and Roger DeWitt. Her daughter, Tina O'Meara, died in the 1970s. Vander Pyl was interred in Ascension Cemetery in
Lake Forest, California.