April Winchell Foley (born January 4, 1960) is an American voice actress, actress, writer, talk radio host, commentator and comedian.
Winchell is the daughter of Paul Winchell.
Early life[]
Winchell was born April Terri Winchell in New York City, New York on January 4, 1960.
Career[]
Acting[]
Winchell's projects include the role of Sylvia in Wander Over Yonder, a Disney animated series featuring Jack McBrayer in the title role. Created by The Powerpuff Girls producers Craig McCracken and Lauren Faust, the show chronicles the adventures of "Wander" and his trusty (and cynical) steed Sylvia, as they travel the universe. The program premiered on the Disney Channel in September 2013.
As a voice actress, she has been heard in hundreds of animated television programs, such as Goof Troop (Peg Pete), Recess (as Mrs. Muriel Finster), Disney's House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (as Clarabelle Cow), Bonkers (as Lucky's wife, Dyl Piquel), Pepper Ann (as Pepper Ann's mom, Lydia Pearson), Rugrats (as Argenta) and Kids from Room 402 (as Miss Gracie Graves the School teacher, along with a number of other characters that appear on the show), The Legend of Tarzan (taking over for Rosie O'Donnell as Terk), 101 Dalmatians: The Series (as Cruella De Vil), SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (as Molly Mange), Robot and Monster, Phineas & Ferb and Kim Possible.
She has also voiced roles in numerous films, including Antz, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Monsters University and Rob Zombie's The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. Winchell portrayed the "Glendale Federal Bank" lady – a cranky, cynical customer mollified by the service at her new bank – in a series of highly successful radio commercials, which Winchell wrote and directed herself. The commercials caught the attention of Roseanne, who hired her as a writer on her eponymous sitcom. She was also tested for the part of Regan in Тhe Exorcist until she fell ill and was taken out of consideration.
Personal life[]
Winchell is the daughter of ventriloquist, actor, and comedian Paul Winchell, and his second wife, Nina Russel. In her weblog writings and appearances on radio, she describes her childhood with many references to the great talent of her father as well as the many disturbing incidents owing to his mental health issues. Ms. Winchell did not speak publicly about his mental illness and drug use for many years, due to the "tremendous responsibility" she felt to his fans, and the people who had fond childhood memories of his work from the 1950s through the late 1980s. But her silence ended in March 2004 after her father published his autobiography Winch, in which he openly criticized his ex-wife, Nina, and other family members.
In broadcasts of her KFI show, on her web diary and several other websites, Winchell revealed she and Kevin Spacey dated for a while after high school, during the run of the Gypsy musical, and went to New York together. She and Spacey remained friends ever since. Since 2013, Winchell has been married to John Foley.
On August 19, 2005, she announced on her website that she was diagnosed with cancer and underwent successful surgery and radiation treatment. To promote solidarity during her radiation treatment, she issued her own rubber wristbands. Where Lance Armstrong's wrist bands were yellow, April's were "Glow in the Dark" so one could "glow along" with April. Winchell is also widely known as a supporter of various charity causes, including Project Angel Food, a Los Angeles-based service providing meals for homebound people living with AIDS. Her website, Regretsy, generated charitable funds through selling of Regretsy merchandise. On, April 17, 2011, Winchell created April's Army, one of the largest selling teams on Etsy. The Army's members ran monthly campaigns, and all the profits gathered from their store went to a selected Regretsy member who has encountered hardships. On December 5, 2011, Regretsy began a Secret Santa program, collecting donations for presents for needy children. Regretsy raised so much money so quickly that PayPal froze the Regretsy account – as well as Winchell's unrelated personal account – for six months in order to "investigate." As this move effectively destroyed Christmas for 200 needy families, public outcry was massive, resulting in Regretsy becoming a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. After publicly apologizing, PayPal reinstated Winchell's accounts and donated $20,000 to the families she was raising money for.