Mary Jo Catlett: Simple yet Hilarious
In the voice-over acting world, there are actors who have very wide vocal ranges that can allow the actor to speak in all kinds of different accents. But there are other actors whose range allows them to talk in only one kind of accent, but it is distinctive and unique. Mary Jo Catlett is the latter. You might recognize Mary Jo’s saccharine voice as Mrs. Puff on Spongebob Squarepants (1999-present), but did you know she actually has some fascinating connections to Disney as well?
Mary Jo Catlett was born on September 2nd, 1938 in Denver, Colorado. After attending Loretto Heights College in Denver, she was bitten by the “acting bug,” particularly in musical comedy, and relocated to New York to try her luck. Fortunately, she found success landing a role in the off-Broadway production of Along Came A Spider in 1963. The very next year, she was cast as Ernestina Simple in the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing. She also reprised the role of Ernestina in the first national tour of the show, which starred Ginger Rogers.
Around the time of “Dolly,” Catlett also began making appearances on television in The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978), Maude (1972-1978), and M*A*S*H (1972-1983). She made her film debut in the Woody Allen comedy Bananas in 1971. After “Dolly,” Catlett continued to appear on Broadway in plays called Canterbury Tales, Different Times, and in 1973 she starred as Mabel in Broadway’s revival of The Pajama Game. She also acted the role of Mabel in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and provided additional voices on the animated sit-com The Smurfs (1981-1989). In 1994, Mary Jo Catlett was cast in the role of Madame de la Grande Bouche, otherwise known as the Wardrobe in the original Broadway production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which was Disney’s very first film ever to be adapted on Broadway. The role earned her an Ovation Award Nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical!
After “Beauty,” Catlett later lent her voice to the Disney Channel Original Series Quack Pack (1996-1997). Three years after that, she landed the role of Mrs. Puff on “Spongebob.” She has voiced Mrs. Puff throughout the show’s entire 20-year-run, as well as other elderly characters including Squidward’s grandmother, Grandma Tentacles, and the elderly psychic. In the “Something Smells,” episode of Spongebob, there is a scene where Spongebob says “Hello, Dolly!” in reference to Mary Jo Catlett’s Broadway musical debut. Catlett has also voiced Mrs. Puff in each of the “Spongebob,” movies, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004), The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015), and the upcoming The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run.
Catlett is also known at Disney for having small roles in the Disney Channel Shows Kim Possible (2002-2007) and That’s So Raven (2003-2007). Whether she acts on Broadway, Television, Film, or in Animation, her unmistakable voice never ceases to make us laugh!
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