Heather North, original voice of Daphne on 'Scooby-Doo,' dies at 71

Longtime voice of Daphne Blake on the famous Scooby-Doo cartoon, Heather North, has died. She was 71 years old.

North passed away on Nov. 30 while at her home in Studio City, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She had been battling an illness, according to family friend Jodie Mann.

Heather North first got into acting in 1965, picking up minor roles in television series like Karen, Mr. Novak and Paradise Bay.

In 1970 she landed the part of Daphne, one of the two female members of Mystery Inc., on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! North went on to repeatedly voice the iconic character for the next thirty years. She appeared in several Scooby-Doo series, one-offs and films. Her final outing as Daphne was in 2003’s Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico.

“She said, ‘Get in here, they’re looking for Daphne, you can do Daphne,” North said via The Huffington Post when talking about how her Nicole Jaffe, the voice of Velma on Scooby-Doo, told her about the role. “I didn’t always listen to [Jaffe], but for this, I did. And I auditioned and got the part.”

Other credits to North’s name include the 1971 Disney film The Barefoot Executive — to which she starred opposite Kurt Russell — Green Acres (1969), The Monkees (1967), The Fugitive (1967) and My Three Sons (1963).

North also appeared on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives for several years, which is where she met her husband H. Wesley Kenney. Kenney was an Emmy-winning producer and director who helmed every single episode of the 1974-75 season of All in the Family. Kenney died in January of 2015.

Heather North is survived by her son (Kevin), daughter-in-law (Stephanie), stepdaughter (Nina), stepson (Wes), all of their spouses. Total, she had six step-grandchildren and nine step-great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is set to take place at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 20 at First Christian Church in Studio City, Los Angeles.