‪‪Heather North‬, Daphne Blake's Voice Actor in 'Scooby-Doo', Dies at 71

Scooby-Doo mourns another loss in his rag-tag gang of teenage detectives. Heather North, famously known for giving life to Daphne Blake in the hit 60’s cartoon “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!,” died at the age of 71. The actress’ family friend, Jodie Mann, confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter. North died last November 30 at her home in Studio City, California after battling a longtime illness.
Stefania Christopherson first voiced Daphne in the Saturday morning cartoon show “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!,” but was eventually replaced by North in 1970. North then played the role for a total of 33 years, including the movie adaptations in the early 70’s, and during the show’s revival in 2003. North became famously known as Daphne Blake since then, alongside “American Top 40” radio host Casey Kasem as Shaggy and Scooby-Doo himself, Don Messick.
As an actress, North appeared alongside Kurt Russell in 1971’s “The Barefoot Executive.” She was married to Wes Kenney, an Emmy-Award winning director, and producer. They were married the same year “The Barefoot Executive” came out, and their marriage stayed firm for 40 years until Kenney’s death in 2015.
News of North’s death comes after the recent announcement of a Scooby-Doo spin-off starring Daphne and Velma. According to Bustle, the live-action spin-off movie follows their story as best friends and teenage detectives before they joined the Mystery Inc. gang. Variety reports that Sarah Jeffrey will take on Daphne’s role with Sarah Gilman as Velma Dinkley. The project will be a female-centric movie, as compared to the predominantly Shaggy and Scooby-focused cartoon.