Pamelyn Ferdin as the voice of Lucy van Pelt
Pamelyn Ferdin (born February 4, 1959) is an American animal rights activist and former child actress whose roles included providing the voice for Lucy van Pelt.
Acting career[]
The Peanuts character, Lucy van Pelt, was voiced by Pamelyn Ferdin in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Ferdin is best remembered for her roles as Felix Unger's daughter Edna on the TV sitcom The Odd Couple, and as Sally Simms (the younger daughter of Paul Lynde's character) on The Paul Lynde Show.
Ferdin appeared in several fantasy and science fiction movies and television series. These roles included Laura Bower in The One And, Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, Mary Janowski in the Star Trek episode "And the Children Shall Lead", Laura Gentry in Space Academy, and Mary Constable in the supernatural thriller Daughter of the Mind.
Ferdin provided the voice of Lucy van Pelt in two Peanuts TV specials (It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown and Play It Again, Charlie Brown) and the 1969 feature film A Boy Named Charlie Brown. She also played Cookie Bumstead in the 1968 live-action TV series Blondie, another project based on a newspaper comic strip. She was the original choice for the voice of Penny in The Rescuers (1977)
Some of her early characters seemed to have special relationships with animals. Her character Amy in the 1971 film The Beguiled turned against the Clint Eastwood character after he killed her pet turtle. As the voice of Fern Arable in the movie Charlotte's Web in 1973, she saved the life of Wilbur the pig. As the voice of Precocia on the animated TV comedy The Roman Holidays, she was especially protective of the family's pet lion.
Ferdin's association with animals continued when she co-starred with the dog Lassie from 1972 to 1974 (sources vary on exact dates). Her character, Lucy Baker, a deaf adolescent who initially had a pet wolf, loved and interacted with a variety of animals, including horses and a llama.
Activism[]
Ferdin left the acting world in the 1970s and became a registered nurse. She married surgeon and fellow animal-rights activist Jerry Vlasak in 1977. They have no children.
In 1996 she quit her job as director of public relations for the Center for Animal Care and Control, a nonprofit organization under contract to the New York City Department of Health. She claimed there was mismanagement in the agency.
On April 1, 2004, Ferdin and her husband appeared among the animal-rights activists interviewed for the PETA episode of the Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullsh*t!
SHAC presidency[]
Pamely Ferdin in the 1985 documentary It's Your 20th Television Anniversary, Charlie Brown.
In August 2004, Ferdin accepted the presidency of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA, according to statements filed under oath in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. The incumbent, Kevin Kjonaas, resigned after being indicted on charges of conspiracy and interstate stalking. When Kjonaas and six other SHAC activists were jailed in 2006, Ferdin vowed to continue the campaign. According to Salon.com she defines her current role as "a squeaky-clean representative for SHAC USA", but warns, "[P]eople, I think, are going to get hurt. There's going to be a lot of violence."
Arrests[]
On January 11, 2000, Ferdin faced up to six months in jail after being found guilty of possessing an elephant bullhook at an August 1999 protest at Pierce College in California. Circus Vargas had set up near Pierce College. Protesters demonstrated against alleged cruelty in circus training methods. Ferdin's arrest was based on a local ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor to carry a staff or rod greater than 1½ inches in diameter while engaging in protest. This law dates back to the civil rights era and was originally enacted to protect police from overly aggressive demonstrators. She received 30 days.
On June 22, 2006, Ferdin was sentenced to 90 days in jail for trespassing and "targeted demonstration" outside the home of an employee of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services. She stated that the conviction "is not going to affect my speaking out and exposing the atrocities occurring at our six city shelters."