Thea White, voice actress behind Muriel Bagge in 'Courage the Cowardly Dog,' passes away at 81

Thea White, who was best remembered for her voice as Muriel Bagge on 'Courage the Cowardly Dog', has passed away. She was 81 years.

The voice actor died on Friday morning as a result of liver cancer complications. According to her brother, John Zitzner, White got an infection after the malignancy was removed. "She died peacefully," he wrote.

“Sadly we lost our legendary Feefer (the voice of Muriel) on Friday morning after she fought hard with courage to try to beat her liver cancer and to resume life or to die trying. (She ended up with an infection after cutting out the damn cancer)”, her brother wrote.

 

Zitzner continued his post addressing his sister directly: "I've never met a person who knew you who didn't think you were the greatest person alive. That lasted even up through your stay in the hospital as I'm told the nurses and doctors also fell in love. You loved life and even [though] I know the final outcome I love your decision to go for it and to try to win."

From 1999 to 2002, White voiced Muriel, an old Scottish woman who adopts the titular dog Courage in the renowned Cartoon Network show. White revived the character several times, most recently for the crossover feature Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog, which will be released on DVD and digital platforms on September 14th.

Many people paid respect to Muriel Bagge's voice on social media. Courage the Cowardly Dog wouldn't have been the same without her," One posted. "She gave us so much," a fan wrote, posting a photo of herself in Muriel cosplay. "Thank you Thea White for being a big part of my childhood, RIP," one person wrote on Twitter. "RIP Thea White.

White was born in Newark, New Jersey, on June 16, 1940. White studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the American Theater Wing, and her mother Eleanor and maternal grandmother Eva were both actresses.

Before working as a personal assistant to cinematic great Marlene Dietrich, the Broadway veteran began her playing career onstage in Dallas, Texas. She worked as a librarian in Livingston, New Jersey, after getting married and retired from acting, until she was offered the part in Courage the Cowardly Dog.

While performing in a staged version of George Axelrod's Goodbye Charlie, Thea met her late husband Andy White. Andy was a Scottish drummer who made his début on The Beatles' first record, "Love Me Do," in 1962. They were married from 1983 until White's husband's death in 2015.