Billie Hayes from 'HR Puffenstuff' and 'General Hospital' has died

Actress Billie Hayes passed away in April of natural causes in a Los Angeles hospital at age 96. You might not recall her name or even her face but children from the 1970s and 1980s will recognize her iconic voice. Ms. Hayes was best known for portraying Witchie Pooh on Sid and Marty Krofft's television series H.R. Puffinstuff on Saturday mornings on NBC. Witchiepoo had a distinctive cackle and animated actions that kept fans entertained during the show's one year run in 1969-70.

The series has continued over the decades in reruns through syndication so it may have seemed as if there were more episodes than the 17 that were taped. Hayes reprised the popular role as the kooky witch during the second and final season of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (September 6-December 13, 1969). The actress donned her Witchiepoo persona again for The Paul Lynde Halloween Special on October 29, 1976.

Hayes also portrayed a similar character in other television shows, including Weenie the Genie in the Sid and Marty Krofft program Lidsville, a 1971 episode of Bewitched ("Hansel and Gretel in Samantha-Land"), and as Maw Weskitt in the second season of The Monkees in episode 39 titled"Hillbilly Honeymoon". Many entertainers do not like being typecast because of a popular role and refuse to have anything further to do with characters that gave them their claim to fame. It’s not known if Billy Hayes enjoyed portraying Witchipoo and similar roles or if she realized it was her bread and butter.

Billie Hayes was born Billie Armstrong Brosch in the town of DuQuoin, Illinois, and began working in the entertainment business when she began dancing professionally in local theatres at the age of 9. As a teenager, Hayes worked throughout the midwest and after performing her own act in Chicago, as a teen, she went to New York. Billie Hayes also portrayed Mammy Yokum three times first in the 1956 Broadway musical Li'l Abner, next in the 1959 film version, and finally in a 1971 TV special.

The actress is familiar to soap fans because she had a role on General Hospital in 1981 as"O'Reilly" the mentor of super spy/WSB agent Robert Scorpio. During the Ice Princess caper, the diamond (in disguise) was changing hands when Victor Cassadine shot O'Reilly. She was in a phone booth talking to Scorpio and Robert heard the shots. By the time he, Luke and Laura got to her, O’Reilly died in Robert's arms.

It was Billie Hayes's voice that brought her the most notoriety in the later years of her career and her first voice role was in 1985 as a character named Orgoch in the Disney feature film The Black Cauldron. . The actress lent her vocals to the voice of Granny Applecheeks in the cartoon The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and for Mother Mae-Eye on the animated series Teen Titans. Billie Hayes also had a short role as One-Eyed Sally in The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald.

She did many other voice overs, including cartoons such as The Batman, Johnny Bravo, Talespin, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Rugrats, W.I.T.C.H., The Brothers Flub, Bubble Guppies, Transformers: Rescue Bots, Duckman, Shrek Forever After, Bonkers, Problem Child, Siegfried, and Roy: Masters of the Impossible and Darkwing Duck. Hayes retired from acting in 2016, at age 91, and lived in Los Angeles until her death.

In 1984 Billie Hayes founded and became the president of Pet Hope an animal rescue organization that cares for and finds homes for abandoned animals. The actress offered autographed photos on her website for donations to Pet Hope. There is no information regarding Billy Hayes having any surging family or if she was ever married or had children.