Linda Gary (born Linda Gary Howerton Dewoskin; November 4, 1944 – October 5, 1995) was an American voice actress whose work became familiar to several generations of viewers of television animation. She is best known for voicing Jane in the Filmation series Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle and for providing the voice of the title character in Web Woman. Over a career that stretched from the 1970s into the early 1990s, Gary contributed a wide range of character voices to many Saturday-morning cartoon series and related animated projects.
Career and notable roles
Gary worked extensively with studios that produced television animation in the 1970s and 1980s, including Filmation and other companies active in serial weekend programming. Her credits include lead and supporting characters in action-adventure and fantasy cartoons. Known for clarity, emotional range and precise diction, she was able to supply multiple distinct voices within a single show, performing heroic protagonists, sympathetic supporting roles and memorable antagonists.
Artistry and influence
Colleagues and commentators have noted Gary’s flexible vocal technique and her ability to shape a character through subtle shifts of pitch, tempo and attitude. That versatility made her a valuable performer in an era when productions often relied on small ensembles of actors to populate entire casts. Her work helped establish archetypal sounds for female characters in genre cartoons of the period, and later voice actors often point to performers of that generation as formative influences.
Other work
In addition to animated series, Gary’s career included narration, commercial voice-over, and industrial and educational projects. Like many animation voice specialists, she moved fluidly among entertainment and commercial assignments, lending her voice to promotional spots, documentary voice tracks and other recorded media. This breadth of work demonstrates the common crossover between character voice acting and the wider field of voice-over performance.
Later life and legacy
Born in California, Linda Gary remained active in voice work through the late 1980s and into the early 1990s. She died of brain cancer on October 5, 1995, in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. After her death, obituaries and retrospectives emphasized both the breadth of her credits and the durability of many of the characters she helped bring to life. Her performances continue to be cited in discussions of television animation from the period.
Selected credits and further reading
- Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle — voice of Jane
- Web Woman — title role
- Numerous additional roles in animated television series and voice-over projects (1970s–1990s)
For contemporary listings, filmographies and biographical notes, consult reference entries and databases: Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3, Reference 4, Reference 5, Reference 6, Reference 7.