Billie Hayes

Billie Hayes was an American actress who worked across television, film, and theater. She began performing professionally at nine as a tap dancer in local theaters, then played in Vince Genovese's orchestra and toured the Midwest with her own singing and dancing act. In New York, producer J.J. Shubert hired her for principal roles in roadshow operettas including The Student Prince, The Merry Widow, and Blossom Time. She became known for comic portrayals, most notably Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo on H.R. Pufnstuf and in the 1970 film Pufnstuf, a role she repeated on Lidsville and The Paul Lynde Halloween Special. She played Mammy Yokum in Li'l Abner on Broadway, in the 1959 film, and in a 1971 television special, and she appeared on Murder, She Wrote. Her voice work included Orgoch in The Black Cauldron (1985), Mother Mae-Eye on Teen Titans, and One-Eyed Sally for The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald. She retired in 2016 and died in 2021.