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June Foray's journey to Jokey Smurf
June Foray belonged in Smurf Village...just not as Smurfette.
June Foray was everywhere in the Golden Age of Animation. As one of the first leading female voice actors, she was a foundational figure in Looney Tunes shorts, Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and original Disney movies, among other shows and movies. In 1980, she was a seasoned A-Lister in the cartoon world, and a new show called The Smurfs needed her talent.
Gordon Hunt, a cartoon director known for his work on the Scooby-Doo franchise (and also Helen Hunt's father), asked Foray to audition for The Smurfs, specifically for Smurfette. Smurfette was the only female character on the show, so when Foray didn't get the role, she assumed she was done with the show. While not getting the role of Smurfette was a letdown for Foray, Hunt still knew she belonged in the cast. Hunt asked her to audition for some of the other Smurfs, and Foray responded, "But they're men!". According to Foray, Hunt said, "Well, just use a funny little voice, they're only three apples high and they're blue. So who knows what they sound like?"
Back to the drawing board, Foray looked at the sketches of the Smurfs and saw Jokey Smurf. The picture of Jokey was him mid-laughter with the word "Hyuk!" next to him. The image and the "Hyuk!" inspired Foray to develop Jokey's laugh, a raspy "Hyuk! Hyuk! Hyuk! Hyuk!" which was so good that it ended up getting her the role. Foray voiced Jokey from 1981 to 1989.
