This M*A*S*H guest star was the original Daphne Blake

Stefanianna Christopherson was just as obsessed with the color purple.

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This M*A*S*H guest star was the original Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
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In the first season of M*A*S*H, an early episode dedicated to finding love for Radar called "Love Story" featured a number of pretty lieutenants who turn down a date with the corporal.

Among these mismatches for Radar is an auburn-haired actor whom many TV fans might not recognize, but who cartoon fans remember as the original voice of Daphne from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

Stefanianna Christopherson is an actor with Icelandic heritage whose deep dimples and porcelain skin helped her become an up-and-coming theater star by the age of 20.

She had no idea at that time how a pup named Scooby-Doo would soon change her life.

All she knew was that she’d wanted to sing and dance since she was 4 years old, and as an adult, all she wanted in her life was to be good enough to keep performing.

"My life will never be so secure that I can count on a $45,000 home at 45 … or a family," Christopherson told The San Francisco Examiner in 1967. "But the important thing for me is to be the best creative artist possible."

The next year, Christopherson made her first TV appearance in Mayberry R.F.D.

In 1968, unbeknownst to Christopherson, CBS was looking to overhaul their cartoon line-up after parents protested what they saw as extreme violence in many popular cartoon shows.

CBS executive Fred Silverman started pushing animators to create more kid-friendly fare that would appease the parent watch groups, and The Archie Show became the first cartoon hit of this flavor.

Silverman suggested animators create a show like The Archie Show, where a band of teenagers would solve mysteries between gigs, and eventually that premise morphed into Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

For the teen characters in Scooby-Doo, animators drew inspiration from the cast of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, with Fred inspired by Dobie Gillis, Shaggy by Maynard G. Krebs and Daphne by Thalia Menninger.

But Stefanianna did more with Daphne Blake than simply channel Tuesday Wells’ charm.

She injected a bit of herself into the character, and in her 1967 interview, she even revealed how deeply she loved the particular shade of Daphne’s signature outfit.

Christopherson declared that if she had "to think, taste, feel one color, it would be purple, intense purple."

Since she was in the sixth grade, Christopherson had been sewing her own clothes, creating new looks based on her mood that helped her stand out during auditions.

"They’ve always been avant garde," Christopherson said of her clothing designs.

After providing the original voice for Daphne Blake, Christopherson left Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! in 1970.

That’s when Christopherson got married and moved to New York to live with her new husband.

Apart from Daphne, her most memorable performance might’ve been singing the AT&T jingle Reach Out and Touch Someone – for which she won a CLIO award.

Through the Seventies, she continued acting in movies and TV, including her M*A*S*H appearance in 1973. She also closed out the decade doing more voice acting in Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.

During this time, she tried out different stage names, switching from Stefanianna Christopherson to Indira Danks and Indira Stefanianna.

The name changes came later in her career, but due to how long her name was, she was frequently advised to shorten it.

It’s unclear whether her unusual name kept her from becoming a bigger star like some people predicted, but Christopherson stepped away from the spotlight after 1980, only re-emerging to act in a few short films in the mid-2000s.

When she was cast in her first movie, producers suggested she shorten her name by taking her mother’s maiden name. To that suggestion, Christopherson could only laugh, though.

"Mother’s name was Hranliqur Snorradottir!" she told The Evening Herald in 1970.

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16 Comments

cantorpennerandpeeweefan 25 months ago
I wonder who was the INSPIRATION
For TINKERBELL and the woman seen at the beginning of Screen Gems
Movies and TV Shows??
Coldnorth 26 months ago
I call my favorite color even since childhood is deep grape juice purple. My gran prix was deep purple. Glad there are other purple lovers out there
F5Twitster 26 months ago
"But Stefanianna did more with Daphne Blake than simply channel Tuesday Wells’ charm."

Tuesday WELD's charm.

Crikey. PAY ATTENTION!
dangler1907 F5Twitster 26 months ago
Crikey, stop picking nits.
KevinButler 26 months ago
She refused to go out on a date with Poor"Radar"..so"Trapper John"tossed to her an old pair of man's shorts..instead of a towel to dry herself with..and he told"I hope that you get a hole in your shower and it springs a leak".
Andybandit 26 months ago
At first I thought they were talking about Henry's wife Lorraine. Until I realized it was about the Scooby Doo Daphne Blake. Another cartoon that MeTv should air. I love Scooby Doo cartoons.
Michael 26 months ago
I thought this wouod be about Henry Blake's wife.
MrsPhilHarris Michael 26 months ago
Same here!
WordsmithWorks 26 months ago
Never heard about the Dobie Gillis connection. A little before my time. Interesting, though, and makes perfect sense. I guess the Zelda character would be Thelma. I love trivia like this.
Runeshaper 26 months ago
Props to Stefanianna Christopherson for Daphne! It's silly to have to change one's name because it's long. I think it makes someone stand out more (-:
Barry22 26 months ago
1967 interview? Hope it's a typo, Scooby- Doo did not debut until 1969.
KJExpress Barry22 26 months ago
I was going to look that up. I remember watching it when it was first on and I was pretty sure I was older than four.
LoveMETV22 Barry22 26 months ago
More a misplaced inference. Thought the same when first read.
Michael Barry22 26 months ago
Not only is it easy to find a date for the show, but a kid at school had a good Scooby impression, and that wasn't 1967.
Moverfan KJExpress 26 months ago
I definitely was--I was all of seven! (And I still love Scooby-Doo!)
KJExpress Moverfan 26 months ago
Well, looks like I was only six. Thought I was a bit older. Funny how the mind plays tricks. "And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids." But that line I do remember. ☺
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