The voice of Crusader Rabbit and Smurfette...

... Lucille Bliss has died at the age of 96. She was also Elroy on "The Jetsons."

But her groundbreaking role was in the original "Crusader Rabbit," the first animated series produced specifically for television. Its first incarnation ran on NBC from 1950 to 1952 and was co-created by Jay Ward, who went on to produce such notable franchises as Rocky and Bullwinkle and Dudley Do-Right.

"She was a pioneer in television animation," said Charles Solomon, an author and animation historian. Crusader Rabbit "really set a pattern for a lot of future shows — the smart little character and the big dumb sidekick."