# Mary Jo Catlett
**Mary Jo Catlett** (born September 2, 1938) is an American character actress and comedienne whose career spans stage, film, and television. She is known for playing the housekeeper Pearl Gallagher on the sitcom *Diff'rent Strokes* and for voicing Mrs. Puff, SpongeBob's boating-school teacher, on *SpongeBob SquarePants* since the series premiered in 1999.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | September 2, 1938, Denver, Colorado, daughter of Robert and Cornelia (Callaghan) Catlett[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) |
| Education | Loretto Heights College, Denver; B.S. in drama and psychology, 1960[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938) |
| Broadway debut | Ernestina in the original production of *Hello, Dolly!* (St. James Theatre, opened January 16, 1964), starring Carol Channing[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-jo-catlett-85170) |
| Signature TV role | Pearl Gallagher, the housekeeper on *Diff'rent Strokes*, NBC, 1982–86[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938) |
| Signature voice role | Mrs. Puff on *SpongeBob SquarePants*, a main cast member since the 1999 premiere[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) |
| Awards | Washington Drama Critics Award (1974); Los Angeles Drama Critics Awards (1977, 1981); Daytime Emmy nomination (1990); Annie Award nomination (2001)[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938) |
## Early life and stage career
Catlett was born in Denver, Colorado, and was drawn to acting young, particularly musical comedy.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) She completed her study of theater at Loretto Heights College, earning a B.S. in drama and psychology in 1960, and appeared at Denver's Historic Elitch Theatre from 1960, in shows including *What Every Woman Knows*, *Say, Darling*, *Jenny Kissed Me*, *Auntie Mame*, and *The Best Man*. Playing Agnes Gooch in *Auntie Mame* at Elitch in the mid-1960s earned her her Actors' Equity card.[4](https://historicelitchtheatre.org/mary-jo-catlett/) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938)
**New York debut.** She made her off-Broadway debut in 1963 as Rose McDougal in the melodrama *Along Came a Spider* at the Mermaid Theatre.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938) Within a year she was on Broadway as Ernestina in the original production of *Hello, Dolly!*, which opened at the [St. James Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-james-theatre) on January 16, 1964 with [Carol Channing](https://www.edgepedia.org/carol-channing) in the title role; she also toured with the production when [Ginger Rogers](https://www.edgepedia.org/ginger-rogers) took the show on the road.[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-jo-catlett-85170) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/)
**Broadway and stage work through the 1970s and beyond.** Her subsequent Broadway credits show a performer moving between chorus parts, replacements, and featured roles: *Canterbury Tales* (1969 and 1970), where she played the [Housewife](https://www.edgepedia.org/housewife), Parishioner, Village Girl, Nun, Miller's Wife, and Duenna and understudied the Wife of Bath; *Different Times* (1972), in which she played six roles including the Kaiser; the revival of *Lysistrata* (1972) as Deltazeta; Mabel in the 1973–74 revival of *The Pajama Game*; and Penny in *Play Me a Country Song* (1982).[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-jo-catlett-85170) In Los Angeles she won Los Angeles Drama Critics Awards for *Come Back, Little Sheba* (c. 1977) as Lola and for *Philadelphia, Here I Come!* (c. 1981), and earlier received a Washington Drama Critics Award in 1974 for *27 Wagons Full of Cotton*.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938) Later stage work included Madame de la Grande Bouche in the Los Angeles production of *Beauty and the Beast* (1995–96), a role that brought an Ovation Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Emily Whitman in *Follies* (Los Angeles, 2002), and *70, Girls, 70* at City Center Encores! (2006); she has also appeared in *The Full Monty*, *Big River*, and several versions of *Nunsense*.[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-jo-catlett-85170) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) In 1987 she opened what became the final regular season at the Elitch Theatre in *Nunsense*, returning to the theater where she had earned her Equity card.[4](https://historicelitchtheatre.org/mary-jo-catlett/)
## Television and film
Catlett began working on camera in the late 1960s, with an early appearance in the television fantasy *The Littlest Angel* (1969). From the mid-1970s she made dozens of sitcom appearances, including *The Bob Newhart Show*, *M*A*S*H*, *Mr. Belvedere*, *Night Court*, *[Gimme a Break!](https://www.edgepedia.org/gimme-a-break)*, *Saved by the Bell*, *Maude*, and *Welcome Back, Kotter*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) In 1982 she joined *Diff'rent Strokes* as Pearl Gallagher, the third housekeeper for the children played by [Gary Coleman](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-coleman), Todd Bridges, and [Dana Plato](https://www.edgepedia.org/dana-plato), remaining with the NBC series through 1986.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938) Earlier series work included Big Barb Bookman on *Semi-Tough* (ABC, 1980) and Stella Rinko on *Foul Play* (ABC, 1981).[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938)
In daytime she played Mary Finnegan on *General Hospital* (1989–90) and received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the role.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/awards/) She also appeared in dramatic series such as *Murder, She Wrote*, *Matlock*, and *Fantasy Island*, and became a familiar face in advertising with more than 30 national commercials to her credit.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/)
Her film work is comparatively limited: an unbilled part in [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen)'s *Bananas* (1971), supporting roles in *High Anxiety* (1977), *Semi-Tough* (1977), *The Champ* (1979), *The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas* (1982), and Rosemary Ackerman in [John Waters](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-waters)'s *Serial Mom* (1994), followed by later parts in *How to Be a Serial Killer* (2008), *Surprise, Surprise* (2010), *Anderson's Cross* (2010), and *[Let's Be Cops](https://www.edgepedia.org/lets-be-cops)* (2014).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) Guest appearances have continued into recent decades, including episodes of *Glee*, *Desperate Housewives*, *2 Broke Girls*, *Modern Family*, *The Mentalist*, *Rizzoli & Isles*, and *Good Girls*.[6](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-77059/filmographie/)
## Mrs. Puff and SpongeBob SquarePants
Since the premiere of *SpongeBob SquarePants* in 1999, Catlett has been a main cast member voicing Mrs. Poppy Puff, SpongeBob's pufferfish boating-school teacher, a role she has carried across the series, its films (including *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie* in 2004 and *[The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-spongebob-movie-search-for-squarepants)* in 2025), video games, and the spinoff *Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) • [7](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/nickelodeon/photos?limit=250&page=3) For the first seven seasons she voiced Mrs. Puff exclusively; from season 8 she has also voiced other characters such as Granny Tentacles.[8](https://spongebob.fandom.com/wiki/Mrs._Puff)
She has described going through five auditions for the part.[9](https://podcasts.apple.com/ug/podcast/voicing-mrs-puff-with-mary-jo-catlett/id1586201809?i=1000548459780) Her stage history surfaces inside the show itself: in the episode "Something Smells," SpongeBob says "Hello, Dolly!", a nod to the 1964 Broadway musical in which she appeared.[8](https://spongebob.fandom.com/wiki/Mrs._Puff) Her voice work has been recognized with an Annie Award nomination in 2001 for outstanding individual achievement for voice acting by a female performer in an animated television production, for the episode "No Free Rides," and a 2013 Behind the Voice Actors Award nomination for Best Vocal Ensemble in a Television Series shared with the show's cast.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/awards/)
## Recognition and later activity
Catlett's honors span stage and screen: the Washington Drama Critics Award in 1974 for *27 Wagons Full of Cotton*, Los Angeles Drama Critics Awards in 1977 and 1981, the 1990 Daytime Emmy nomination, and the 2001 Annie nomination.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938) She has also been a regular novelty-song performer at charity fundraisers and musical benefits, notably for AIDS organizations and the Broadway-oriented "Help Is on the Way" events.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/) Still active in the role more than 25 years after the series began, she remains one of the longest-serving members of the *SpongeBob* voice cast.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/)
## References
1. [Mary Jo Catlett, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/)
2. [Catlett, Mary Jo 1938–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/catlett-mary-jo-1938)
3. [Mary Jo Catlett – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-jo-catlett-85170)
4. [Mary Jo Catlett (1960), Historic Elitch Theatre](https://historicelitchtheatre.org/mary-jo-catlett/)
5. [Mary Jo Catlett – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0146181/awards/)
6. [Mary Jo Catlett : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-77059/filmographie/)
7. [Paramount Press Express | Nickelodeon | Photos](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/nickelodeon/photos?limit=250&page=3)
8. [Mrs. Puff, Encyclopedia SpongeBobia](https://spongebob.fandom.com/wiki/Mrs._Puff)
9. [Voicing Mrs. Puff With Mary Jo Catlett, SpongeBob BingePants (Apple Podcasts)](https://podcasts.apple.com/ug/podcast/voicing-mrs-puff-with-mary-jo-catlett/id1586201809?i=1000548459780)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames C to Cl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license