Dody Goodman October 28 1914 June 22 2008 was an American character actress She played the mother of the title character in the television series Mary Hartman Mary Hartman her distinctive highpitched voice announcing the shows title at the beginning of each episode She was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show in the 1950s and cast member of The Mary Tyler Moore Hour in 1979 Aside from film and television appearances she also voiced Miss Miller in the television series Alvin and the Chipmunks and the film spinoff The Chipmunk Adventure She also played on Punky Brewster as Punkys teacher