Around the time the Woody Woodpecker short Drooler's Delight was in production, Mel Blanc, who had originally supplied Woody's voice and laugh, filed a lawsuit against producer Walter Lantz, claiming that Lantz had used his voice in later cartoons without permission.

Not discouraged in the least, Grace made her own anonymous audition tape and submitted it to Walter Lantz Productions.

She later voiced the character on several rare occasions after the Lantz studio's permanent shut down in 1972, particularly Woody's cameo at the 51st Academy Awards ceremony in 1979.

[3] At first, she asked not to be credited in the role, as she believed that audiences both young and old would be "disillusioned" if they knew Woody was voiced by a woman.

[4] But she soon came to enjoy being known as Woody's voice and, starting with 1958's Misguided Missile, finally allowed her name to be credited on screen.