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Thursday, December 29, 2016

Hal Ambro - 87th pick as a Disney Legend

Hal Ambro is my 87th pick to be honored as a Disney Legend.

His animation credits at Disney included Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, the "Johnny Appleseed" segment of Melody Time, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Song of the South, Cinderella,  (Ambro animated many ot the scenes with the fairy godmother), So Dear to My Heart, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Melody, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, Mary Poppins, Melody and Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.

Ambro became Hanna-Barbera's supervising animator for "Heidi's Song" before he left in 1982. The next year, Ambro began teaching character animation at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia.


Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Tom Codrick - my 86th choice as a Disney Legend



Background artist Tom Codrick takes the 86th slot on my picks for the Disney Legend honor. He was a layout artist, art director and background specialist for some of the best loved Disney films. He was a key layout man for Disney Studios for 35 years. Films such as Peter Pan, Bambi, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Victory Through Air Power, Fantasia, Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle Book, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Sleeping Beauty, Melody Time and Alice in Wonderland were heavily influenced by Codrick's style and vision. He was the layout artist for five episodes of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color and he appeared in one episode of the show.









Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Charles Philippi - my 85th choice as a Disney Legend

Charles Philippi is my 85th pick for this Disney Hall of fame. He was an animator who worked on some of the most memorable Disney classics and shorts during the heyday of the 1930s and 1940s.


His Filmography according to His IMDB page:

  • 1957 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (TV Series) (layout artist - 1 episode)
  • - The Fourth Anniversary Show (1957) ... (layout artist - segment "Peter and the Wolf", archive footage)
  •  1953 Peter Pan (layout artist)
  •  1951 Alice in Wonderland (layout)
  •  1950 Cinderella (layout)
  •  1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (layout)
  •  1949 The Wind in the Willows (Short) (layout artist)
  •  1949 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Short) (layout artist)
  •  1946 Song of the South (cartoon art director)
  •  1946 Peter and the Wolf (Short) (layout artist)
  •  1946 Make Mine Music (layout)
  •  1944 The Three Caballeros (layout artist)
  •  1944 Springtime for Pluto (Short) (layout artist)
  • 1943 Victory Through Air Power (Documentary) (art direction: animation)  
  • 1943 Chicken Little (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1943 Private Pluto (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  • 1941 The Reluctant Dragon (art direction: cartoon sequences - as Chas Philippi)  
  • 1941 The Little Whirlwind (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  • 1940 Fantasia – Art Department
  • 1940 Pinocchio – Art Department
  • 1937 Snow White and the Seven dwarves – Art Department
  •  1934 Servants' Entrance (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1933 Lullaby Land (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1933 Mickey's Gala Premier (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1933 Three Little Pigs (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1933 Ye Olden Days (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1932 Mickey's Good Deed (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  • 1932 Babes in the Woods (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  • 1932 King Neptune (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  • 1932 Mickey's Nightmare (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  • 1932 Flowers and Trees (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1932 The Mad Dog (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1932 The Bird Store (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1931 The Ugly Duckling (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1931 The Fox Hunt (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1931 The Clock Store (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1931 Egyptian Melodies (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1931 Blue Rhythm (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1931 Mickey Steps Out (Short) (layout artist - uncredited)
  •  1930 Monkey Melodies (Short) (layout artist - uncredited) 

Monday, December 26, 2016

Dallas McKennon - my 84th pick as a Disney Legend

Dallas McKennon is my 84th choice for the Disney Legend honor.
He performed many character voices for Disney. His distinctive voice can be heard in movies such as Melody Time (as Johnny Appleseed’s angel), Lady and the Tramp (as Pedro, Tuffy, the Hyena and the Professor), Sleeping Beauty (as the owl), Donald Duck and His Friends, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (as barking dogs), Mary Poppins (as the fox, a hunting horse, a penguin, a reporter and the carousel keeper) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (as a bear). He provided the voice of Cal McNab in Paul Bunyan.
He also did voices for several Disney Attractions, such as the famous Big Thunder Mountain Railroad safety spiel - “Howdy, folks! Please keep your hands, arms, and legs inside the train, and remain seated at all times. (Laugh) Now then, hang onto them hats and glasses, ’cause this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!” He can be heard as the laughing hyenas in It's a Small World, Ben Franklin in Epcot's The American Adventure, and Zeke in Country Bear Jamboree. He has been the voice of Andrew Jackson in the Hall of Presidents attraction. He narrated the defunct Disneyland attraction Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland and is Deaf Old Man in the Haunted Mansion.

He also played as Charlie Cooney in the 1978 live-action Disney film, The Cat from Outer Space, a juror in Son of Flubber and a detective in The Misadventures of Merlin Jones. He was a musical performer in Bedknobs and Broomsticks taking part in the song “Blow the Man Down.” He was the narrator on the vinyl album The Story of Treasure Island produced by the Disney Company.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Don Griffith - my 83rd pick as a Disney Legend

Don Griffith started working at Disney when he was 19 years old (in 1937) when the Studio was still on Hyperion. He started out as an inker and worked his way into doing Background and Layout. He didn't have any training as an artist before he started working for Disney which is why he thought anyone could learn how to draw. He worked at the Studio for almost 50 years (until 1984).
Filmography
Layout Artist
  • (1948) - Melody Time
  • (1949) - So Dear to My Heart
  • (1950) - Cinderella
  • (1951) - Alice in Wonderland
  • (1953) - Peter Pan
  • (1955) - Lady and the Tramp
  • (1959) - Sleeping Beauty
  • (1961) - One Hundred and One Dalmatians
  • (1963) - The Sword in the Stone
  • (1964) - Mary Poppins
  • (1966) - Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree
  • (1967) - The Jungle Book
  • (1968) - Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
  • (1970) - The Aristocats
  • (1971) - Bedknobs and Broomsticks
  • (1974) - Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!
  • (1977) - The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Art Director
  • Robin Hood (1973)
  • The Rescuers (1977)
  • The Fox and the Hound (1981)
  • Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)
  • The Black Cauldron (1985)

Background Artist

Mary Poppins (1964)

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Sebastian Cabot - 82nd pick as a Disney Legend

Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was an English film and television actor who provided the narration for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He also voiced Bagheera in The Jungle Book, and Sir Ector in The Sword in the Stone, and voiced Claude in The Enchanted Tiki Room, at Walt Disney World. He also played Johnathan Lyte in the 1957 live-action film, Johnny Tremain. He narrated a couple of specials for Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color - One Day on Beetle Rock (1967) and One Day at Teton Marsh (1964) and played the role of Bissonette in Westward Ho, The Wagons (1956). He had the role of Judge Vasca in the TV series Zorro.
He not only served as the narrator for the film version of Winnie the Pooh, but also as the narrator on the vinyl album Walt Disney Presents Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too.



Cliff Nordberg - my 81st pick as a Disney Legend

Cliff Nordberg was an animator for the Disney Studios through the 1940s into the 1970s. You can read more about at the blog 50 MostInfluential Disney Animators. Here is a sampling of Nordberg’s work for Disney:
  • Hockey Homicide - Animator
  • Make Mine Music- Animator on All the Cats Join In and Casey at the Bat
  • All the Cats Join In - animator
  • Casey at the Bat - animator
  • Song of the South- Animator on Minor Characters
  • Pecos Bill - animator
  • Melody Time- Animator on Pecos Bill
  • Cinderella- Animator on Mice, King, and Duke
  • Alice in Wonderland- Animator on Mad Hatter and March Hare
  • Susie the Little Blue Coupe - animator
  • Peter Pan- Animator on Indians
  • Ben and Me - animator
  • Lady and the Tramp- Animator on Pound Dogs
  • Donald in Mathmagic Land - animator
  • Sleeping Beauty- Animator on Malificent’s Minions and Crow
  • A Cowboy Needs A Horse - animator
  • One Hundred and One Dalmatians- Animator on Sgt. Tibbs, Horace and Jasper
  • Sword in the Stone- Animator
  • Robin Hood- Animator
  • Mary Poppins - animator
  • Rescuers- Animator on Crocodiles, Dragon Fly, and Swam Critters
  • Pete's Dragon - animator
  • Small One- Supervising Animator
  • Fox and the Hound- Supervising Animator on Woodpecker and Bird



Harvey Toombs - my 80th pick for a Disney Legend

Pencil drawing of Peter Pan by Harvey Toombs
Harvey Toombs was an animator who worked on many classic films for the Disney Studios. His animation credits at Disney included Pinocchio, the "Dance of the Hours" segment of Fantasia, The Reluctant Dragon, Dumbo, Bambi, Saludos Amigos, Victory Through Air Power, Home Defense, Donald's Off Day, the "Cold-Blooded Penguin" segment of The Three Caballeros, Donald's Crime, Make Mine Music, Song of the South, Fun and Fancy Free, the "Once Upon a Wintertime", "Bumble Boogie", "Johnny Appleseed" and "Blame It on the Samba" segments of Melody Time, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Tomorrow We Diet!, Alice in Wonderland, Teachers are People, Peter Pan, Melody, Ben and Me, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Donald in Mathmagic Land and How to Have an Accident at Work.

He was married to Imagineer and Disney Legend Leota Toombs and the father of Imagineer Kim Irvine.

Tom Sito - my 79th choice as a Disney Legend

Tom Sito is my 79th choice to be named a Disney Legend. The following information was gathered at  his own website and his Wikipedia page:
Sito has been called a "key figure in the Disney Renaissance", and one of the One Hundred Most Important People in Animation. Sito assisted retired Disney animator Shamus Culhane on one of his final projects, a 1977 education short entitled Protection in the Nuclear Age. Tom Sito was summoned by his old mentor Richard Williams in 1987 to animate on Disney/Amblin's Academy Award-winning hit film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Returning to Los Angeles in 1988, Sito became a mainstay of the Disney Feature Animation division, contributing to the classic films The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Fantasia 2000, and Dinosaur. In 2010, Tom Sito was awarded the June Foray Award at ASIFA-Hollywood's Annie Awards for a lifetime of service to the animation community.





Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Victor Haboush - pick number 78 as a Disney Legend

Layout Artist Victor Haboush is my 78th pick as a Disney Legend. Much of the information here can be found on the Cartoon Brew site.

He attended Art Center College of Design on the G.I. Bill where he studied extensively with Lorser Feitelson.

On the recommendation of his Art Center classmate and Disney Legend Eyvind Earle, he was hired at Disney in 1952 to help finish layout on Peter Pan. His first association with Disney came earlier, when he helped Earle draw this Golden Book adaptation of Peter Pan. He built up an impressive list of credits at the studio including assistant art direction on Melody and Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom, and layout on Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians.

Vic was one of Tom Oreb’s closest colleagues during the 1950s and they worked together as a team, especially in Disney’s TV commercial unit.


 When Oreb left Disney to work at John Sutherland Productions, Vic followed. They both soon returned to Disney to finish Sleeping Beauty, where Vic played a key role in designing the “Thorn Forest” sequence.

The video below is a non-Disney commercial directed by Haboush.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Hal King - my 77th pick as a Disney Legend


My 77th choice Hal King was an American animator. He was notable for his work at the Walt Disney

Studios.  Hal King started out like many of his contemporaries as an inbetweener on shorts in the late 1930s. His first break into feature animation was on the Three Caballeros, a Latin American-influenced film made in 1944. 

His animation credits at Disney included Donald's Snow Fight, Donald Gets Drafted, The Vanishing Private, Fall Out-Fall In, The Old Army Game, Home Defense, The Three Caballeros, Duck Pimples, Hockey Homicide, The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met segment of Make Mine Music, Wet Paint, Lighthouse Keeping, Song of the South, Clown of the Jungle, Fun and Fancy Free, the Once Upon a Wintertime and Blame It on the Samba segments of Melody Time, So Dear to My Heart, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Test Pilot Donald, Alice in Wonderland, Susie the Little Blue Coupe, Peter Pan, Ben and Me, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Goliath II, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Donald and the Wheel, The Sword in the Stone, the Disneyland episode "Your Host, Donald Duck", the Walt Disney Presents episode "The Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale", the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color episodes "Kids is Kids" and "Man on Wheels", The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Robin Hood and Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree and Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. (in which the two featurettes are later part of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, along with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!).




Lonnie Burr - 76th pick as a Disney Legend

My 76th pick is former Mousketeer Lonnie Burr. The following was taken from his Wikipedia page and from the website The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show. In 1955 he was signed to a seven-year contract by Walt Disney Studios as one of twenty-four original Mouseketeers. He was made a member of the show's first string unit, the Red Team, and appeared in the show's Roll Call and Alma Mater segments daily for the first two seasons. (A facial injury suffered during rehearsal kept him off-camera during the filming of Roll Call and Alma Mater for the third season). While on the show Lonnie performed in skits and musical variety numbers, both as a soloist and with others. He was generally acknowledged to be one of the show's three top dancers and his slightly husky singing voice caused other Mouseketeers to nickname him "The Velvet Smog" for at twelve he also resembled "The Velvet Fog", singer Mel Tormé.
Lonnie was a smart, confident kid, and that persona projected to the audience. He was the only male Mouseketeer that kids at home considered cool. Annette also felt this way about him, and the two were an item (a real couple, not one of the studio arranged matches) for a brief time.
Lonnie has his own web site, on which visitors can learn about the details of his long pre- and post-MMC careers. He also has given more published interviews than anyone but Annette on the subject of the Mickey Mouse Club, in most of which he has been quite frank. You can read more in his 2009 memoir, Confessions of an Accidental Mouseketeer. This sometimes brutally candid work has engendered more than a bit of controversy since it was published.

Monday, December 19, 2016

Hugh Fraser - my 75th pick as a Disney Legend

Hugh Fraser was an animator who worked on numerous projects for the Disney Studios. He also worked for Hanna Barbera on Scooby Doo and other cartoons. In 1987 Fraser was awarded the Golden Award by the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists Award. 

He must have been quite prolific as his name is attached to many, many films and shorts. Here is a sampling of his work.

  • Snow White(1937)- Animator(uncredited)
  • Pinocchio(1940)-Animator on Honest John and Gideon 
  • Fantasia(1940)- Animator on Dance of the Hours
  • Dumbo(1941)- Animator on Gossipy Elephants
  • Saludos Amigos(1942)- Animator
  • How to Play Baseball(1942)- Animator
  • Pluto at the Zoo(1942)- Animator(uncredited)
  • Victory Through Airpower(1943)-Animator
  • Victory Vehicles(1943)- Animator
  • How to Be a Sailor(1944)- Animator
  • The Eyes to Have It(1945)- Animator
  • Canine Casanova(1945)- Animator
  • No Sail(1945)- Animator
  • Knight for a Day(1945)- Animator
  • Make Mine Music(1946)-Animator on Casey at the Bat
  • Squatter’s Rights(1946)- Animator
  • Frank Duck Brings ’em Alive(1946)- Animator
  • Double Dribble(1946)- Animator
  • Fun and Fancy Free(1947)-Animator
  • The Big Wash(1948)- Animator
  • Mickey and the Seal(1948)- Animator
  • Pluto’s Suprise Package(1949)- Animator
  • Pluto’s Sweater(1949)-Animator
  • Bubble Bee(1949)- Animator
  • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad(1949)- Animator on Wind and the Willows
  • Sheep Dog(1949)- Animator
  • Pluto’s Heart Throb(1950)- Animator
  • Pluto and the Gopher(1950)- Animator
  • Cinderella(1950)-Animator
  • Wonder Dog(1950)- Animator
  • 1951    Cold War        Animation     
  • Tomorrow We Diet    Animation     
    Get Rich Quick            Animation     
    No Smoking    Animation

  • 1952    Man's Best Friend      Animation     
    Two Gun Goofy          Animation     
    Teachers Are People  Animation     
    Two Weeks Vacation Animation     
    How to Be a Detective           Animation     
  • 1953    Father's Day Off          Animation     
    Father's Weekend      Animation     
    Ben and Me    Animation 

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Hal Smith - my 74th choice as a Disney Legend

Hal Smith, known for his role as Otis the town drunk on the Andy Griffith Show and as Mr. Whitaker on Adventures in Odyssey also had numerous roles with the Disney Studios. He is my 74th pick for the Disney Legend honor. He did many voice roles for Disney, including Goofy (after Pinto Colvig's death), Grumpy and Sleepy (also after Pinto Colvig's death), Winnie the Pooh (after Sterling Holloway's retirement) and Owl in the Winnie the Pooh franchise, Gyro Gearloose and Flintheart Glomgold in DuckTales, he also voiced an older version of Huey, Dewey and Louie in the episode of DuckTales, "Duck to the Future", the Auctioneer in The Small One and Philippe the Horse in Beauty and the Beast. He voiced Dink and Haimish in Disney’s Fluffy Dogs. He was Goofy and the Water Rat on Mickey’s Christmas Carol, the slob elephant in The Jungle Book, and Joe Magee in Talespin. He also appeared in the live action film Son of Flubber as a bartender and as a courthouse guard in The Million Dollar Duck. He was the narrator and a few Disney albums as well.





Friday, December 16, 2016

Preston Blair - 73rd pick as a Disney Legend

Preston Blair was an animator for Disney on several classic films and shorts. He left the studios during the 1941 strike. Some of the Disney films he worked on are:

  • 1999 Fantasia 2000 (animator - segment "Sorcerer's Apprentice")
  •  1977 The Rescuers (animator - uncredited) 
  • 1947 Fun and Fancy Free
  • 1940 Fantasia (animator - segments "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", "Dance of the Hours")
  •  1940 Bone Trouble (Short) (animator)
  •  1940 Donald's Dog Laundry (Short) (animator - uncredited)
  •  1940 Pinocchio (animator)
  •  1939 Officer Duck (Short) (animator - uncredited)
  •  1939 The Pointer (Short) (animator - uncredited)
  •  1939 Sea Scouts (Short) (animator - uncredited)
  •  1939 Beach Picnic (Short) (animator - uncredited)
  •  1939 The Practical Pig (Short) (animator - uncredited)
  •  1938 Donald's Golf Game (Short) (animator - uncredited)
  •  1938 The Whalers (Short) (animator - uncredited)


Thursday, December 15, 2016

Peter Ustinov - my 72nd choice as a Disney Legend

Peter Ustinov is considered by some to be Movie Royalty. He worked for the Disney Studios on more than once occasion, as both a live action actor and voice actor for animated films. He voiced Prince John and King Richard in Robin Hood and also played the title character in Blackbeard's Ghost. He was Dr. Snodgrass in Treasure of Matecumbe, and Hnup Wan in One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing.
He also guest-starred on The Muppet Show in episode 112 and made a cameo appearance in The Great Muppet Caper.

Robert Stokes - my 71st pick as a Disney Legend

Robert Stokes was an animator for Disney Studios during their heyday years when they first began producing feature length animation. He is credited with helping to develop and draw the evil queen in
Drawing of Evil Queen by Robert Stokes
Snow White. His work with Disney includes the following:

1940  Fantasia (animator - segment "The Nutcracker Suite")
1940 Pinocchio (animator - uncredited)
 1939 The Autograph Hound (Short) (animator - uncredited)
 1938 Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (Short) (animator - uncredited)
 1938 Ferdinand the Bull (Short) (animator - uncredited)
 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (animator)
 1937 The Old Mill (Short) (animator - uncredited)
 1937 Woodland Café (Short) (animator - uncredited)
 1936 More Kittens (Short) (animator)
 1936 Toby Tortoise Returns (Short) (animator - uncredited)

Friday, December 9, 2016

George Johnson - my 70th pick as a Disney Legend

My 72nd pick for the Disney Legend honor is George Johnson, the voice of Goofy. He provided the voice for the lovable Goofy from 1939 - 1943. His voice is heard in several films including Goofy and Wilbur, How to Fish, Goofy's Glider, Baggage Buster, The Art of Self Defense, The Nifty Nineties, How to Play Baseball, The Olympic Champ, How to Swim, How to Fish, On Vacation, the El Gaucho Goofy segment from Saludos Amigos and Victory Vehicles.








Thursday, December 8, 2016

Mel Leven - my 69th pick as a Disney Legend

Mel Leven, my 69th pick for the Disney Legend honor, is most famous as the composer of the Cruella Devil song in 101 Dalmatians. He also wrote the story and new lyrics to sixteen tunes for the film Babes in Toyland and "When The Buzzards Return To Hinckley Ridge" for the 1969 Disney animated short, It's Tough to Be a Bird, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Short Subject in 1970. He wrote the music to "Litterbug Shame on You" for the final Donald Duck short The Litterbug

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Al Bertino - my 68th choice as a Disney Legend

Al Bertino worked for the Disney company as an animator, story-man, writer, and imagineer.  He was involved as a writer or animator in several Disney shorts including: Plutopia, Fun and Fancy Free, Make Mine Music, Californy er Bust and Private Pluto. This is an excerpt form his Wikipedia page: He was an animator for Pinocchio and Fantasia, Bertino also wrote for the Wonderful World of Disney, and helped create a number of attractions at Disneyland, including Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, and America Sings.  In 1986, he won a Golden Award (given to Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists). The giant bear at the Country Bear Jamboree called 'Big Al' was a self-portrait.
"Bertino began work for Walt Disney in 1935.
In a 1945 Disney short, Hockey Homicide, all the characters are named for members of the Disney staff including "Ice Box Bertino", who, as a running gag, repeatedly gets into hockey fights with "Fearless Ferguson" (named for Norm Ferguson)."

Monday, December 5, 2016

Albert Hurter - my 67th choice as a Disney Legend

Albert Hurter is my 69th choice as a Disney Legend. He worked for the Studios as an inspirational sketch artist whose art provided the mood, atmosphere and setting of some famous Disney Studios films, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Dumbo, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan. In 1949, over 700 of his drawings were compiled in a book by Ted Sears called "He Drew As He Pleased - A Sketchbook by Albert Hurter", with a brief tribute from Walt Disney.


Saturday, December 3, 2016

Lucille La Verne - 66th choice as a Disney Legend

My 66th choice is Lucille La Verne, who had only one role for Disney Studios, but it was a big one. she was the voice actress for one of the greatest Disney villains of all-time, the wicked step-mother/witch in Snow White. She also provided some live action inspiration for her movements and gestures. Cari Keebuagh observed "One particularly popular legend claims that Disney, unsatisfied with the voice of the Hag, asked La Verne to try the scene again. She excused herself to the restroom, returned, and performed the lines in a perfectly sinister and “hag-ish” voice. Disney, impressed, asked what she had done in the restroom. La Verne answered him that all she had done was remove her false teeth."
You can read her article on La Verne here.

I have noticed the voices of the Disney villains do not get a lot of love from the Legends committee. Maybe it time to change that!