She doesn't live in a palace, and she never married Prince Charming. But Adriana Caselotti, the original voice of Disney's Snow White, is pretty charming herself. Now 77, she recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly from her home in Southern California about her lone movie role:
Q: What was it like to work on such a groundbreaking picture?
A: I didn't understand this thing until the opening night. They
never let me see any rushes. We started on the film in 1934 when I
was 18 and it went on until I was 21. (The studio) would call me in
and I was paid $20 a day whenever I worked. In the middle of the
production, they ran out of money. They didn't know if they'd ever be
able to continue, and I wasn't called for a year. Walt had to go to
the Bank of America to borrow another $250,000 to finish the film.
Q: It's amazing how much you still sound like the movie's Snow
White.
A: You know, I live the part. All day long I'm singing the songs.
I go around cooking and singing. And (neighborhood) kids come and ask
me to do a show for them in front of the wishing well. I have a big
wishing well outside of the house.
Q: What was the movie's premiere like?
A: It was on December 21, 1937, at the Carthay Circle in Los
Angeles. I went with Harry Stockwell, who was the voice of the
prince. The girl asked us for our tickets. I said, ''I'm Snow White
and this is Prince Charming and we don't need any ticket.'' She said,
''I don't care if you're the Old Witch, you need tickets to get in
here.'' We waited until she wasn't looking and snuck upstairs into the
balcony.
Q: What are your memories of Walt Disney during production?
A: He would only say something if we were doing something wrong.
But he never would have had me there if I hadn't been okay, because
he was really a perfectionist. To me, he was just about the greatest
man artistically. He seemed to understand what was correct in
anything that had to do with art, with music. And I feel that he will
never die.
Q: How did you feel when the Disney company chose not to use your
voice for the animated Snow White who presented a cartoon award
during this year's Oscar telecast?
A: I was terribly hurt by that. This would have been my
opportunity to show that at 77 years old, I can still sound exactly
the way I did in 1937. I was very unhappy about it, and when I called
up the newspapers the next day, boy, I got results. The Los Angeles
Times wrote it up. Army Archerd wrote it up in Variety. He said, ''She
sounded like Snow to me.'' That made me feel so good, you know? But I
am not angry at the Disney company about it. I am a very happy person
for having been given the opportunity to be the voice of Snow White.
I get so much happiness out of it that I live in a cloud. I've never
come out of it.
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