Jacqueline Ruth Woods (1924 - 2010)

Born 5 May 1924 in Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Stephen John Steck Jr — married 18 Jul 1946 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

Died 1 Jul 2010 at age 86 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Ilene Woods is Notable.

Ilene Woods was an American actress and singer who is best remembered for having voiced the title character in Walt Disney 1950 animated classic, Cinderella. She was named a Disney Legend in 2003.

Birth and Childhood

Ilene was born Jaqueline Ruth Woods, 5 May 1924, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She was the daughter of Kenneth and Eunice (James) Woods. In 1930, she was a four year-old-girl residing with her parents in the home of her grandmother, Hattie James, a music teacher in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her father was then working as a painter for a motor company.^[1] The family was living in the same home in 1940, Ilene's father was now a plant supervisor at Colonial Decor Company, and her mother was now working as a teacher at a dance school.^[2]

[Note: Most later sources claim that Ilene was born in 1929. However, the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Federal Census both clearly suggest a birthdate closer to 1924. It appears she may have shaved a few years off her age as did so many actresses of her era.]

Ilene is said to have started acting at age two. During World War II, she toured with the United States Army Air Forces Orchestra and many Hollywood stars, promoting war bonds. Because of her appearances for the USO, as well as at army and navy hospitals, she was invited to sing for President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his Hyde Park home Christmas party and for President Harry S. Truman at the White House the following year.

Career

In 1944, Ilene was hired onto The Philco Hall of Fame radio show, and by that summer had been given her own 15-minute radio show, The Ilene Woods Show, which aired three times a week on the ABC Blue Network out of New York City. The family next moved briefly to Chicago, where she was heard on Don McNeill's radio show, The Breakfast Club.

In about 1945, the Woods family moved to Los Angeles, where Ilene made her one and only credited onscreen film performance as a talent show winner in the motion picture On Stage Everybody (1945). That was followed by a stint on the radio series Sealtest Village Store.

In 1948, two of Ilene's songwriter friends, Mack David and Jerry Livingston, asked her to record a few demo songs for Walt Disney's upcoming animated feature film, Cinderella. Upon hearing the recordings, Disney promptly offered Ilene the film's lead voice role, that if Cinderella.

Much of Ilene's subsequent career consisted of appearances on popular variety television programs, such as The Steve Allen Show, The Garry Moore Show, and Arthur Godfrey and His Friends".

Marriage and Family

Ilene was married first to Stephen Steck, Jr., 8 Jul 1946, in Chicago, Illinois. He was then a trumpeter and vocalist with the Glenn Miller Band.^[3] Ilene and Stephen had one daughter, Stephanie. They lived for a time in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, before divorcing in Dade County, Florida.^[4]

Ilene married second, swing musician and bebop drummer Ed Shaughnessy, in 1963. He was then a drummer with the Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band on on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.^[5] Ilene and Ed had two sons, James and Daniel.

Retirement and Death

Ilene spent her later years as a spokeswoman for United Cerebral Palsy telethons. In 1985, Ilene launched a new career as a portrait artist; she especially loved painting children’s portraits.

Ilene died on July 1, 2010, in Canoga Park, California, of complications due to Alzheimer's Disease. She was 81. No service was held; Ilene was cremated and her ashes were kept in the possession of her family.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ 1930 U.S Federal Census. Ancestry.com (database online with images) New Hampshire, Rockingham County, City of Portsmouth, ED 39, sheet 8B, dwelling 161, family 177, household of Hattie James [image 16].
2. ↑ 1940 U.S Federal Census. Ancestry.com (database online with images) New Hampshire, Rockingham County, City of Portsmouth, ED 8-58, sheet 3B, visitation #58, household of Hattie James [image 7].
3. ↑ The Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA) 18 Jul 1946, p. 24. Newspaper.com.
4. ↑ Florida, Divorce Index - Certificate Number: 1382.
5. ↑ New York, New York Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018. Ancestry.com (database online).License #15022, Edwin Shaughnessy to Jacqueline Woods (1963).
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54418489/ilene-woods : accessed 07 September 2021), memorial page for Ilene Woods (5 May 1929–1 Jul 2010), Find a Grave Memorial ID 54418489, ; Maintained by Find A Grave.

See also;

• Ilene Woods on Find A Grave: Memorial #54418489 retrieved 23 Sep 2016

See also:

• Wikipedia: Ilene Woods
• Wikidata: Item Q270771
• IMDB: Ilene Woods
• Disney Wiki: Ilene Woods
• WikiTree: Classic Disney Project