Classic Disney Project September 2021 Update: Cinderella and Mouseketeers Added

Question

The Classic Disney Project is pleased to announce a new addition to our film roster - Cinderella (1950), as well as a special Free Space page for TV's original Mickey Mouse Club!

The mission of the Classic Disney Project is to identify each of the voice actors for Disney's earliest animated features, develop their profiles (with sources), and connect them to the Big Tree. To date, we have added the voice casts of six classic Disney films, plus a few special pages for Mickey and Friends, some legendary animators, and now the Mouseketeers. 

Today, we connected Mickey's arch-nemesis Pete (Billy Bletcher), bringing our total number of connected profiles to 36. But we still have a long way to go with 101 total profiles now on the list.  

Cinderella should be fun as it features such legendary figures as Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Mike Douglas, Jimmy MacDonald and June Foray, as well as several others most of us have likely never heard of. The Mickey Mouse Club includes 18 deceased Mouseketeers of which only two are currently connected to the Big Tree. Anyone want to try connecting Annette? 

Thanks to everyone who has helped out with this project. It's been a great deal of fun. If you are not yet a member but would like to participate, feel free to jump in. No formal process. Just visit our project page, pick a film, choose your favorite character and work your magic - every little bit helps! Just be sure to share with us your progress by commenting down below.  

   

Answer 1

Working on Jaqueline "Ilene" Woods' aunt, Ruth Adelaide JAMES and Ruth's husband Charles E. STAPLES. Still have not found a connection, but the Staples line is back a couple more generations.

Comments

Looks like Ilene Woods (voice of Cinderella) has a number of connections to New Hampshire and Maine. Seems a good chance some of these lines will stretch back to Colonial times. It's just a matter of figuring out which one will get you connected to the Big Tree. Good luck and keep us posted.

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Looks like Abner STAPLES, Sr. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Staples-3217 might have been the son of a Revolutionary War Patriot named Joseph STAPLES. Sources are kinda limited for the connection though. Only item I found was a very limited application by Joseph's great granddaughter to the DAR. It was made very early in the DAR years and as such does not contain much information or original source material. DAR has Joseph STAPLES listed as "treat as new ancestor" because of the lack of evidence provided in the application and the requirements needed to apply at the time that she submitted her application. I did find death and burial for Joseph that I cited on Abner's profile under a parentage section though if the connection is ever proven.

At this point I am going to look at the known children on this Staples line and see if any connections pop up. I haven't done much research before the Revolutionary War in this section of the country and I am unfamiliar with what is available to research.

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Might have connected through Abigail WAKEFIELD. Waiting for update from profile manager on merge request between https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wakefield-4500 and https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wakefield-2019

Different birth locations, but same first names of parents and date of birth. Wakefield-4500 has birth record, Wakefield-2019 has a book written in 1897 as its source for the other place of birth. Googled that place and no place with that spelling came up. It sent me to a different place which appears to not be in the area. I linked Wakefield-4500 to the same set of parents in preparation of possible merge.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wakefield-1973 - Benjamin WAKEFIELD is connected on wikitree so if this is correct family then the voice of Cinderella should connect as well if I did that correctly.

Answer 2

I'm currently working on the profile of Christian Rub, voice of Pinocchio's "father" the puppetmaker Geppetto. He came to the U.S. alone from Austria, married a Hungarian woman, and had no children, so opportunities for connecting him to the Big Tree through American records are limited. I just discovered, however, that he had a little-publicized second wife and, through her, a step-daughter. Perhaps one of these women will get me the connection I' m looking for.

Comments

It's not like everyone on Wikitree is most comfortable with American records! There are probably Germans who can help with Otto Rub, who seems to be born in Mannheim, Germany, rather than in Austria, according to Wikipedia.

To get more international traction maybe one idea is to also collect profiles for the project according to country, so it's easy for those who can do Italy to find what Italian profiles the project needs help with, etc.?
(I'm following this project because of a general interest, but am not ready to tackle genealogy outside Sweden which is what I'm comfortable with because of it. So I scan the entered people for Swedish ancestry that I can do something with myself now and then.)

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It's amazing to me how many early Hollywood actors were either immigrants or the children of immigrants. I'm guessing it has something to do with the stage being seen as a more "acceptable" profession by Europeans than it was amongst the "proper classes" of early America. Organizing the profiles by nationality is really not a bad idea at all. I'll just have to take a little time to figure out the logistics of doing so. Thanks for the suggestion..

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That is my perception of early Hollywood as well. Especially before the soundies, speaking English with an accent wasn't even an issue.

Answer 3

Congratulations to Jeanne Howell for successfully connecting signer Ilene Woods, voice of Cinderella, to the Big Tree!

In so doing, she has also connected Ilene's second husband, "notable" swing musician and bebop drummer Ed Shaughnessy, who is perhaps best remembered as a member of Doc Severinsen's Tonight Show Band.

Ilene's first husband, Steve Steck, was also a Big Band musician who performed with Glenn Milller and a group called The Crew Men. Although Steck doesn't have his own Wikipedia page, The Crew Men do, so perhaps we can refer to him as a semi-notable.

Great work Jeanne!

Answer 4

Character actor Christian Rub, best remembered for having provided the voice of the puppet maker Geppetto in the classic 1940 Disney film Pinocchio, has now been connected to the Big Tree. He was connected through the first husband of his second wife - but hey, a connection is a connection! 

Irma Levy Rub seems to have had a fascinating life herself, beginning as a teenager in 1909, when her father accidently shot her mother and baby sister, before turning the gun on himself. Irma went on to marry a young district attorney and organized women voters during the Wilson era. She then filed for divorce from that husband claiming he had shot at her from a passing car. I've had trouble fleshing out her in-between years, but she was apparently a successful "woman business executive" and perhaps even an early female aviator. She was also an avid collector with her ancient mask collection being loaned for museum display. In later years she operated an antique store in Hollywood, California in partnership with Rub who was also an avid collector. They married after the death of his first wife. I'd love to learn more about this woman's story if anyone knows of additional leads.     

Answer 5

Child actor Frankie Darro has now been connected to the Big Tree!

Darro provided to voice of Lampwick, the unlucky delinquent boy who turned into a donkey in Walt Disney's classic animated feature film, Pinocchio (1940). Before that, however, he was one of the most sought after child stars of the silent film era. As a teen, he appeared in numerous motion picture serials - particularly westerns. As with many young stars, his home life was turbulent and, despite his stardom, he spent time in foster care. Adulthood was rough on him as well. In his later years he had a few small film and television parts, but is best remembered for his character roles on The Red Skelton Show, as well as for being the man inside the Robbie the Robot costume in the Sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet.    

Answer 6

I will try connecting Annette!  I can at least add her husbands and work out from them :-)

Comments

I believe Annette was married twice and both husbands are now deceased: Jack L. Gilardi (1930-2019) and Glen D. Holt (1930-2018). Gilardi sounds Italian; Holt could be just about anything.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Answer 7

Yet another Pinocchio cast member has now been connected to the Big Tree. Comedic character actor Walter Catlett voiced the shifty anthropomorphic fox, J. Worthington Foulfellow (aka Honest John). Before that, he performed in vaudeville and on Broadway. Although his name is less recognizable today, over the course of his career he performed memorable roles in numerous films, including five best picture Oscar nominees: The Front Page (1931), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Friendly Persuasion (1956).   

Sorting out his family tree using Ancestry alone was a bit of a challenge as there were significant gaps in the available records, but Newspapers.com helped me figure out who was who and I think the connections are now very solid. I was able to make the connection directly from Walter to his his great-grandfather John Catlett of Virginia who another WikiTreer just happened to add to the Big Tree earlier this month. (Thanks Kathryn!)

This leaves just one Pinocchio cast member left to connect. Charles Judels voiced both Stromboli and the Coachman. His parents were from the Netherlands, so this family will likely require research into the Dutch records. His wife had four grandparents from Germany, so someone experience with German records might be able to connect her. I don't think his daughter ever married and I don't think he had any siblings, so it doesn't appear any other routes exist. I welcome assistance from anyone knowledgeable in Dutch or German research.      

  

Answer 8

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Zellman-1 - Eleanor ZELLMAN is proving extremely difficult to connect. I was trying to look into the ancestry of her sister's husband, but they go back to Russia as well.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Entin-7 - Samuel ENTIN appears to have had a brother named Louis, but I have not made a profile for him. I did leave some notes on Samuel ENTIN's profile about him. I have had trouble locating him in the records. I think I found Louis' death index listing and it appears that Samuel's parents may have been Morris and Sarah ENTERI from the index of the record. Not sure if Enteri is another spelling of ENTIN or not. It could be a transcription error as well.  

Other help is requested on this line. I am going to take a step back and look at another voice actor.

Comments

I feel the entire family won't connect with the US sources. *If* there are records in Russia or Germany, we might have a chance.

Answer 9

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Williams-100894 - Rhoda Elaine WILLIAMS has conflicting information about the identity of her parents. 

Notes: 

Wikipedia stated parents were Edgar P. And Jessie WILLIAMS.

Her Social Security Application^[3] stated the following:

Name: Rhoda Williams, [Rhoda Eio Williams], [Rhoda Vanmeter], [Rhoda Van Meter]

Gender: Female

Race: White

Birth Date: 19 Jul 1930

Birth Place: Galveston, Texas, [Denver, Colorado]

Death Date: 8 Mar 2006

Father: George Daniel

Mother: Mary E Reed

[omitted SSN]

Notes:

May 1937: Name listed as RHODA WILLIAMS

Feb 1946: Name listed as RHODA EIO WILLIAMS

Jun 1958: Name listed as RHODA VANMETER

01 Feb 1993: Name listed as RHODA WILLIAMS VAN METER, Name listed as RHODA WIL VANMETER

14 Mar 2006: Name listed as RHODA W VAN METER

This conflict will have to be resolved before any attempt at connecting her to the tree can be attempted. The only other option to connect her is through her husband. He currently does not have a profile. I am unsure if he is still living or not. Placed some notes on him in Rhoda's profile for research progress on him.

Comments

The Los Angeles Evening Citizen News reported on 29 May 1963: "Mrs. Rhoda Williams Van Meter, 32, a television and film actress, contended she was entitled to $113,000 cash and $2,000 worth of jewelry left by her mother, Mrs. Jessie Williams, who died May 18, 1961, at the age of 73." 

Jessie Williams is identified as the widow of Gavelston businessman Edgar P. Williams, while Rhoda's husband is identified as audio-visual director David L Van Meter (age 33). 

So why would her Social Security application identify her parents as George and Mary? Very odd. I'll do some more digging and see what else I can come up with. 

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Turns out we may also have an erroneous photo of her on her profile. That same photo is identified as actress Mary Lee Robb on The Definitive Father Knows Best Web Site. Rhoda Williams played Robert Young's daughter Betty on the original radio show and Robb periodically filled in for her. 

Its amazing to me that an actress like Rhoda could spend 40+ years in Hollywood, and have not a single image on the Internet aside from her obituary photo. I'll keep looking! 

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Here's another clipping:

"Five-year-old Rhoda Williams was in town today to work as possibly the youngest radio star in the country...Discovered and selected from 1000 children in Texas by m-G-M talent scouts, Rhoda stars in her own radio show 'We Who Are Young'...Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. E.P. Williams of Gavelston, TX."

From: The Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, 25 May 1937.

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Ok, here's another twist to the story:

26 Apr 1960 - 72 year old Jessie Williams, widow, accused her adopted daughter, 26-year-old former child actress Rhoda Elaine Williams, of fraud. (Elsewhere in the article she is referred to as Rhoda's foster mother).  

Is it possible that George and Mary were her birth parents, while Edgar and Jessie were her adopted parents?

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Have you checked Edgar and Jessie for a son George?

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According to the 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Edgar and Jessie Williams were married about 1920, at ages 48 and 33 respectively. In 1930, they were residing at Gavelston, TX. After ten years of marriage, they still did not have any children. In 1940, they are listed in Los Angeles with "daughter" Rhoda age 9. They would have been about 58 and 43 years old at the time of Rhoda's birth in July 1930.

Meanwhile, in 1930, there was a Mary E. Reed, age 21, residing at the Florence Crittenton Home in Denver, Colorado. According to their website, Florence Crittenton was then a home for unwed pregnant women who lived at the home until they gave birth and placed their children up for adoption. 

I think the evidence is strong that Mary was Rhoda's birth mother and that the Williams couple adopted her shortly after birth. (Note that Edgar's mother was named Rhoda, suggesting that they selected the baby's name). 

If I'm correct, Mary Reed (Reed-363) already has a connected WikiTree Profile. 

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I found two Find-a-Grave.com entries for Rhoda Williams. I have not requested to merge them yet.

I also cleaned up the parental connection for this profile. Her mother's maiden name may have a spelling variation (Upson/Uptson).

Answer 10

Mike Douglas was finally connected today through his wife. He was the singing voice of Prince Charming in Cinderella.

Comments

Congrats Judi. I know he was a tough one.

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I'm not complaining -  I spent a week entering all of the Dowd's in Chicago! I hope it helps the family through other additional connections.

Answer 11

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/King-46178 - Eleanore Cammack King - Voice of Young Feline in Bambi should be connected. The biographies will need work on the two lines back that were researched. Some more profiles will be needed to add profiles of spouses. Not able to type very well, I injured my shoulder, but did put sources in and connected her back on two lines, one was connected, but the other was not.

Comments

Congrats again Jeanne! So sorry about your shoulder. I know that sort of pain can pretty much drain the fun out of everything. 

For those unfamiliar with Cammie King, it should be noted that she also gained fame for her role as young Bonnie Blue Butler, the daughter of Rhett and Scarlett, in Gone with the Wind. 

Answer 12

Took a quick look at the voice of Adult Feline in Bambi. Sorry I cant do more at the moment. My shoulder feels like its being stabbed with a hot poker everytime I move it.

Ann Gillis - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Conner-5369 - profile has possible connection to John Calvin CLEMENTS - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Clements-2733. Information of the line of ancestry pulled from familysearch tree and placed in Research progress of her profile. If anyone wants to pick up the research and make the profiles if the research is accurate the proposed line is:

her father, John Clements CONNER

John was son of John Lewis CONNER and Emma Louise CLEMENTS

Emma was the daughter of George Mifflin Dallas CLEMENTS and Sarah Caroline HOOKER

George was the son of John Calvin CLEMENTS

Comments

Currently looking into her SPILLER Line. (her maternal grandmother's line.)

- Thomas SPILLER - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Spiller-911

is current individual I am working on. Find a Grave Submissions seem to point towards a connection to Davis STOCKTON - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stockton-108 but the connection still needs verified through proper research.

I have found some research on Thomas' parents and placed it in his profile. Taking a break though for a few hours at least to celebrate my birthday. Shoulder wasn't hurting as much so I did some work on one of her other lines since I didn't know if anyone picked up the one that I mentioned earlier. I'll check back with that as my shoulder permits at a later date.

Answer 13

While working on expanding the family of Scotty Mattraw (Snow White's Bashful) I came across the tragic story of his step-nephew, Robert Case.

On 25 Jun 1934, seventeen-year-old Robert joined his Watertown High School senior class at their graduation picnic on the shore of Lake Ontario. There, he joined a group of other students in taking a dinghy out on the Bay. Tragically, the overloaded boat capsized, and while most of the students were able to save themselves by grabbing onto the side of the partially-submerged boat, young Cecelia Kamalsky was unable to hold on. Heroically, Robert and his classmate, Raymond Butterfield, both let go and swam out in an attempt to rescue the struggling girl. But ultimately, the currents were too strong and all three teenagers were drowned. All three students had been scheduled to be awarded their high school diplomas two days later.   

These young people may not have been "notables", but they certainly are noteworthy. I have created profiles to recognize all three. Robert is connected through the Mattraws, but Raymond and Cecilia are not yet connected if anyone wants to work on expanding these families.