Toon Talk Special: Disney Live Action Actors
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The IconsWhen one thinks of Disney, the images of the following ten actors will always come to mind:
An English nanny, holding her parrot-headed umbrella, sitting in the clouds.
A coonskin-capped sharpshooter, protecting the American frontier.
An apprentice witch, flying over the plains of England on her broomstick.
A college student with a knack for inventing.
A cockney chimney-sweep on the rooftops of London.
An orphaned girl filled with unwavering optimism.
An absent-minded professor in his flying Model T.
America's sweetheart in mouse ears.
An everyman confronted with a talking car, an ugly dachshund or that darn cat.
A jolly storyteller in his very own laughing place.
These are the acting icons of the Disney films.
Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins
(c) Disney
When Walt Disney was preparing for the production of Mary Poppins, he saw Julie Andrews as Queen Guenevere in the original Broadway production of Camelot. He knew immediately that he had found his Mary Poppins. Andrews went on to win the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress. Named a Disney Legend in 1991, Andrews recently returned to the silver screen as Queen Clarice in this summer's The Princess Diaries.
James Baskett in Song of the South
(c) Disney
James Baskett's characterization of Joel Chandler Harris' Uncle Remus in Song of the South earned him a special Academy Award, the first given to an actor from a Disney film and the first for an African American actor. He, of course, sang the Oscar-winning tune "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" and voiced Bre'r Fox in the animated portions of the film.
Annette Funicello in a Babes in Toyland publicity
picture
(c) Disney
Personally discovered by Walt Disney and asked to join the original Mickey Mouse Club television program, Annette Funicello became the most famous Mousketeer of all. Her popularity led to roles in the features The Shaggy Dog, Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones and The Monkey's Uncle. She also recorded several songs for the Disney Records label, including the theme songs to The Parent Trap (with Tommy Sands) and The Monkey's Uncle (with the Beach Boys). She was named a Disney Legend in 1992.
Dean Jones from That Darn Cat video cove
(c) Disney
Starting in the Sixties, Dean Jones started an unprecedented stint as the leading man of choice for a slew of popular Disney comedies: That Darn Cat!; The Ugly Dachshund; Monkeys, Go Home!; Blackbeard's Ghost; The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit; The Love Bug; Million Dollar Duck; Snowball Express; The Shaggy D.A. and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. He has returned to Disney for the television remakes of The Love Bug and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and the 1997 remake of That Darn Cat! A 1995 Disney Legend recipient.