Sister Act Does Disney

On May 29th, 1992, Touchstone Pictures released Sister Act (1992), the story of lounge singer Delores Van Cartier who hides out in a convent after witnessing a terrible gangster crime. Initially she had trouble fitting in, but ultimately befriends the other nuns and becomes their choir director. The film was critically well-received and a financial success, spawning a sequel the following year. It received two Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy for Whoopi Goldberg for her performance as Delores Van Cartier. In 2010 the film was readapted into a Broadway Musical which played for a total of 561 performances and received five Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Musical. Many of the principal stars of the film have unique connections to Disney?

Whoopi Goldberg played the lead role of Delores Van Cartier in “Sister Act.” Afterward, Goldberg provided the voice of Shenzi the Hyena in The Lion King (1994), and it’s direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004). She starred in Hollywood Pictures’ The Associate (1996) and Eddie (1996), and played Queen Constantina in Disney-ABC’s/Whitney Houston’s made for television production of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella in 1997. In ’98 she starred opposite Michael York in Disney-ABC’s made for television movie A Knight in Camelot. She also provided the voices Miss Mittens in the direct-to-video sequel Snow Buddies (2008) and of Stretch the Octopus in Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3 (2010). She made cameos in the direct-to-video film A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) and The Muppets (2011) and has lent her voice to several Disney television shows, including Bear in the Big Blue House (1997-2006), Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013-2014), The 7D (2014-2016), and Miles from Tomorrowland (2015-present). 

Harvey Keitel played Delores’s ruthless criminal of a boyfriend Vince LaRocca in the film. In addition to that role, he played Agent Peter Sadusky in Disney’s National Treasure (2004) and it’s sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007). 

Wendy Makkena played the timid Sister Mary Robert in “Sister Act.” For Disney, she played the role of Jackie Framm, mother of Josh Framm in Disney’s Air Bud (1997). Even though in the movie, her character learns to overcome the stage fright of singing in front of the convent, Wendy Makkena’s singing voice was dubbed by singer Andrea Robinson, who also dubbed her singing voice again in the “Sister Act,” sequel.      

Kathy Najimy played the role of the relentlessly optimistic Sister Mary Patrick in the movie. Following this film, Kathy Najimy starred as Mary Sanderson opposite Bette Middler as Winifred Sanderson in Disney’s Hocus Pocus (1993). She starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie The Scream Team (2002) and most recently lent her voice to the character of Mary in Disney/Pixar’s Wall-E (2008). Najimy has lent her voice to the Disney television shows Hercules: The Animated Series (1998-1999) and The Legend of Tarzan (2001-2003), and she appeared in an episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (2005-2008), voiced a character in the direct-to-video sequel Brother Bear 2 (2006), and played the Evil Queen in the Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants (2015). Besides reprising her role in the sequel to the film, Kathy Najimy also reprised her role as Sister Mary Patrick in singer Lady Soul’s music video “If My Sister’s In Trouble.”   

Dame Maggie Smith portrayed Reverend Mother in the film. She starred in the 1997 Hollywood Pictures film Washington Square (1997) and voiced Lady Blueberry in the Touchstone Pictures Animated Film Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) and will be reprising that role for the upcoming sequel, Sherlock Gnomes (2018). You might also recognize Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film franchise (2001-2011) or as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham in the PBS series, Downton Abbey (2010-2015).         

Mary Wickes played Sister Mary Lazarus in “Sister Act.” For Disney, she was hired to provide the live-action modeling for the character of Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1961) and voiced Laverne the Gargoyle in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), though she tragically died on October 22nd, 1995, before finishing recording all her lines. (Jane Withers finished the rest of Laverne’s dialogue.) In between those two roles, Mary Wickes starred in Disney’s Napoleon and Samantha (1972) opposite Michael Douglas and Jodie Foster and Snowball Express (1972) opposite Dean Jones and Nancy Olson. She also played Katie on The Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1996). Wickes is no stranger to playing roles whose main setting was a convent, having played Sister Clarissa in The Trouble With Angels (1966) with Disney Legend, Hayley Mills, and its sequel, Where Angels Go Trouble Follows (1968). Wickes also acted the role of Marie Murkin in the NBC Series, Father Dowling Mysteries (1989-1991).     

Most of these actors, reprised their roles in the sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). (James Coburn, who played the new main antagonist in the sequel, played the owner of the El Sleezo Cafe in The Muppet Movie (1979), voiced Henry J. Waternoose in Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. (2001), and portrayed Thunder Jack in Snow Dogs (2002)). 

All of these actors have other roles that they are well-remembered for, but each of their roles in “Sister Act,” will also continue to be treasured.

Jim Cummings: The Mel Blanc of Today!

When you hear the name Mel Blanc, you might remember that he voiced all the cartoon characters produced by the Warner Bros. Studios, i.e. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, etc., and as a result of that, he earned the nickname “The Man of 1000 Voices.” Do you ever wonder if Disney has a name that falls under the category also? The answer to that question is an emphatic yes! Since the early 1980’s, Jim Cummings has done the voice for many of Disney’s most beloved characters in film, television, and even video games. And he has several well-known non-Disney voice-over credits as well.

Jim Cummings was born on November 3rd 1952 in Youngstown, Ohio. He later moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he worked on Mardi Gras floats and as a door-to-door salesman. He ultimately moved to California where he got involved with voice acting. His first job at Disney was in 1988, taking over the role of Winnie the Pooh from Hal Smith, who had voiced the character from ’81-’88, succeeding the role from Sterling Holloway, the originator. The very next year, Cummings also took over the role of Tigger from Paul Winchell, whom had originated the part since the mid-1960’s. For the last 30 years now, Cummings has been the voices of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger in all of their appearances on film, video and television, i.e.: The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988-1991), Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh (1996), The Tigger Movie (2000), The Book of Pooh (2001-2003), Piglet’s Big Movie (2003), Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (2005) and Winnie the Pooh (2011). He will reprise the role of Pooh for Disney’s upcoming live-action film Christopher Robin (2018), though at this point he has turned over the “Tigger” reins to Chris O’Dowd.

Beyond Pooh and Tigger, Jim Cummings also provided the voices of the Evil Clown in The Brave Little Toaster (1987), Bullet #2 and the Lion in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Razoul and Farouk the Palace Guards in Aladdin (1992), Ed the Hyena and the singing voice of Scar in The Lion King (1994) (he and Jeremy Irons both shared singing credits), the singing voices of Chief Powhatan and Kekata in Pocahontas (1995), Nessus the River Centaur, the Tall and Elderly Thebians, and the Lava Titan in Hercules (1997), Kaa the Snake and Colonel Hathai the Elephant in The Jungle Book 2 (2003) and Raymond the Firefly in The Princess and the Frog (2009). Besides these theatrical films, Jim Cummings has also lent his voice to many direct-to-video sequels and original films, including The Return of Jafar (1994), Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World (1998), Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999), Brother Bear 2 (2006), and The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (2008). 

For Disney television, Jim Cummings was the voices of the title character in the series Darkwing Duck (1991-1993), El Capitan in DuckTales (1987-1990) numerous different roles in both Chip ’n Dale Rescue Rangers (1988-1990) and TaleSpin (1990-1991), and Bonkers D. Bobcat in Bonkers (1993-1995). He also provided the voice of Pete on the series Goof Troop (1991-1992), a role which he reprised for A Goofy Movie (1995), it’s direct-to-video sequel An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000), and many other times. More recently, for the Disney Junior channel, Cummings voiced Wormwood the Raven and Goodwin the Great in Sofia the First (2012-present) and reprised his roles as Pooh and Tigger in Doc McStuffins (2012-present). He is also the narrator of the IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth attraction at EPCOT at Walt Disney World and the voice of Baby Herman at the Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin attraction at Disneyland.

Beyond Disney, Cummings was the voice of Dr. Robotnik in the series Sonic the Hedgehog (1993-1994), Steele the bulldog in Balto (1995), the singing voice of Rasputin in Anastasia (1997), the Pelican in Babe: Pig in the City (1998) (the direct-to-video sequel to Babe (1995)), and Ultra Lord and Mission Control and the General in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001). He was the voices of King Allfire and the Chancellor in the video game Blazing Dragons (1996), Totec, Lara’s partner in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (2010), and Conrad Marburg in Alpha Protocol (2010).

From Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, to Pete, Goofy’s “frienemie,” to Darkwing Duck, Jim Cummings never ceases to entertain with his unique voice. His voice has an incredible range that has given life to all kinds of characters both good and bad. And even at 65 years of age, he’s showing no signs of slowing down with his upcoming roles in “Christopher Robin,” the upcoming indie film Charming (2018) and the television series Goblins Animated (2019). Though he will probably be best remembered for being the longest person ever to voice Winnie, the “Pooh bear.”  

The Keane Family Circus

While it wasn’t a featured presentation at the recent Academy Awards, the film winning “Best Animated Short” made a bit of news because Kobe Bryant was a producer. It was his “Dear Basketball” poem that was the subject, but the animator who gave the film life was Glen Keane. As he accepted the award, few in the audience realized they were hearing from “animation royalty.”

Glen Keane was an animator at Walt Disney Studios for nearly 40 years. He animated many of the studios most beloved characters, human and non-human, male and female. He was inspired to go into animation by his father, Bil Keane, whom you may remember as the creator of the comic strip “The Family Circus.” (In fact, his father patterned the character of “Billy” Keane after Glen.) Glen Keane has an incredible background in animation that goes even beyond Disney.

Glen Keane was born on April 13th, 1954 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating High School at Brophy College Preparatory, he applied to the California Institute of the Arts-otherwise known as “CalArts,” which was established in 1961 by a group of professionals including Walt Disney himself. While there, Keane was fortunate enough to meet and view the works of some of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men” (Eric Larson, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnston and others.) Inspired by their work, he left CalArts in 1974, and joined the Walt Disney Studios. It was a logical bump, since during school, he worked as a layout artist on the cartoon series, My Favorite Martians (1973), Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974), Lassie’s Rescue Rangers (1973-1975), and Mission: Magic! (1973).    

His very first assignment at Disney was as a Character Animator for Bernard, Miss Bianca, and Penny in The Rescuers (1977). He also worked as a Character Animator for Elliot the Dragon in Pete’s Dragon (1977). Four years later, Glen Keane was promoted to Supervising Animator for the Bear in The Fox and the Hound (1981). He also worked as a Supervising Animator for Ratigan and Fidget in The Great Mouse Detective (1986) and Sykes, Georgette, Fagin, Jenny in Oliver & Company (1988). Among his most famous creations were Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), Marahute the Eagle and Cody in The Rescuers Down Under (1990), the Beast in Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin in Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas in Pocahontas (1995), Tarzan in Tarzan (1999), and John Silver, Captain Amelia, and Scroop in Treasure Planet (2002). 

The same year as “Pocahontas,” he also provided commentary on the Disney documentary Frank and Ollie (1995), based on the partnership/friendship of Disney Animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. The documentary was directed by Thomas’s son, Theodore. Keane was also an Animator of Willie the Giant, Scrooge McDuck, and Goofy in the short Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983), a Character Animator for Gurgi and Eilonwy in The Black Cauldron (1985), and a Directing Animator for Rapunzel in Tangled (2010).

Soon he took on other leadership roles and was Executive Producer/Animation Supervisor/Character Designer in “Tangled,” and a Character Designer for the Disney short, Paperman (2012) which won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. And his final work for Disney was the animation for Ariel for “The Little Mermaid,” sequence in the Walt Disney World attraction Mickey’s Philhar Magic and visual development on Wreck-It-Ralph (2012). He officially resigned from Disney on March 23, 2012.

In December of 2013, Glen Keane joined Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects Group to work with its engineers to create interactive, hand-drawn animation. They released their first animated short, Duet at the Google I/O Conference in San Francisco on June 25, 2014. 

He also has written and illustrated a series of Children’s books on Bible parables with characters that he created himself, known as Adam Racoon and King Aren the Lion.

Glen Keane was named a Disney Legend in 2013. Just like his father before him, Glen Keane’s children have followed in his footsteps into animation. His daughter, Claire Keane-Rogozyk is a Visual Development Artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios and his son Max Keane is Computer Graphics Artist. So, Glen Keane’s great legacy of Disney Animation will continue to live on through his children! 

We’ve Grown Accustomed to You, Nancy!

Nancy Ann Olson was born on July 14th, 1928 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her father, Henry John Olson was a physician and her mother, Evelyn Bertha Olson, was educated at the University of Wisconsin. Nancy herself transferred from the University of Wisconsin to UCLA in California, where she was discovered performing on stage. She was put under contract to Paramount Pictures in 1948 at the age of 20, and made her feature film debut in Portrait of Jennie (1948). Two years after that film, she starred as Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard (1950) which earned her an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her “Sunset Boulevard,” co-star, William Holden, who played her character’s love interest, Joe Gillis, also received a Best Actor Nomination for his performance as well. Unfortunately neither won. Despite that, Olson reunited with Holden on three other films, Union Station (1950), Submarine Command (1951), and Force of Arms (1951). 

The same year she made “Sunset Boulevard,” Nancy Olson married Alan Jay Lerner of famous Broadway team “Lerner and Lowe,” on March 19th, 1950. They had two daughters together, Liza and Jennifer. During their marriage, Lerner began working with Lowe on the musical that would undoubtedly be one of their greatest collaborations ever, My Fair Lady, based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion. While the show was in production, it came time for Lerner and Lowe to write the closing song for the show, a song that the male lead character, Professor Henry Higgins (played by Rex Harrison) would sing about his feelings for the female lead of Eliza Doolittle (played by a virtually unknown Julie Andrews). What made it complicated to compose the song was that it needed to be a love song, that wasn’t actually about love. At the end of the show, Higgins is in love with Eliza, but being the haughty, arrogant man that he is, he would never actually admit to being in love with her, so he expresses his feelings in another way. At one point, when Lerner was hard at work, he asked his wife to fetch him a cup of tea. When she came back with the tea, he said “Nancy, you know, you are quite a pretty girl.” She sarcastically said, “Thanks a lot.” He said “No, no, no-,…-I wake up with you every morning. I’m with you all day. All I’m trying to say is that I’ve grown accustomed to you. I’ve grown accustomed to your face.” At that point he had the name of the show’s closing song, “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” “My Fair Lady,” premiered on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theater on March 15th, 1956, to rave reviews and won seven Tonys, including Best Musical. (“My Fair Lady,” was re-adapted as a movie in 1964 which won the Best Picture Oscar also.) Although “My Fair Lady,” was a huge hit, Nancy Olson and Alan Jay Lerner divorced in 1957.            

Nancy Olson made her Disney debut as Nancy Furman, the maid in Pollyanna (1960). Next she starred as Betsy Carlisle in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), the love interest-turned-wife of Philip Brainard, played by Fred MacMurray. She reprised that role for its sequel Son of Flubber (1963). In between both “Flubber,” films, Olson remarried, tying the knot with Capital Records producer Alan Livingston, who is best known for creating “Bozo the Clown,” and signing Frank Sinatra, along with several others to Capital Records. They had one son together, Christopher, and remained married until Livingston’s death in 2009. In 1973, she played Sue Baxter, the wife of Dean Jones’ Johnny Baxter in Snowball Express. She also made an uncredited cameo as a secretary for Ford in Flubber (1997), Disney’s remake of “The Absent-Minded Professor,” which starred Robin Williams.

After “Snowball Express,” and appearing in Universal’s Airport 1975 (1974), Olson virtually retired from acting, but still made occasional appearances on both film and television. She made appearances on Gunsmoke (1955-1975), and Love Story (1973-1974), and most recently acted in the film Dumbbells (2014), which was directed by her son, Christopher Livingston. She might be best remembered for her Disney roles, or as Betty in “Sunset Boulevard,” but she leaves a very unique legacy in entertainment being the inspiration for the song “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”  

Shirley Jones: A Partridge from a Pennsylvania Tree

At 21 years of age, she burst onto the screen, a newcomer as Laurey Williams in the film adaptation of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Broadway hit Oklahoma! (1955). At 26, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress playing Lulu Baines, the prostitute, in Elmer Gantry (1960). And by 36, her singing talents splashed from movies into television as she became the matriarch of The Partridge Family (1970-1974). These three roles, along with several notable others, were portrayed by none other than Shirley Jones. From leading lady roles in movie-musicals, to ‘70s television icon, she has been entertaining the world for more than 60 years. (even throwing in a few bit roles for the Disney Studios!).

Shirley Mae Jones was born on March 31st 1934 in Charleroi, Pennsylvania to Paul and Marjorie Jones (Marjorie was a homemaker and Paul was the co-owner of the Jones Brewing Company). She was their only child, and they named her after Shirley Temple. Her family later relocated to Smithton, Pennsylvania where six-year-old Shirley began singing in the Methodist Church Choir. She went to South Hutingdon High School in Ruffs Dale, Pennsylvania where she began performing in plays. Throughout her childhood and teen years, her family vacationed in New York where they would shop and see Broadway shows. When she graduated High School, she decided to attend college in New York, but on her way to college, she decided to meet up with her friend Ken Welch, a gifted pianist who lived in an apartment New York. They sang songs at the piano in his apartment and Welch saw potential in his friend, and encouraging her to go to open auditions that were being held for each of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. Jones had never been to a professional audition before, but Welch convinced her to go.

She went to the audition and sang a song that Ken Welch had written just for her called “My Very First Kiss,” along with two others. John Fearnley, Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s casting director, was so impressed, that he ran to get Richard Rodgers himself and asked her to sing again. Also impressed, Rodgers called Oscar Hammerstein II to hear her, and, of course, agreed with them. They asked her what she had done before, and she told them, “Nothing.” They eagerly offered her a spot in the chorus of South Pacific, and though Jones told them she was on her way to college, but the two legends persuaded her  to try singing in the chorus. (They had to help persuade her parents as well!). As a result of taking the job, she became the first and only singer ever to become under contract to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Within a year after that, she landed the film role of Laurey in “Oklahoma,” opposite Gordon MacRae. The film was a hit and won two Oscars. Soon after, she began a European stage tour of Oklahoma with her future husband, Jack Cassidy, cast as Curly. They were married in 1956. 

That same year, she reunited with MacRae for the film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel (1956). Frank Sinatra was originally cast as Billy Bigelow, but when he arrived on-location in Boothbay Harbor, Maine to begin filming, he immediately abandoned the location when he discovered that the film was to be shot in two formats: Cinemascope and Cinemascope 55. He personally exclaimed to the film’s director, Henry King, “You’re not getting two Sinatras for the price of one.” As a result, the film’s producer, Henry Ephron, suggested that Shirley Jones to give Gordon MacRae a call. MacRae replied, “Give me three days. I have to lose 10 pounds, but I’ll be there.” The year after “Carousel,” Shirley Jones made the movie-musical April Love (1957) with Pat Boone. These musicals would have typecast her for the rest of her career, but she managed to shed the “innocent young ingenue” image when she was cast in “Elmer Gantry.” That film’s director, Richard Brooks, initially did not want her for the role, but he when he saw her film her first scene, he specifically told Jones that she would win the Oscar for her performance. (Richard Brooks also won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film.)

Two years after her Oscar win, Shirley Jones returned to the movie-musical, starring as Marian “the Librarian” Paroo in Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man (1962). (Ironically, just as in “Carousel,” Frank Sinatra was also considered to play Harold Hill in the film, but Meredith Wilson said “No Robert Preston, no movie.”) So not only did Shirley get to work with the original Broadway lead Robert Preston, she was joined by Pert Kelton as Mrs. Paroo, choreographer Onna White and director Morton DaCosta-all from the original Broadway show. At one point, Shirley Jones went up to Onna White and explained “Look, I have to warn you, I am not a dancer. I have no dancing training whatsoever.” White replied “Honey, by the time this movie’s over, you’ll be a dancer.” Shirley Jones became close with young Ron Howard who played her little brother, Winthrop Paroo. She reunited with Howard the following year in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963). 

Three months into filming the movie, Jones discovered that she was pregnant with her second son, Patrick Cassidy. When she gave the news to Morton DaCosta, he assured her not to worry and that they would have the costume department build a corset that they would use to pull her in if ever she were to “shrek out.” They would also film her as often as they could from the waist up, and DaCosta requested that she not tell anyone about it. Though there was some speculation from several members of the cast, particularly from Robert Preston, and when it came time to shoot the kissing moment in “Till There Was You,” as Preston leaned in for the kiss and felt a kick from Jones’s stomach. He jumped back and said “What was that?” and she said “That’s Patrick Cassidy. Say Hello!” Ironically, Patrick Cassidy himself had the chance to meet Robert Preston, and when he walked up to him to introduce himself he said “Hello, I’m Patrick Cassidy,” and Preston said “Yes, I know. We’ve already met.” And to the further the irony, in 2012 the California Musical Theatre revived the Music Man with Shirley Jones as Mrs. Paroo and Patrick Cassidy as Professor Harold Hill.

In 1970, Shirley Jones was cast in another one of her most-often identified roles, the role of Shirley Partridge in “The Partridge Family.” She initially had been offered the role of Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch (1969-1974) but that role went to her best friend, Florence Henderson. Coincidentally, Florence Henderson had also lobbied heavily for the role of Laurey in “Oklahoma,” and she had even gotten to perform with Gordon MacRae in the “Oklahoma,” segment of the television special General Foods 25th Anniversary Show: A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein (1954). She was cast opposite her stepson, David Cassidy as Keith Partridge, who was the lead singer for the family. The show earned Jones two Golden Globe nominations as Best TV Actress: Comedy or Musical in its first two seasons. The family on the show also produced 13 albums together with 11 hit singles. 

For the Walt Disney Studios, Shirley Jones appeared in an episode of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1954-1991) entitled “The Adventures of Pollyanna.” She played Pollyanna’s Aunt Polly, a role which was originated by Jane Wyman in the 1960 film of the same name, starring Hayley Mills. She also appeared in two episodes of the Disney Channel Original Series Good Luck Charlie (2010-2014) as Grandma Linda Duncan.

Shirley Jones’s career hasn’t stopped, as she recently reprised her role as Lulu Baines in the Bruce Lee film, Bruce the Challenge (2018). After more than six decades in show business, she has entertained audiences through every medium in the industry-even books. In 1990 she wrote a book about her second marriage to comedian Marty Ingels, Shirley and Marty: An Unlikely Love Story and in 2013 she wrote Shirley Jones: A Memoir. While she started out as American’s favorite songbird—she had a multi-faceted career spanning decades. 

Captain Accomplished

The First Duke of Wellington, the author of The Jungle Book, the founder of the Getty Oil Company, and the author of War and Peace. These are just a few of the roles portrayed by Christopher Plummer, who has been acting on stage, television, and film since his mid-20’s. While he has played many historical figures throughout his career, he will always be remembered for his iconic portrayal of Captain Georg Von Trapp, the Patriarch of the “Von Trapp” family, in The Sound of Music (1965). Christopher Plummer is an actor with a lengthy career, playing everything from Shakespeare to Disney films. Currently, he is the oldest recipient of an acting Oscar at 88 years of age. 

Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer was born on December 13th, 1929 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the only child of Isabella Mary Abbott and John Orme Plummer. Abbott was the Secretary to the Dean of Sciences at McGill University and the elder Plummer sold stocks and securities. Christopher Plummer attended the High School of Montreal, where he originally studied to be a concert pianist, but he developed a love for the theatre instead. He portrayed Mr. Darcy in his high school’s production of Pride and Prejudice, where he caught the attention of Herbert Whitaker, the theatre critic of the Montreal Gazette and the amateur stage director for the Montreal Repertory Theatre. As a result, he was cast at just 18 years of age as Oedipus in the Montreal Repertory Theatre’s production of John Cocteau’s La Machine infernale. After that production, he decided to pursue acting full-time while continuing his studies at McGill University.

At the age of 24, in 1953, Christopher Plummer made his both his Broadway and Television debuts: On Broadway, he was in a play called The Starcross Story, which unfortunately closed on its opening night. (He did, however, find success on Broadway the next year in a play called The Lark). On television, he starred in the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) production of Othello. Five years later, he was cast in his first movie, Sidney Lumet’s Stage Struck (1958) opposite Henry Fonda and Susan Strasberg. Prior to the film, he began appearing in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, playing the leading roles of Henry V, Hamlet, and Leontes in The Winter’s Tale. He didn’t make another film again until Anthony Mann’s The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) playing Emperor Commodus. He later won two Tony Awards: first, for Best Actor in a Musical in 1973 for his performance as the title character in the musical Cyrano based on the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac, and then again as Best Actor in a Play for his performance as John Barrymore in the two-man play, Barrymore. Not long after each of those wins, he also garnered two Emmys: the first for his role as Roscoe Hayward in the mini-series Arthur Hailey’s the Moneychangers (1976) and then again in 1994 for Outstanding Voice-Over performance for narrating the series Madeline (1989-2001) based on the book series of the same name by Ludwig Bemelans.   

The very next year, after “Fall of the Roman Empire,” Christopher Plummer was cast as Captain Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.” Although “Sound of Music,” was a huge hit when it first came out, and remains a beloved classic today in the 53 years since its release, Christopher Plummer has never ever been a fan of it. He described that when he was working on the film, playing Captain Von Trapp was like “flogging a dead horse.” He did not find the character interesting in any way, but he did the best he could. The only thing he did like about being in the movie was working with Julie Andrews, and they have remained close friends. He has been quoted as having said working with Julie Andrews was “like being hit over the head with a Valentine’s Day Card.” He also mockingly refers to the film as “that movie,” “S&M,” and “The Sound of Mucus.” Overall, he admits that today, that while the film has never been his cup of tea, it was a very well-made film and he is very proud to have been a part of it.

In 2003, Christopher Plummer starred in Touchstone’s Cold Creek Manor. The next year, he made a very brief appearance in Disney’s National Treasure as John Adams Gates, Ben Gates’s grandfather. In 2009, he provided the voice of Charles Muntz, the main antagonist, in Disney/Pixar’s Up. The same year as “Up,” he starred opposite Helen Mirren in the film The Last Station (2009) which earned him his very first Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He lost the award to Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds (2009), but he was nominated again in the same category a year later in Beginners (2010), and won. His acceptance speech was, “You’re only two years older than me, darling. Where have you been all my life?” He has currently been nominated again, in the supporting category for his performance as J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World (2017), and he also played Ebenezer Scrooge in The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017).

Christopher Plummer’s body of work in acting is truly spectacular! While today he is still most often identified as Captain Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music,” he has achieved immense versatility that goes far beyond that film. From his Shakespearean roles, to historical figures, to even voice-over roles, he is one heck of an entertainer.  

Martin Short: Grimmlies and Glickles of Laughter

Ed Grimley, Jiminy Glick, Franck Eggelhoffer: three characters but all brought to life in television and movies by Martin Short. From Saturday Night Live to Broadway/Movies/Television to Video Games, he can always make people laugh. He also has quite a few interesting connections to the Walt Disney Studios, some beyond movies.

Martin Hayter Short was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on March 26th, 1950, the youngest of five siblings. He has three older brothers, David (whom he tragically lost at age 12), Michael, Brian, and one older sister, Nora. His mother, Olive Grace, was a concertmistress of the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra and his father, Charles Patrick Short, was a corporate executive with the Canadian steel company, Stelco. Martin unfortunately lost both his parents  by the age of 20. But despite the tragedy he successfully graduated McMaster University in Hamilton with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work in 1971.

While Martin intended to pursue social work, he became interested in acting the year that he graduated when cast in a touring production of the musical Godspell. His fellow cast members in that production became some of his closest friends, including Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, and his future wife Nancy Dolman, whom he married on December 22nd, 1980. (Andrea Martin and Martin Short became in-laws when Andrea Martin married Nancy’s brother, Bob Dolman, on December 27th, 1980). Martin Short and his wife also adopted three children together, Katherine, Oliver, and Henry. 

Levy and Thomas both encouraged Short to pursue comedy and join them in the improvisation group The Second City. Along with a group of many other beloved comedians, the group produced the show Second City Television which ran from 1976-1984 in Canada and later the United States. SCTV is where Short developed the character of Ed Grimley. Next up for Short was a U.S. sit-com called The Associates (1979-1980), and then his movie debut in the comedy Lost and Found (1979) and later re-joining his friends for the 10th (’84-’85) season of Saturday Night Live (1975-present), where developed the character of Jiminy Glick. During his run on “SNL” Short befriended the likes of Steve Martin and Chevy Chase, and developed the character of Jiminy Glick. The Martin/Chase friendship led to their collaboration in the comedy Three Amigos! (1986).

Martin Short reunited with Steve Martin in Touchstone’s Father of the Bride (1991) and its sequel Father of the Bride part 2 (1995). (Short’s good friend Eugene Levy also appeared in both of the “Father of the Bride,” movies). Steve Martin and Martin Short also lent their voices to Dreamworks’s animated film The Prince of Egypt (1998) and Steve Martin also appears as himself in Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2004). For Touchstone, Martin Short also appeared in the movie Captain Ron (1992), opposite Kurt Russell, who also appears as himself in “Lalawood.” After “Father of the Bride part 2,” he and Eugene Levy created the video Game, Creature Crunch. And for the Disney label, Martin Short acted in the film Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) opposite Tim Allen. Short later reunited with Allen as Jack Frost to Allen’s Santa Clause in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006). He also provided the voices of B.E.N. in Treasure Planet (2002), Lars in the direct-to-video sequel 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch’s London Adventure (2003), Mr. Frankenstein/Mr. Burgermeister/Nassor in Frankenweenie (2012), and Mr. Kurokawa in the English dub of the Disney/Studio Ghibli film The Wind Rises (2013). 

In 2007, Martin Short became the host for the O, Canada! film at the Canada pavilion in Epcot at Walt Disney World. He also stars in the CineMagique theatre show at the Walt Disney Studios park at Disneyland Paris. Prior to “O, Canada!” he hosted a film called “The Making of Me” at the “Wonders of Life,” pavilion in Epcot, (currently closed).

Martin Short made his Broadway debut in 1993, starring opposite Bernadette Peters in the original musical production of The Goodbye Girl (based on the 1977 film of the same name with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason). It earned him a Tony Award nomination. He won a Tony Award in 1999 for starring in the Broadway revival of the musical Little Me, and four years later, he replaced Matthew Broderick in the original production of Mel Brook’s The Producers opposite Nathan Lane. Brooks had originally offered the part to Short when it opened in 2001, but Short initially declined simply because he did not want to move his family from Los Angeles to New York for a year, but he managed to work it out. In 2006, he created a one-man show, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, which ran on Broadway for a year. Most recently, he starred in NBC’s live-televised adaptation of the Broadway musical Hairspray Live! (2017) playing the role of Wilbur Turnblad.

Martin Short lost his wife, Nancy Dolman, of 30 years, to ovarian cancer, on August 21st, 2010. As a result o, he has been an activist for the Woman’s Cancer Research Fund, in 2011, received a “Courage Award” for his efforts. 

Despite suffering many tragedies in his life, Martin Short has become one of the funniest comedians of his generation. He will be forever remembered for creating the characters of Ed Grimley and Jiminy Glick, but beyond those roles he has been fortunate enough to make audiences laugh in every medium of entertainment for more than 40 years.