Paddi Edwards: Ghostly Entertaining

If you’re a fan of Disney Animation like I am, Halloween is as a time for celebrating and (or at least acknowledging) Disney villains. Throughout the history of Disney, the villains have always been voiced by talented actors—all of whose voices have unique qualities, from deep tones to harsh rasps. In this blog, I’d like to tell you about an actress who was known for having a raspy voice that she lent to a variety of films, most notably The Little Mermaid (1989). 

Patricia Mary Ursula Edwards was born on March 8th, 1931, in Bristol, England. She and her family relocated to Waban, Massachusetts where she officially became a U.S. citizen at the age of 21. In 1960, she made her official debut in the British film Inn for Trouble, a spin-off of a television series. In 1982, she starred as the Secretary in Halloween 3: Season of the Witch. Not long after that, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis were casting for their upcoming film project in Ghostbusters (1984), having just cast Yugoslavian actress Slavitza Jovan to portray the ruthless deity Gozer, they decided that her Slavic accent was too comical. Since they wanted the character of Gozer to be one of the scarier elements of the film, Paddi Edwards’ spookier voice turned out to be just what they were looking for. 

After lending her voice to “Ghostbusters,” Paddi Edwards made a guest-star appearance on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, playing the role of Anya the shape-shifting mother figure in “The Dauphin” episode which aired on television in 1989. The same year, Edwards was hired by Disney to voice the dual role of Ursula’s two evil eels in “Little Mermaid.” It is ironic, considering that Flotsam and Jetsam worked for a sea witch named Ursula in the movie, and one of Paddi Edwards’ real middle names is Ursula! In 1997, she was rehired by Disney to voice one of the Fates in Hercules (1997) which was co-written/co-directed by John Musker and Ron Clements who also co-wrote/co-directed “Mermaid.” She also lent her voices to Disney’s direct-to-video sequels to The Brave Little Toaster (1987), The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1997) and The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (1998). Around the time of these movies, Edwards also lent her voices to Disney television shows as well, including 101: Dalmatians: The Series (1997-1998) and Pepper Ann (1997-2000), voicing the character of Vera Groober-Schwartz. She continued to voice that character, along with lending her voice to An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000), the direct-to-video sequel to A Goofy Movie (1995), before her untimely death due to respiratory failure on October 19th, 1999 at the age of 68.

Paddi Edwards has a unique body of work in the entertainment industry. Remembered as the voices of Gozer in “Ghostbusters,” Flotsam and Jetsam in “Little Mermaid,” or to Trekkies as Anya in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” though I’m sure we can all agree that her spooky voice served as an asset to every film and/or television show that she was a part of.  

Absolute Classics part 2

You might remember from two weeks ago that we began a tribute to films that are considered classics today—but weren’t necessarily beloved when they first came out. I’d like to continue our tribute to such films in this blog. Please feel free to comment on anything you find interesting.

Most movie buffs remember the year 1987 as the year of films of Fatal Attraction, Moonstruck, Broadcast News, or even The Untouchables. Each of the aforementioned films were huge hits! But hard core movie buffs might also remember 1987 as the year of The Princess Bride, which was released on September 25th, 1987. Although the film was critically well-reviewed in its initial release, it only grossed $30.8 million in the United States and Canada while on a $16 million dollar budget. It seemed, audiences didn’t know what genre defined the film, fairy tale/medieval satire, swashbuckling adventure, romance story, or a comedy. One reviewer who said said “Hey, it’s a cute movie. And if you need to do something in the afternoon, go ahead, take your kids.” The film however, did begin to gain cult status in the video market when it was released on Laserdisc in 1988, VHS in 1994, DVD in 2000, and Blu Ray in 2018. The same year that it was released on DVD (2000), the magazine Total Film voted it as the greatest comedy of all time. The film’s male star, Cary Elwes, also wrote a book in 2014 called As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From the Making of the Princess Bride in which he and Rob Reiner explain that one of the main reasons that “Princess Bride,” is a special film is because it is combines all of those genres into one plot.

1993 was the same year that the Walt Disney Company produced two beloved Halloween-themed films. The second was Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, though the first was Hocus Pocus. “Hocus Pocus,” was released on July 16th, 1993, and received mixed-to-negative reviews. Gene Siskel from The Chicago Tribune wrote that the film was “a ‘dreadful witches’ comedy with the only tolerable moment coming when Bette Middler presents a single song.” The Miami Herald referred to it as a “pretty lackluster affair. Despite the triple-threat actress combo, Hocus Pocus won’t be the Sister Act of 1993. There are a lot of go-sees this summer and this isn’t one of them.” The film also grossed only $8.1 million and was only in the top ten ranking of summer of ’93 films for two weeks. However, just like “Princess Bride,” this film gained cult status when it was released on VHS in 1994, DVD in 2002, and Blu Ray in 2018, which was just in time for the film’s 25th anniversary. The film has also been aired on television by the Disney Channel, ABC, and ABC Family’s 13 nights of Halloween, where it gains more viewers more and more every year. 2009’s broadcast of the film drew 2.5 million viewers and when it aired last year on Freeform, the viewing was averaged at 8.2 million.               

I hope you enjoyed our tribute to these classic films. Let me know which is your favorite, or if you have another you think I should have talked about.

Absolute Classics part 1

What do you think the term classic means? Is it something that stand the test of time? Award-winning? Hailed by critics? Something nostalgic? Or is it something that is simply beautiful and you wouldn’t imagine it any other way? No matter your definition, there are all kinds of movies that are considered classics. Some of the most widely accepted classics today, however, were not an “instant classic” when they were released. In this blog, I’d like to tell you about some of them, continuing with more next week. 

When The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939, the film didn’t exactly take everyone who saw it “Over the Rainbow.” Some moviegoers thought that Judy Garland was just a little too old to play L. Frank Baum’s 12-year-old Dorothy Gale. A reviewer of The New Yorker named Russell Maloney wrote that the film displayed “no trace of imagination, good taste, or ingenuity,” and was a “stinkeroo.” Although the film grossed a total of $3,017,000 (that’s both the US and worldwide—a lot of money in 1939), because of its high production costs and various distribution and other costs, it put Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) $1,145,000 in debt. In 1956, however, CBS purchased the rights to air the film on television, and it was on television that the film began to gain iconic status. Many adults young and old were “raised” on the annual network television event that it became-and its popularity only continued to grow when it was released on VHS in 1980, DVD in 1997, and Blu Ray in 2009.

In December of 1946, the term “Christmas holiday tradition” was given an entirely new meaning with Frank Capra’s sentimental classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Sadly, not everyone at that time saw the “wonderful” value of the film, and it lost $525,000 for its distribution company RKO. A critic named Bosley Crowther, wrote in for the New York Times, “The weakness of this picture from the reviewers point of view is the sentimentality of it-its illusory concept of life. Mr. Capra’s nice people are charming, his small town is a quite beguiling place and his pattern for solving problems is most optimistic and facile. But somehow, they all resemble theatrical attitudes rather than average realities.” Another film critic named Manny Farber wrote “To make his points (Capra) always takes an easy, simple-minded path that doesn’t give much credit to the intelligence of the audience,” and he added that it has only a “few unsentimental moments here and there.” The Oscars were kind enough to give the film a total of five nominations, but four out of those five nominations went to William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Just like with “Wizard of Oz,” seven years earlier, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” gained popularity when airing on television, though that didn’t happen until 1976. There it gained positive reception , and along with being released on VHS in the ‘80s, DVD in 2001, and Blu Ray in 2009, it is widely considered a “must” for Christmas-time viewing.

MGM produced Singin’ in the Rain in 1952. This film was only a moderate hit when it was first released, grossing $5.5 million in the US and internationally, though it did earn MGM a profit. And although the film provides “Best Picture Oscar” quality, in reality the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences only nominated the film for Best Original Score and Best Supporting Actress for Jean Hagen for her performance as spoiled screen diva, Lina Lamont. The film’s male lead star, Gene Kelly, previously made An American in Paris (1951) and that film was much more successful, winning the Best Picture Oscar that year, as well as five other Oscars. In 1989, however, Singin’ in the Rain was among the first 25 films to be inducted into the National Film Registry for films that are considered “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” whereas “An American in Paris,” wasn’t inducted until 1993. This film was later readapted for the Broadway Stage in 1985, and was released on VHS in 1992, DVD in 2002, and Blu Ray in 2012. 

Today each of these films are included on AFI’s (American Film Institute’s) Top 100 Movies with “It’s a Wonderful Life,” at #20, “The Wizard of Oz,” at #10, and “Singin’ in the Rain,” at #5. Please feel free to comment on any of these movies and tune in again when we continue our tribute to underrated classics.  

Real Life Mickeys and Minnies

There have been dozens and dozens of talented people throughout Disney’s history who were fortunate enough to be hired by the studio to work on and/or perform in films and TV. Some were married couples, even working closely together, and occasionally on the same show! The tradition began at the studio during Walt’s time, and continues today. Here are some examples:

Marc Davis was one of Walt’s “Nine Old Men” and he animated many “leading lady” characters at the studio including Cinderella in Cinderella (1950), Tinker Bell in Peter Pan (1953), and Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty (1959). His widow, Alice Estes Davis, was a costume designer for Disney, and designed the Briar Rose costume for Sleeping Beauty. They were married in 1956, three years before “Beauty” was released, and not long after, Alice met with Walt Disney himself, who was blown away by her work. Walt also asked her to design costumes for the live-action film Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks With a Circus (1960) as well as the beloved Disney Parks attraction “It’s a Small World.” The Davises also worked together designing the animatronics and costumes for “Pirates of the Caribbean.” and “The Haunted Mansion.”

John McIntire and Jeanette Nolan were actors who were married for 56 years. They first appeared together in the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho (1960), and the film Cloak and Dagger (1984), as well as in television shows like Wagon Train (1957-1962), The Virginian (1962-1971), and The Fugitive (1963-1967). They made their first appearance for Disney in The Rescuers (1977) in which McIntire voiced Rufus the Cat and Nolan voiced Ellie Mae the Mouse. They did voice work again in The Fox and the Hound (1981) (McIntire voiced Mr. Digger the Badger and and Nolan played the Widow Tweed). McIntire also appeared in Disney’s Herbie Rides Again (1974) and the Touchstone Pictures film Turner & Hooch (1989) and Jeanette Nolan appeared in a made-for-television film called “The Sky’s the Limit,” which aired on The Wonderful World of Disney (1954-present).

Julie Andrews was cast in Mary Poppins (1964) as a result of impressing Walt Disney in her portrayal of Queen Guinevere in Lerner and Lowe’s Camelot. Not long after she was hired, Walt asked her then-husband, Tony Walton, what he did for a living, and he explained that he was a costume designer. That being the case, Walt also hired him to serve as a design consultant and a costume consultant for “Poppins,” and he received a Best Costume Design Oscar Nomination for his efforts, along with his wife who received a Best Actress Nomination for her performance as the magical nanny, and also won. Although Tony lost the Costume Design Award to Cecil Beaton in My Fair Lady (1964), he won a Best Art Direction Oscar 15 years later for the film All That Jazz (1979), an award that he also shared with Philip Rosenberg, Edward Stewart, and Gary J. Brink. 

When ABC Studios (which is owned by Disney) green-lit Once Upon a Time (2011-2018), Ginnifer Goodwin was cast in the role of Mary Margaret Blanchard, aka “Snow White” and Josh Dallas was cast opposite her in the role of David Nolan, aka “Prince Charming.” It ironically led to a real life romance between Dallas and Goodwin and they were married on April 14th, 2014. They continued portraying their characters on “Once,” for the entire run of the show, though only appeared in the series finale episode of the show’s 7th season. In addition to “Once,” both Goodwin and Dallas provided voices to Disney’s Oscar-winning animated feature Zootopia (2016), in which Goodwin voiced leading character Officer Judy Hopps and Dallas voiced the Frantic Pig. Goodwin has also lent her voice to the Disney Channel/ Junior Series Sofia the First (2012-2018) and the direct-to-video movie Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Never Beast (2015) and Dallas portrayed Fandral in Marvel’s Thor (2011). 

It’s fun to find out that people who share their private lives together were able to collaborate in their field of expertise. That it happened inside Disney’s wonderful world makes it even more special!       

Adventures from Odyssey to Disney

If you grew up in the ‘90s, like I did, and went to church you might have at some point either listened to the radio series or watched the video series Adventures in Odyssey from Focus on the Family. Focus was founded in Southern California, but based in Colorado Springs, CO. Both programs told stories about faith in the Lord through the adventures of some kids who frequented an arcade and ice cream shop called “Whit’s End.” The continues, and now in its 32nd year. The show featured characters who were brought to life by talented voice actors, but, interestingly, many of those voice actors, in addition to lending their voices to “Odyssey,” also did voices for Disney!

• Hal Smith originated the role of John Avery “Whit” Whitaker from 1987 until his death in 1994. Before his unfortunate death, Smith explained that role of Whit was one of the most rewarding these he’s ever done in his life, and that Whit was also one of his all-time favorite roles. Smith was also generous enough to help fellow other actors at Disney be cast in “Odyssey.” Previously, Smith originated the role of Owl in the “Winnie the Pooh,” franchise at Disney at 1966 and continued to voice that character from 1966-1991. He was cast as Owl around the time he wrapped up eight seasons of playing his trademark role of Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1966). Smith also voiced Winnie the Pooh himself for nine years after “Pooh,” originator Sterling Holloway retired in 1977. Smith voiced Belle’s horse Philippe in Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Jafar’s horse in Aladdin (1992) as well. After his unfortunate passing, in the role of Whit was assumed by Paul Herlinger, who portrayed the character from 1996-2008. Whit is currently voiced by Andre Stojka, who coincidentally is Disney’s current voice of Owl in “Winnie the Pooh.”
• Will Ryan has voiced a variety of characters on “Odyssey,” though his best known role is that of brainiac Eugene Meltsner. On “Odyssey,” he also voiced Harlow Doyle, Officer David Harley, and over 100 others. For Disney, Will Ryan is the current voice of Willie the Giant, (the Giant from Fun and Fancy Free (1947)). He began voicing the character in 1983 for Mickey’s Christmas Carol, in which he also voiced the villainous Pete. Ryan also voiced Tigger, Rabbit, and was the singing voice of Eeyore in the Disney Channel Series Welcome to Pooh Corner (1983-1986), which also featured the voice of “Odyssey,” co-star, Hal Smith. In addition to lending his voice to shows, Ryan, who is also a gifted musician, co-wrote music for a Disney album called “Goin’ Quackers,” and has done voice-work for Disney Park Attractions, i.e. Gepetto at Pinocchio’s Daring Journey attraction and the Weasel at Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin, both of which are located at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. Besides all of his Disney roles, Will Ryan also voiced Digit the cockroach in An American Tail (1986) and Petrie the Flyer in The Land Before Time (1988), both of which were directed by former Disney animator, Don Bluth.
• Katie Leigh was cast in the role of “Odyssey” youth Connie Kendall in 1987, even though in reality, Leigh was a legal adult at the time. For Disney, Leigh provided the voice of Dumbo the Flying Elephant on the Disney Channel Series Dumbo’s Circus (1985) which also featured the voices of Hal Smith and Will Ryan, as well as Jim Cummings, who voiced the character of Darkwing Duck in Darkwing Duck (1991-1992), in which Leigh voiced the character of Honker Muddlefoot. Prior to that show, Leigh, Cummings, and Ryan also lent their voices to Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985-1991). Outside of Disney, Leigh is also known for being the speaking voice of the Maharaja in Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and she also originated the role of Baby Rowlf in the CBS Series Baby Muppets (1984-1991).
• Alan Young was hired in 1994 to provide the voice of Whit’s college buddy, Jack Allen, in 1994. Long before he was cast in that role, however, he was already a Disney Veteran for voicing Donald Duck’s greedy uncle Scrooge McDuck, a role he began voicing in 1974 and continued voicing till his death in 2016. He also made a brief appearance in the film The Cat From Outer Space (1978), and later voiced Hiram Flaversham, father of Olivia Flaversham in The Great Mouse Detective (1986). Young also helped write the Disneyland Records 1974 Album An Adaptation of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, performed by the Walt Disney Players, where he voiced both Scrooge McDuck, and ironically Mickey Mouse! Besides his Disney roles, one might also recognize him as Mr. Ed’s Jockey, Wilbur Post from Mister Ed (1961-1996) or from The Time Machine (1960), and he also made a cameo in the remake which was released in 2002.           

These four actors are talented in everything that they do and the characters they voice are enduring because of them. I’m sure we can call agree that both Disney and Focus on the Family were lucky to have hired them.

Double-Accoladed Actors part…2

Two weeks ago I promised a second part to the blog I wrote on Actors who have been nominated for an Oscar for playing the same character twice in two different films. Please feel free to continue the dialogue on this interesting segment of the acting community!

• Sylvester Stallone wrote and starred in Rocky (1976), portraying the leading role of Rocky Balboa. The film earned him Oscar nominations for his Acting performance as well as his Original Screenplay, though Stallone lost both awards to Network (1976): Peter Finch for his Acting performance and Paddy Chayefsky for Original Screenplay. In “Rocky,” Stallone also served as the boxing choreographer, and was generous enough to give bit parts in the film to his father and his brother, who share the name Frank, and his dog, Butkus. In addition to being one of the six actors nominated twice for playing the same character, Stallone is also the third person to be nominated for acting and writing in the same year, following Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator (1940) and Orson Welles in Citizen Kane (1941). Stallone currently is the record-holder for the most years in between nominations for playing the same character in a gap of 39 years, recreating the “Balboa” role in Creed (2015), in which he was nominated in the supporting category. He was defeated yet again by Mark Rylance for Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies (2015).
• Paul Newman originated the role of “Fast Eddie” Felson in The Hustler (1961). Before Newman was cast in this film, ironically, he had never held a pool cue. It was because of this that he took out the dining room from his home and installed a pool table—so he could spend literally every hour practicing and do all of his own shots in the film. At one point, he even challenged co-star, Jackie Gleason, who in reality was a much better pool player, to a $50 bet on a pool game. Although Gleason won, and Newman paid him the next day with a total of 5000 pennies, Gleason and Newman did become close friends and Newman was able to improve on his own skills while making the movie. Newman later went on to recreate the role 25 years later in Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money (1986). Newman said that he felt that Scorsese was the right person to direct the sequel because he liked the way Scrosese directed Raging Bull (1980) six years earlier. “Raging Bull,” is a biopic on boxer, Jake LaMotta, who was impersonated in the film by Robert DeNiro who won an Oscar for the performance, though the real LaMotta, ironically, appeared as a bartender in “The Hustler.”
• Cate Blanchett first played the role of Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998). At the time, Cate Blanchett wasn’t internationally known as a movie star, though that was remedied as a result of this one. Ironically, in 1998, Dame Judi Dench was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for her 8-minute portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998). Although Blanchett lost the Leading Oscar to Gwyneth Paltrow for her portrayal of Viola De Lesseps in “Shakespeare in Love,” Dench won. (Coincidentally, this movie also starred Joseph Fiennes and Geoffrey Rush who also appeared in “Shakespeare in Love,” and both films were nominated for Best Picture as well. “Shakespeare” won.) Blanchett reprised her role as Queen Elizabeth I 19 years later in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007). This nomination made Blanchett the only woman to be nominated for an Oscar twice for playing the same character in two different movies. Although she lost the award to Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose (2007), she won for the first time as Best Supporting Actress for her impersonation of Katharine Hepburn in Scorsese’s The Aviator (2004) and the second time in the Leading Category for her portrayal of Jasmine in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine (2013). To this day, Blanchett is also the only Oscar-winning actress ever to win an Oscar for impersonating another Oscar winner.  

Wayne + Russi = Mickey and Minnie

1977. The release year for films such as The Rescuers, Freaky Friday, Pete’s Dragon, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It was also the year the Disney Studios was looking for a new voice talent for Mickey Mouse—after the retirement of the studio’s Sound Effects Head, Jimmy MacDonald, who had voiced the character since 1947, and had assumed the role from Walt Disney himself. 

The studio hired Wayne Allwine, who began his career working in the Disney Studio mailing room, and later in the sound effects department under MacDonald’s mentorship. Allwine made his debut as Mickey Mouse in The All New Mickey Mouse Club in 1977, the first television revival of the Original Mickey Mouse Club (It aired on television from 1955-1958). Allwine’s first theatrical appearance as Mickey happened in 1983 when Disney produced Mickey’s Christmas Carol in which Mickey Mouse portrays Bob Cratchit.

Russi Taylor, on the other hand, began her career voicing the baby from Ted and Georgette’s marriage on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977). She also voiced Strawberry Shortcake in the characters first six original television specials. She won the role of Minnie Mouse in 1986, (succeeding Ruth Gordon and Janet Waldo (Judy Jetson’s voice)), beating more than 200 actresses for the part! Her debut as Minnie was in a special called DTV: Doggone Valentine in 1987. She met Allwine, at a recording session for a television special called Totally Minnie which aired in 1988. 

Surprisingly, Taylor and Allwine fell in love—and became husband and wife in 1991. Together, they began voicing Minnie and Mickey together on a regular basis, from the television show Disney’s House of Mouse (2001-2003) to the direct-to-video movies Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999) and Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004) to the Magic Kingdom Park Atrraction, Mickey’s Philhar Magic, which opened at the Magic Kingdom in 2003. Taylor also succeeded Clarence Nash as the voice of Donald Duck’s three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, in the series DuckTales (1987-1990).

Besides Mickey, Wayne Allwine also voiced the Horned King’s Guards in The Black Cauldron (1985), and one of Professor Ratigan’s cronies in The Great Mouse Detective (1986). Around the time he voiced Mickey, Allwine also lent his talents as a sound effects editor to Disney/Touchstone-produced films such as Splash (1984) and Three Men and a Baby (1987). He continued to voice the character of Mickey Mouse for a total of 32 years until his untimely death on May 18th, 2009, due to acute diabetes, at the age of 62. His last performances as Mickey were in the video game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and in the “Goofy Babysitter,” episode of The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse which aired on television in 2011. Both programs of which were dedicated in his memory.

Around the time that she got the part of Minnie Mouse, Russi Taylor also succeeded Clarence Nash as the voice of Donald Duck’s three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie in ‘86. Besides that, she lent her voice to several direct-to-video sequels: Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True (2002), The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006), Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time (2007). In addition, she had voice parts on the television shows: Jake and the Neverland Pirates (2011-2016) Sofia the First (2012-2018). In addition to all of her Disney roles, Taylor also voiced Pebbles Flintstone in The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1980) and the character of Martin Prince in The Simpsons (1989-present). Taylor voiced the character of Minnie Mouse for a total of 33 years before she passed away of colon cancer on July 26, 2019 at the age of 75.

The romantic relationship of Mickey and Minnie Mouse represents a huge part of the legacy of Disney and it continues to stand the test of time. From the time they debuted together in the short Plane Crazy in 1928, to their more recent appearance together in the ABC television special Mickey’s 90th Spectacular in 2018, Allwine and Russell were a classic pair. Walt Disney is started their life together, but it was Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor who made the magic last!