Disney Legend Marge Champion Passed Away recently at Age 101

The very talented Disney Legend, Marge Champion, has passed away at age 101 on October 21, 2020. Her beautiful life and talents were an inspiration for many Disney characters, including most notably, Snow White. Learn all about Marge’s role with Disney as shared below by D23.

We are sorry to report that Disney Legend Marge Champion, a gifted actress and dancer who was the live-action reference model for several of the most beloved characters of Walt Disney’s golden age of animation, most notably the iconic heroine of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, has passed away. She was 101.

In addition to Snow White, Champion’s expressive movements also helped inspire Disney animators as they created Pinocchio’s graceful Blue Fairy and the poised Hyacinth the Hippo from the “Dance of the Hours” segment of Fantasia, a ballet parody that she also helped choreograph. Champion’s Disney memories also included doing some modeling for Mr. Stork from Dumbo and Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Marge Champion

“Marge Champion brought all of her many talents to help bring iconic silver-screen women—from Snow White, to the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio, to characters in Fantasia—to animated life,” Jennifer Lee, chief creative officer, Walt Disney Animation Studios, said. “Walt Disney Animation Studios owes Marge, a Disney Legend and pioneer in animation, our deepest respect and gratitude.”

Born Marjorie Celeste Belcher on September 2, 1919, in Los Angeles, Champion had an affinity for dance from an early age. Her father, Ernest Belcher, was her first teacher. He was a noted Hollywood ballet coach who trained Shirley Temple, Cyd Charisse, and Gwen Verdon. Champion became a ballet teacher at her father’s studio by the time she was 12, and it was soon after that when a talent scout came to the studio and invited her to audition for a cartoon—an idea that seemed preposterous to Champion at the time.

Marge Champion

“The atmosphere was like a giant high school or college, as far as I was concerned. Mr. Disney, for me, was like a very friendly head principal. Now, that’s a 14-year-old’s point of view. I later on learned that he was probably one of the most important men, certainly in animation, and probably in the movie industry,” Champion recalled.

As the live-action reference model for Snow White, Champion acted out scenes and performed dances and special movements so the animators could caricature her actions and make their celluloid princess as human as possible. She told Entertainment Weekly in 2016, “There was no choreography: I was making it up as we went along and showing them how to dance.”

Under the name “Marjorie Bell,” Champion appeared in the films Honor of the West and All Women Have Secrets, but she truly became a legend after embarking on a creative partnership with Gower Champion, whom she married in 1947. The pair appeared together in hit musical films that included Show BoatLovely to Look AtGive a Girl a Break, and Jupiter’s Darling, becoming the screen’s most popular dance team since Astaire and Rogers.

Marge Champion

The Champions’ popularity soared through their many television appearances on series such as The Red Skelton ShowGeneral Electric TheaterThe United States Steel HourThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show, and Toast of the Town. The couple even starred in their own situation comedy, The Marge and Gower Champion Show, which ran briefly in 1957, in which Marge played a dancer and Gower a choreographer.

Extending their incredible partnership to the stage, Marge and Gower Champion also staged the dances for the Broadway musical revues Lend an Ear and Make a Wish.

Following the couple’s divorce in 1973, Champion co-authored two books with Marilee Zdenek, Catch the New Wind and God Is a Verb. She choreographed Whose Life Is It Anyway?The Day of the Locust, and Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, for which she received an Emmy Award®. In 1997, Massachusetts honored Marge with its Commonwealth Award, citing her “leadership as a true patron of the arts.”

Marge Champion

Champion was honored as a Disney Legend in 2007.

In 2019, in celebration of Champion’s 100th birthday, animator and animation historian John Canemaker paid tribute to the Disney Legend on his blog and shared some of her recollections of helping bring Snow White to life. In the post, Champion recalled “a crude set” intended to evoke a fairy-tale forest, and spoke of using props and listening to the film’s soundtrack on playback while embodying the heroine through her movements. She found it to be an enjoyable process, and shared with Canemaker her delight in seeing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for the first time on the big screen: “When I finally saw the finished product,” Champion said, “I realized that every single movement was mine.”

Regis Philbin, Legendary Television Host & Disney Legend, Dies at 88

We are sad to hear the news today that Regis Philbin has died. The beloved star was 88. According to PEOPLE, the longtime television host died on July 24. “We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday,” his family shares with PEOPLE in an exclusive statement on Saturday.

AppleMark

As shared by Disney Fandom, Regis Philbin was an American media personality, actor, and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. For Disney, Regis voiced Typhon in the Hercules episode “Hercules and the Return of Typhon”, and himself in the Lilo & Stitch: The Series episode “Drowsy”. He also hosted the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade in the Magic Kingdom from 1991 to 2008, was one of the celebrities featured in Superstar Limo and appeared as a guest star in the Phineas and Ferb spin-off Take Two with Phineas and Ferb.

On ABC, he was also the former host of Live with Regis and Kelly, as well as the primetime U.S. version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, an international game show franchise that originated in the United Kingdom in 1998, and premiered in the United States in 1999. He also appeared in Single Parents.   

In 2011, Philbin was named a Disney Legend, as announced by D23.

Polynesian Village Resort Legend “Aunty” Kau’i Brandt Passes at 88

Kau’i Brandt, the beloved Hawaiian cultural representative and former dancer from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort better known as “Aunty Kau’i”, has passed away.

88-year-old Anake “Aunty” Kau’I Brandt was a Disney legend at the Polynesian, entertaining guests with hula dances and hand-made leis for over 30 years. The Hawaii-native was born in 1932 and grew up during the Pearl Harbor era before being trained as one of the state’s most famous hula dancers.

After being spotted by Disney talent scouts while performing in Waikiki in the 1960s, it took three attempts to get her to consider to leave Hawaii for a prospective luau show at Disneyland. Kau’i was reticent to leave, stating “I’ve always heard once you leave Hawaii, you never go back.”

In 1971, she left for Florida to help open Disney’s Polynesian Village resort, and she became a staple of the resort ever since. Brandt helped develop and launch the popular luau shows at Disneyland and Walt Disney World and continued working full-time at the Polynesian long after leaving the stage, as a cultural representative.

For many fans of the Poly, saying hi to Aunty Kau’i was part of the essential resort experience, and for regulars, she was regarded as an old friend, and the very embodiment of the spirit of Hawaii.

Bob Matheison, Disney Legend, Dead at 85

Disney Legend Bob Matheison, a key figure in Walt Disney World’s history, from the development process to serving as Director of Operations for the Magic Kingdom at its 1971 opening to Executive Vice President of Parks for the resort in 1987, has passed away at the age of 85.

Image result for bob mathieson disney"

From D23’s Disney Legends page for Matheison:

Bob Matheison wore many hats while working for the Disney theme parks. Among his contributions, he helped develop Walt Disney World and create its executive training program. Bob never considered his contributions to be “legendary,” but instead pointed to his fellow employees. “I got to work with people that believed in loyalty, camaraderie and sticking it out through good days and bad days,” he said. “No one person could do everything by himself or herself. It was a team effort.”

Born January 30, 1934, in Portland, Oregon, Bob graduated from the University of Southern California in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications. After college, he served two years with the United States Army at Fort Hood, Texas, working as chief of the radio-television branch of the information office. For the next two years, he broadcast news, sports, and special events from radio station WFAA in Dallas, Texas. During his broadcast career, he also served as the “voice” of the California Angels and the USC Trojans.

Image result for bob matheison"

In 1960, Bob received a call from an old college friend, who offered him a job at Disneyland as a sound coordinator. Bob accepted, becoming responsible for programming anything audible to guests, ranging from recorded music to teaching Jungle Cruise guides how to speak into their microphones. Bob then became manager of Guest Relations and, later, helped produce live radio and television broadcasts from Disneyland.

By 1965, Walt had tapped Bob to manage the operation of it’s a small world and to supervise the technical assistance staff for Magic SkywayGreat Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and the Carousel of Progress at the New York World’s Fair.

Bob returned to California in 1966 to head the research and development team for Walt Disney World. He presented facts and recommendations to Walt about sizing, facilities, and other factors, and also helped develop a 13-week executive training program for Walt Disney World. This was the forerunner of Disney’s current corporate training program.

In 1969, Bob was named director of operations at Disneyland and, a year later, he carried the title to Florida. There, he outlined an operating plan for the new theme park.

He recalled the Park’s October 1, 1971 opening:

“We didn’t want to open to a big crowd, so we opened after school started. The day after Thanksgiving, however, we backed traffic up almost to Orlando.”

He was promoted to vice president of operations in 1972, and was bumped up to vice president of the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT Center in 1984. Three years later, Bob was promoted to executive vice president of parks, Walt Disney World.

Bob Matheison retired in February 1994, after 34 years with The Walt Disney Company.

Matheison was named a Disney Legend in 1996.