Adriana Caselotti

Adriana Caselotti

Adriana Caselotti

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Adriana Caselotti
Name	Adriana Elena Loreta Caselotti The Original Voice of Snow White The Definitive Snow White

Adriana Caselotti (May 6, 1916 – January 18, 1997) was an Italian-American opera singer who was best known for her role as Snow White in Walt Disney's 1937 classic film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Adriana was a soprano who was family trained in Italian opera, her family consisted of all classically trained singers.

Her mother Maria Orefice from Naples was an opera singer at the Royal Opera Theatre of Rome. In 1935 a Disney representative called Adriana's father Guido Caselotti a singing teacher and asked him if he knew of anyone who would be perfect for the role of Snow White.

Adriana asked her father to give her the phone so she could audition. 150 girls auditioned for the role of Snow White, including Deanna Durbin. Adriana who had operatic training was able to read music and completed her audition for Disney. For a year she heard nothing back from Disney.

For the final audition she was called back as the 150th applicant. During the audition process Walt Disney sat behind a dark drape because he didn't want the singers' physical appearances to influence him. She won the role, and was asked to record the soundtrack which she did without accompaniment, the track was later dubbed with full orchestra. For the film premiere Adriana brought a black velvet gown for $2 on Hollywood Boulevard, she went to the premiere with Harry Stockwell, who did the voice of Prince Charming.

The two had never met until that night. Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland, Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich were among the Hollywood stars attending the premiere. When Caselotti and Stockwell arrived they were asked for their tickets. Adriana said "I'm Snow White and this is Prince Charming and we don't need tickets" but the little usherette said, "Oh yes you do." They'd forgotten to give them tickets.

"Judy Garland, Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich and Charlie Chaplin, all applauding for me, and I'm standing upstairs in the very back of the balcony looking down because there weren't any seats for two of the film's stars." - Adriana Caselotti.

So Adriana who'd never even seen the rushes, watched the completed animation while standing on the balcony. Angry at the ticket oversight Harry Stockwell left after 20 minutes.

In 1938, a year after the film's debut Adriana and Harry Stockwell filed separate suits against Disney Productions Ltd., and the R.C.A manufacturing company, and charged that the defendants had violated their contracts by making records for the film's soundtrack without their consent. Stockwell stated that he had only been paid $500, and asked for $100,000. Whereas Adriana claimed she only made near to $1,000, and sued Disney for $200,000.

Disney representatives claimed their contracts covered all rights. In 1967 Adriana recorded some "Snow White" dialogue for the Telephone Association of Canada Exhibit for Montreal's Expo '67, which allowed children to dial a conversation with their favorite Disney character. Other characters included Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck and Pinocchio.

In a 1983 interview Adriana Caselotti admitted that the voice she created for Snow White was actually just an imitation of Betty Boop's voice, and that she had created Snow White's speaking voice by imitating Betty Boop.

Despite Snow White having a brief cameo in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," Caselotti did not reprise her role as Snow White again, therefore Snow White remained mute. However Mae Questel, who was retired and was suffering from dementia at the time reprised her role as Betty Boop.

Caselotti's replacement "Mary Kay Bergman" said that Caselotti was the "definitive" Snow White.

Quotes

• Adriana Caselotti: "I imitated cartoon character Betty Boop." (1983)

• Adriana Caselotti: "My father said 'Get off the phone, Adriana,' but the man said that I might have a chance." (1983)

• Adriana Caselotti: "I really feel as though I have been Snow White all my life." (1983)

• Adriana Caselotti: "I'm not stupid or a nut or anything." (1983)

• Adriana Caselotti: "But I still go around the house singing Snow White songs. It never ends." (1983)

• Adriana Caselotti: "Walt Disney was looking for a girl who could sing and speak like a child, and who was also able to do operatic work." (1983)

• Adriana Caselotti: "You had to be able to sing and speak in the same scale, and that's not easy." (1983)

• Adriana Caselotti: "Pinto Colvig, the voice of Grumpy, Sleepy and he did the bubbles for Dopey. Pluto and Goofy." (1992)

• Adriana Caselotti: "Shirley Temple handed the academy award to Walt Disney for Snow White." (1992)

• Adriana Caselotti: "I deserve more money but won't sue. I realize I may have to ask." (1993)

• Adrianna Caselotti: "I don't want to go through what Peggy Lee had to go through." (1993)

Trivia

• Adriana is a Disney Legend.

• She was blacklisted by Walt Disney and originally was uncredited for the role of Snow White.

• In 1938 she sued Disney and RCA for $200,000 but the case was dismissed and thrown out in court. Disney stated that she had signed all her rights in her performance every time she put her signature to her paycheck.

• After suing Walt Disney, the Disney studios used a sound-a-like to voice Snow White in the radio adaptions. The sound-a-like later complained that she too like Caselotti was uncredited for her role.

• Caselotti's contract prevented her from working for other studios.

• She was only paid $970 for her uncredited role.

• Being as Adriana Caselotti's voice for Snow White was based on Betty Boop's it would make her a Betty Boop impersonator.

• Grim Natwick also admitted to using the character Betty Boop as inspiration to create Snow White. Initially Snow White was going to "look more like Betty Boop" until Walt Disney rejected the idea.

• Adriana was succeeded by Mary Kay Bergman as the voice of Snow White. Bergman also did "Betty Boop" impersonations.

• Marge Champion served as the live-action model and reference for Snow White.

• Though Snow White's "speaking" voice is childlike and was based on the way Betty spoke, Snow White doesn't sing in baby-talk, she sings in the operatic style.

• In some "Disney" Snow White parodies, they make Snow White sing and talk like Betty Boop. Disney sued over a skit in 1989 by Allan Carr that featured Eileen Bowman as Snow White singing like Betty Boop. Carr was shunned by Hollywood after the skit and Bowman's career never took off.

• Adriana requested more work but never got any. She is quoted as saying: "Walt Disney never used me as an actress or vocalist again."

• In 1993 Caselotti was to reprise her role as Snow White and recorded her lines for the Awards Show. But Jeffrey Katzenberg made a controversial decision to use Mary Kay Bergman (Caselotti's voice double) to re-record her lines. He also ordered Disney to update Snow White's design. When Adriana saw the show she was upset and complaints poured in from bewildered Disney fans.

• While Adriana Caselotti was alive, her voice double Mary Kay Bergman would never admit to voicing Snow White.

• Margie Hines, the original voice of Betty Boop was also an opera singer. You can hear Hines sing opera in the Fleischer Studios 1930 cartoon Grand Uproar, and the Van Beuren Studios cartoons Piano Tooners, Hokum Hotel, Magic Mummy, Venice Vamp, Opening Night and Barnyard Amateurs.

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