Jacqueline Ruth "Ilene" Woods (May 5, 1929 â€" July 1, 2010) was an
American actress and singer. Woods was the original voice of the title
character of the Walt Disney animated feature Cinderella, for which
she was named a Disney Legend in 2003.Woods was born on May 5, 1929.
Woods' mother worked behind the scenes of films, taking Woods with
her. As a little girl, Woods dreamed about becoming a schoolteacher,
but her mother planned to make her a star instead. Woods started
acting at the age of two. At the age of 15, Woods was hired, along
with Bob Johnstone, by Paul Whiteman to sing on his summer 1944
replacement show, "The Philco Hall of Fame" on the NBC Blue Network
(which later became ABC Radio). The network quickly added her own
radio program during that same summer, The Ilene Woods Show. The
entire show was 15 minutes of music, broadcast three days per week.
Many songwriters came on the show to present their music; this is how
she became friends with Mack David and Jerry Livingston. She then
moved to California.In 1948, two of her songwriter friends, Mack David
and Jerry Livingston, called Woods to record "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo", "A
Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", and "So This is Love". Soon, the
songs were presented to Walt Disney so that they could be used in the
English version of Cinderella. Walt Disney heard the demo recordings,
and two days later asked Ilene to voice the star role of Cinderella.
She gladly accepted the role, surprised that she had won against more
than 300 others who had auditioned. She said in an interview for
Classic Film, "Seeing it [the film] in its new form was breathtaking
for me. It's so beautiful. The color is magnificent, it just took my
breath away, it was so wonderful. I sort of forget when I'm watching
the movie that I had anything to do with it. Yet, it brings back so
many beautiful memories of working with the wonderful artists and
working with Walt mostly. It brings back wonderful, wonderful
memories." To promote Cinderella, Woods voiced Snow White in the 1949
Disney audiobook release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Woods
sang for President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his home in Hyde Park. She
also sang at the White House for President Truman, after singing for
the soldiers and sailors of war. Woods retired from show business in
1972, but she continued to appear at occasional autograph shows.
American actress and singer. Woods was the original voice of the title
character of the Walt Disney animated feature Cinderella, for which
she was named a Disney Legend in 2003.Woods was born on May 5, 1929.
Woods' mother worked behind the scenes of films, taking Woods with
her. As a little girl, Woods dreamed about becoming a schoolteacher,
but her mother planned to make her a star instead. Woods started
acting at the age of two. At the age of 15, Woods was hired, along
with Bob Johnstone, by Paul Whiteman to sing on his summer 1944
replacement show, "The Philco Hall of Fame" on the NBC Blue Network
(which later became ABC Radio). The network quickly added her own
radio program during that same summer, The Ilene Woods Show. The
entire show was 15 minutes of music, broadcast three days per week.
Many songwriters came on the show to present their music; this is how
she became friends with Mack David and Jerry Livingston. She then
moved to California.In 1948, two of her songwriter friends, Mack David
and Jerry Livingston, called Woods to record "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo", "A
Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", and "So This is Love". Soon, the
songs were presented to Walt Disney so that they could be used in the
English version of Cinderella. Walt Disney heard the demo recordings,
and two days later asked Ilene to voice the star role of Cinderella.
She gladly accepted the role, surprised that she had won against more
than 300 others who had auditioned. She said in an interview for
Classic Film, "Seeing it [the film] in its new form was breathtaking
for me. It's so beautiful. The color is magnificent, it just took my
breath away, it was so wonderful. I sort of forget when I'm watching
the movie that I had anything to do with it. Yet, it brings back so
many beautiful memories of working with the wonderful artists and
working with Walt mostly. It brings back wonderful, wonderful
memories." To promote Cinderella, Woods voiced Snow White in the 1949
Disney audiobook release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Woods
sang for President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his home in Hyde Park. She
also sang at the White House for President Truman, after singing for
the soldiers and sailors of war. Woods retired from show business in
1972, but she continued to appear at occasional autograph shows.
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