Meet Adriana Caselotti: The Voice of Snow White
Ranked #3,341 in Entertainment, #41,317 overall
Adriana Caselotti WAS Snow White
When Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was produced, it was known as Disney's Folly because it was the first full-length animated movie ever made. Walt Disney went ahead and made it despite the controversy. He spared no expense and the movie went on to become one of Disney's most famous movies, to make plenty of money and to help create the Disney Studio we all know and love today.
But what of Adriana Caselotti?
How much was she paid for being
the voice of Snow White? Was it enough?
For generations past and generations to come,
Adriana Caselotti will always BE Snow White.
Photo by budsgoods
Fast Facts About Adriana Caselotti
- BIRTH DATE: May 6, 1916
- DECEASED: January 19, 1997
- OCCUPATION: Actress and singer
- MOST FAMOUS FOR: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- MARRIED: Four times
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Adriana Caselotti As Snow White on a fantastically remastered blu-ray disc or DVD.
When you watch Snow White's intricate, graceful movements of fingers, arms, and head all in one shot, it is not the technical brilliance of Disney's artists that leaps out at you, but the very spirit of her engaging, girl-woman character.
It's a crowning achievement and should not be missed." -Tom Keogh
Click here to order your copy of
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
from Amazon.
How much do you think Adriana Caselotti was paid for voicing Snow White was paid?
Andriana Caselotti's Story
An interesting four-minute video in which you can meet the VOICE of Snow White.
More Adriana Caselotti Reading
- Disney Archives Snow White Character History
"Finding a voice suitable for Snow White was one of the animators' hardest pre-production tasks."- Someday My Credits Will Come . . . How Uncredited Voice Over Roles in Disney Films Kept the Magic
"In his first animated feature film, Walt Disney purposefully hid the identity of the voice of Snow White, the 18-year old Adriana Caselotti (1916-1997), effectively rendering her voice property of Disney. The only other film role she had was a bit part in The Wizard of Oz (1939)."- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
"Hollywood Reporter reported in November 1939 that Caselotti (who modern sources claim was paid $14,000 for her work on the picture) sued Disney for $200,000 for alleged use of her recorded singing without her permission."- Adriana Caselotti, 80, Voice of Snow White - New York Times
"In a 1993 interview, Miss Caselotti said she was paid $20 a day to sing and read the lines for the role, for a total of $970, and that she did not realize she was working on a full-length animated film."
Do you think Adriana Caselotti was paid enough for voicing Snow White?
(Now that you know how much she was paid, here's some background information...)
It is reported that Walt Disney paid Miss Caselotti $20 per day for her role as the voice of Snow White, an amount which totalled $970.
It is also said that Walt Disney blacklisted Adriana Caselotti from appearing in ANY OTHER MOVIES in order to protect the illusion of Snow White.
Miss Caselotti did eventually appear in The Wizard of Oz as the voice of Juliet in the Tin-Man's song, If I Only Had a Heart (for which she was paid $100) and in 1946, she appeared in It's A Wonderful Life at Martini's bar while James Stewart was praying.
She did some promotions of Snow White and she later appeared in a few related television shows including The Julie Andrews' Hour episode about Walt Disney's music and on The Mike Douglas Show. Eventually, she sold autographs to earn money and she tried to restart a career in the opera. At the age of 75, she re-recorded I'm Wishing for Snow White's Grotto in Disneyland.
Miss Caselotti, who voiced an iconic Walt Disney character, eventually and unsuccessfully sued Disney for a bigger salary or piece of the movie's profits.
SOUND OFF: DID WALT DISNEY ROB ADRIANA CASELOTTI?
Here's your chance to have your say...
So what do YOU think? Did Walt Disney ROB Adriana Caselotti when he paid her $970 for a role of such magnitude?
Yes, I think...
Susan Sanders says:
The real crime is that of blacklisting her. No one has the right to highjack another's career. It WAS a form of robbery. How sad to learn the stories of Walt's less than stellar character were true. In life immitating art, the Evil Queen tried to steal Snow White's life away, while Disney stole Caselotti's future from her. That Disney was the true villain is tragic irony.
Elise says:
Neither. He had no way of calculating inflation or HOW MUCH MONEY the film would bring. However, Disney owes her a lot of money.
The Last Unicorn says:
It could explain that the cost of living at that wasn't as high as now. That's why she accepted the contract or else she wouldn't. Somehow, the show of "Snow White" was Walt Disney's cartoon ever created.
tandemonimom says:
It was a very generous amount at the time for a movie that no one thought would fly. But still, a few royalties (or at least a gift after the movie became SUCH a hit) would have been nice!
prosperity66 says:
Well, I think that yes, he did... probably not deliberately but he dit... OK, you might argue that he didn't know if the movie would work or not but should have planned an option in case of the movie would have become the huge success it became since then.
MiaBellezza says:
It was a lot of money back then and she accepted it.
No way, Monkeybrains!
AnnF says:
I used the calculator and found out that for $20/day Adrianna would have had to work 48.5 days to earn $970. I also used the inflation calcualtor from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) and found that $970 in 1934 (when Adrianna was 18) is worth $16,282.90 in 2011's money. Gee, I wish I made $16K in a month and a half! Not to mention this was in the middle of the Great Depression, that's a HUGE amount of money for that time period especially. I think the word "blacklisted" has a lot of people fired up, if the author had simply said Walt Disney did not want Adriana hired in any other Disney animated film in order to protect the illusion of Snow White most wouldn't have been quite as fired up. Additionally, did anyone think of the fact that she couldn't work in Disney again may have had no bearing on whether she could find work elsewhere? It's extremely hard to become famous in the arts and I don't see how Disney affects her chances at opera.
Marc says:
She was robbed and raped!
Jeannie Ortiz says:
No. Despite a claim by another poster that $970 is equivalent to $30,000 today for an "unknown," we must take into account that that one role for Disney cost Ms. Caselotti the rest of her career, which was reduced to a few bit parts, and an opera career she was unable to resume. So, I don't think Adriana Caselotti was paid enough at all, especially considering how much money Disney made from Snow White and how iconical of a movie Snow White has become.
Sam says:
$970 was alot in them days. I found a calculator thing online and it is worth around $30,000 dollars today. For a unknown actress, that is good money.
Joan4 says:
Royalties would have really been nice! What a wonderful lady! No, at that time, that was a large price. I don't think he robbed her.
PaulOnBooks says:
What was $970 worth then?
Susan52 says:
She wasn't robbed then, but it seems she should have received royalties over the years. I don't think royalty arrangements were customary in those days, though.
JDWheeler says:
They had no idea if the movie would be a hit or not. Back then, I'm sure that was industry standard.
WordCustard says:
The fee sounds just fine... if it hadn't come with those conditions attached. The burden of being blacklisted from other work was one that clearly weighed her down throughout her life.
LasgalenArts says:
It's very hard to say. Back then actors never thought of negotiating royalties as they do today. $970 was quite a lot of money but to black list her was the worse offense. I'd have to say yes but the other offense is worse to bear.
Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs Movie Soundtrack
Adriana Caselotti's voice is both unique and haunting.
The score is nearly as great an accomplishment as the film itself." ~ John Sanchez
Click here to order your copy of the
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
movie soundtrack from Amazon.
Adriana Caselotti Signed and Sold Many Autographs
Which now show up for sale on eBay.
More Snow White Reading
Is the story of Adriana Caselotti, the voice of Snow White, a happy or a sad story for you?
What do you think?
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workingmomwm May 23, 2011 @ 3:50 pm | delete
- What an interesting story. And even if Caselotti didn't get decent royalties for being the voice of Snow White, at least now she'll have forever fame, thanks to your lens!
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VickiSims
Jan 18, 2011 @ 6:59 am | delete
- What a fascinating story - I had no idea or even thought to wonder who was the voice of Snow White.
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tandemonimom Jan 10, 2011 @ 10:05 pm | delete
- Loved watching that interview video! It's so much fun to see the backstory on these old movies!
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JenOfChicago
Jan 10, 2011 @ 4:26 pm | delete
- Interesting story - I never thought about who the voice was!
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Joan4
Jan 8, 2011 @ 10:04 am | delete
- I am still sitting here smiling after the video of Adriana on the piano playing the Snow White songs. Totally delightful. Great story. and to tell the truth, I had never even thought about who played her voice!
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by Treasures-By-Brenda
Adriana Caselotti voiced Snow White for Walt Disney. Learn more about her, her voice and her pay check for this role. Was it enough?
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