Disney’s original Tinker Bell, 96, reveals trait she snuck into the film

All it takes is faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust. And a whole lot of dance! According to Margaret Kerry, who was the model for Disney’s original Tinker Bell, the actress and dancer was able to put herself into the creation of the fairy. The 96-year-old worked closely with Disney animator Marc Davis on the 1953 movie “Peter Pan.” Kerry recalled their conversation about shaping the character to Woman’s World on Thursday. “I said, ‘What do you want her to be? Ditzy like Betty Boop? Above it all like the Queen of the Angels?’” she reflected. “He said, ‘Margaret, we want her to be you.’” According to the outlet, Kerry smiled as she reminisced on her next words to Davis, who died at age 86 in 2000. “I said, ‘Golly, I can do that,’” she shared. Kerry explained that Davis turned Tinker Bell “into a dancer.” “There’s always a ballet move,” she said of the beloved green fairy. “At that time, they didn’t have electronics. Everything was done by hand,” the actress revealed about creating Tinker Bell. “So, they cast a person in the role and then filmed them with 35-millimeter film . a man on a little cart with a pad that came out, and that was the camera.” Disney went on to film Kerry’s movements and reactions over the next nine months. However there was no dialogue. “They would process the film, and then pick out the main frames. Marc Davis would do what he wanted with that frame and start the movement. And the in-betweeners would do each frame or every other frame, all by hand,” she elaborated. “Six hundred and fifty thousand pieces of art were done for that movie.” Tinker Bell showed up in the sequel “Return to Never Land” and many other television shows and films over the years. Kerry also took a moment to touch on her legacy. “I could have been the actress who got her throat slashed in ‘Psycho.’ What do you do with that? Everything that I have done, people are enjoying today. That’s amazing.” Kerry went on to appear in various roles throughout the decades, including “Space Angel,” “New 3 Stooges, “Little Rascals” and “Lone Ranger.” She also played Bess Muggins in the “Andy Griffith Show.” These days, Kerry is still dancing. She told the outlet: “Oh, I’ll be tap dancing on Saturday night.” Later in the interview, Kerry recounted the romantic story that led her to tying the knot in 2020. The star married Dick Brown in 1951 before calling it quits in 1984. She then wed John Wilcox in 1987. The couple was together until his 1999 death. After staying a widow for two decades, Kerry reconnected with a former flame, Robert Boeke, who she briefly dated in her youth. Boeke found a shop called Tinkerbell’s Toys in Amsterdam and told his friends he once dated the original Tinker Bell. They then found Kerry’s email address. Kerry told Woman’s World that she “remembered him immediately.” “I’d been a widow for 20 years. I wasn’t thinking of getting together with anyone,” she confessed, noting that “it was love at second sight.” Kerry then proposed and the lovebirds married on Valentine’s Day 2020. “He still drives. Does the best left-hand turns I’ve ever seen. He cooks, too. And he has a Costco card which I can use,” she gushed. Kerry first opened up about what it’s meant to play the iconic Disney character on November 5. “I love people, and people loved Tinker Bell, so it was a great match,” she told Wilma Mag. “Also, I’m a person who can’t wait to see what’s around the corner, no matter what happens. And that’s exactly who Tinker Bell is. She could hardly wait to peek around the corner to see what’s going on.” And her desire to keep moving and grooving has never gone away. “I travel all over the country attending celebrity and collector shows where I get to meet people and they meet me,” Kerry said. “I giggle and laugh and have a grand time. It is fabulous. I also give talks to schoolchildren about using their imagination. And I give talks to groups.”.
https://nypost.com/2025/11/22/entertainment/disneys-original-tinker-bell-96-reveals-this-character-trait-she-snuck-into-the-film/

You may also like

Wickersham has 3 total TDs, Richmond beats William & Mary 28-21 in season finale

2025 年 11 月 22 日

Spanish River’s Preston Sangely wins school’s first boys cross country title

2025 年 11 月 22 日

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Rams: Who has the edge?

2025 年 11 月 22 日