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Marjorie Elizabeth Norton (10 November 1911 – 22 July 1998 Honolulu, Hawaii) was an early cartoonist for Walt Disney. In 1928, Disney, then an unknown animator, hired Norton as an inker – Disney's 13th hire.[1][2] From 1929 to 1930, she the voice of Minnie Mouse. Minnie had first been voiced by Disney himself; but Norton took over in 1929. Following Norton, from 1930 to 1938, Minnie Mouse was voiced by Marcellite Garner. Norton voiced at least one animation film, but continued as an inker until about 1941.[3]
Career
[edit]According the 1930 U.S. Census, Norton, then single, was living with her parents in Los Angeles. And, at the time, her roommate was Marguerite L. Brown (born 1908 Illinois), then divorced and also a cartoonist.
Notoriety
[edit]During Norton's tenure with Disney from 1928 to 1941, inkers were typically unaccredited. In May 1941, the Walt Disney studio employees went on a 14-week strike.[4][3]
Voices of Minnie Mouse
[edit]- Walt Disney: 1928
- Marjorie Norton Ralston: 1929
- Marcellite Garner: 1930–1939
- Thelma Boardman: 1941–1942
- Ruth Clifford: 1942–1952
- Russi Taylor: Since 1985
- Others
- Mary Ellen Fritzlen (1905–1993), stage name was Mary Moder (from Lincoln, Nebraska): 1934
- Carol Tevis (1907–1965), married to William Thomas Britton: 1936
- Shirley Reid (born 1911 Minnesota): 1941
- Shirley was the Wife of Connie Krebs (né Conrad Henry Krebs; 1895–1987)
- Gloria Wood: before 1953
Los Angeles area Motion picture cartoonists in 1930
[edit]- Animator
- Richard J. Lundy (born 1908 Michigan)
- Cartoonists
- Arthur Davis (born 1906 New York)
- Legory H. O'Laughlin (born 1902 Iowa)
- Charles M. Jones (born 1913 Washington)
- Ray Abrahams (born 1906 Utah)
- William M. Ferguson (born 1901 New York)
- John W. Burton (born 1906 Illinois)
- Edna Conley (born 1909 Tennessee)
- Frank E. Webb (1905–1991), creator of Goofy
- Everett Duggan (1910 Utah)
- Paul Conlon (born 1906 Montana)
- Emanuel Gold (born 1905 New York)
- Benjamin Harris (born 1898 Maine)
- Confirmed Disney employees and associates
- Cartoonists
- Burton F. Gillett (born 1892 New York)
- Floyd Gottfredson (born 1906 Utah)
- David D. Hand (born 1900 New Jersey)
- Dick Heumer (né Richard M. born 1898 New York)
- James P. King (born 1896 Alabama)
- Walter Lantz (born 1899 New York)
- Robert P. McKimson (born 1911 Colorado)
- Gilles ("Frenchy") de Trémaudan (born 1909 Montreal)
- Order of early Disney hires
- October 16, 1923: Kathleen Dollard, was one of the original three with Walt and Roy when the studio began October 16, 1934
- January 19, 1924: Lillian Bounds (1899–1997), hired in the ink and paint department, married Walt Disney July 13, 1925
- February 1924: Rollin Hamilton (1998–1951), Disney's 3rd hire[5][2]
- pre-1925: Ub Iwerks (1901–1971)
- 1st notable hire: Ben Sharpsteen
- April 1925: Hugh Harmon (1903–1982), hired as an animator
- April 1925: Walker Harmon (born 1905 Colorado), hired as an inker
- April 1925: Rudy Ising (1903–1992), hired as a cameraman
- May 23, 1925: Hazel A. Linston, inker and painter (worked 7 months)
- 1927: Lester Clark (born 1908 Utah)
- ?? hire: 1927: Lester Clark (born 1908 Utah)
- 13th hire: 1927: Marjorie Norton
- Virginia Doris, an 8 year old girl, was roped in to play Alice in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ series
- Inkers
- Marie Henderson (born 1904 Arkansas)[6]
- Ruthie Tompson (born 1913)
Filmography
[edit]- 1928 Steamboat Willy, Minnie Mouse (voice, uncredited)[7]
- 1929 The Karnival Kid (short) (inker - uncredited)
- 1929 Wild Waves (episode of a series), Minnie Mouse (voice, uncredited)
- 1940 Pinocchio (ink and paint artist - uncredited)
Addresses
[edit]- 1920 (US Census)
- 251 N. Manhattan Place
- Los Angeles
- 1930 (US Census)
- 1117-19 North Brand Boulevard
- Glendale, California
- 617 N. Plum Ave
Education
[edit]Norton was a 1927 graduate of Glendale High School, in Glendale, California.
Family
[edit]Husband
[edit]Norton married Bradford G. Ralston (né Bradford G. Worth; 1906–1991) in Westwood, Los Angeles, on March 28, 1937. Bradford Ralson, born to vaudevillian actors Henry Walter Worth (1869–1957) and Mary Louise Howard (maiden; 1876–1956) legally adopted the surname "Ralston," which had been the stage surname of his parent's traveling show – "The Ralston Family with Baby Esther, America's Youngest Juliet."
Marjorie and Bradford divorced in 1963. Bradford was the brother of two actors, Esther Ralston and Howard Ralston (né Harry Howard Worth; 1904–1992). Marjorie, after her divorce, became a licensed Practical Nurse.
Children
[edit]Marjorie and Bradford, together, had two children, Bob Ralston (né Robert Howard Ralston; born 1938) and Rick Ralston (né Frederick Carleton Ralson; born 1941). Bob Ralston is a pianist and organist who had performed with Lawrence Welk. Rick Ralston was the founder and owner of Crazy Shirts of Honolulu.
Great grandchildren
[edit]One of Robert's two children, Diane Ralson (born 1966), married Cate. Through that marriage, Field Cate, an actor, was born.[8]
Bob Ralston and his Dutch-born wife, Fietje (née Josephine C. Tangel; born 1946) have been married sixty-one years — since March 3, 1963. They have a son and daughter, Randy Ralston (age 59) and Dianne Cate (age 57). Ralston's 27-year-old grandson, Field Cate, is an actor.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Voice of Minnie Mouse Leaves Legacy Of Art" (obituary), by Lori Tighe, Star-Bulletin, August 4, 1998
- ^ a b "Walt Disney Productions: Chronological List of Personnel October 1923 — April 1930," David R. Smith (né David Rollin Smith; born 1940), April 28, 1978Note: Smith, in 1970, became the founding Chief Archivist for the Walt Disney Company; he is not retired; the list is 2 pages
- ^ a b "Coloring the Kingdom: Disney’s Ink and Paint Girls," by Patricia Zohn, Vanity Fair, February 5, 2010 (retrieved May 16, 2016)Note: Zohn, the author, is the niece of Reidun "Rae" Medby McSpadden (née Medby; 1917–2002), a Disney animator who started as a trainee in 1936, when Disney had 500 employees
- ^ "Look Closer: Women in the Disney Ink and Paint Department," by Mary Beth Culler, April 6, 2012 (retrieved May 16, 2016)
- ^ Walt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years, 1919–1928, by Timothy S. Susanin, University Press of Mississippi (2011); OCLC 734061380
- ^ Walt's People: Talking Disney with the Artists who Knew Him, (Vol. 12 of 15), by Didier Ghez, Xlibris (self-publishing firm) (1912); OCLC 756747989
- ^ "Minnie Mouse," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 24, 1971, pg. 66 (retrieved via www
.newspapers .com /image /268377152) - ^ a b "Marjorie Ralston Biography," IMDb (www
.imdb .com) (retrieved May 13, 2016)