Marcellite Garner

Edna Marcellite Garner (/ˌmɑːrsəˈliːt/; July 3, 1910 – July 26, 1993), known as Marcellite Garner, was an American artist and voice actress. She is most remembered as the first regular voice of Minnie Mouse during her time working at Walt Disney Productions and has been partially credited with defining Minnie's personality.[1]

Marcellite Garner
Born(1910-07-03)July 3, 1910
Redlands, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 26, 1993(1993-07-26) (aged 83)
Grass Valley, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArtist, voice actress
Years active1930–1941
Spouse(s)
Richard Bruce Wall
​
​
(m. 1934; died 1976)​

Harry Abraham Lincoln
​
​
(m. 1976)​
Children2

Early life

Garner was born in Redlands, California in 1910. She attended night classes at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles where she studied art.[1]

Work at Disney

Garner started working at Walt Disney Productions on February 17, 1930 after interviewing the previous year. She worked in the ink and paint department, first working as a cel painter and later as an inker. The studio at the time was a small organization of about 35 employees.

After Garner had been working about six months, she auditioned for the voice of Minnie Mouse at the studio's sound stage, then located on Melrose Avenue. Because Minnie was to play a Mexican in the upcoming film The Cactus Kid, Burt Gillett had asked the Ink and Paint department, which was entirely women, if anyone could speak Spanish. Only Garner and another woman responded, and when the other woman was unwilling to sing, Garner was cast for the role.[1] She went on to voice Minnie in more than 40 films over a decade. Occasionally Garner also provided additional voices, such as cat meows (Three Orphan Kittens, Lend a Paw), dog barking, and crowd noises.

During the Disney animators' strike of 1941, Garner shot home movies of the picket lines in color. Some of this footage appears in the 2001 documentary Walt – The Man Behind the Myth. Garner was sympathetic to the studio during the strike, commenting "I couldn't see that we were not being treated fairly. People weren't so union oriented then I guess." She described the atmosphere at the studio as "one big family" before the studio was unionized.

Her final role as Minnie would be in the 1942 war effort short "Out of the Frying Pan and into The Firing Line".

Garner worked at the Disney studio off and on for 12 years, during which she also did work for some other studios, including Walter Lantz Productions.[1]

After Disney

Garner eventually married Richard B. Wall and started a family. In 1941 she permanently quit her job at Disney to devote more time to her children. The family later moved north to Los Gatos where she again worked in the cartoon business, producing a newspaper comic strip called El Gato for the Los Gatos Times–Observer.

During this time she also worked on different kinds of painting media and ceramics. Some of her artwork she gave to friends, and others she donated to charities and church bazaars.[2]

Death

She died on July 26, 1993 in Grass Valley, California, at the age of 83.

Filmography[3]
Preceded by
Marjorie Norton Ralston		 Voice of Minnie Mouse
1930–1939, 1942		 Succeeded by
Thelma Boardman

References
  1. Peri, Don (2008). "Marcellite Garner". Working with Walt: Interviews with Disney Artists. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1-934110-67-1.
  2. Inking at Disney, circa 1931 at MichaelBarrier.com
  3. Marcellite Garner at IMDb
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