She Helped Bring Some Of The Most Iconic Disney Princesses To Life
Amidst Hollywood’s Golden Era, Helene Stanley helped bring three of the most iconic Disney films to life: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and 101 Dalmatians. Yet, her name and contributions to these classic movies are still widely unknown.
Born in 1929 as Dolores Diane Freymouth, she got her start in acting at the ripe age of 14. Helene starred in Girls’ Town, a low-budget 1942 production, and proceeded to work throughout her teenage years.
Then, once she began working with MGM Studios in the mid-1940s, she decided to change her stage name to make herself more marketable, becoming Helene Stanley. She was subsequently signed with MGM and appeared in two films, Thrill of a Romance and Holiday in Mexico.
Her career quickly took a turn, though, when MGM showed particular interest in another actress, Jane Powell. At that point, Helene moved on from MGM and appeared in various films in which she was uncredited.
Still, Helene didn’t give up, and eventually, she shifted her focus to animated films. Cinderella was her big break in this section of the movie industry, and she served as the live-action model for the famous film.
Cinderella’s production was especially interesting since Walt Disney wanted it to become the next full-length animated film after Bambi, which debuted in 1942.
However, financial stress in the wake of World War II and a strike among Disney animators in 1941 caused the film’s production to take a conservative route.
More specifically, it was decided that actors would be hired to act out the entirety of Cinderella on a sound stage, donning full costuming and makeup. That way, the animators could use the live-action shooting as a guide for movements, cutting, and flow.
That’s how Helene entered the picture. She was hired by Walt Disney to act as the inspiration and reference for Cinderella, beginning her work in the spring of 1948.
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The animators would watch both the live performances and the recordings afterward, using each frame from the footage to lead their composition.
Closely studying the frames was crucial, too, since Disney animators weren’t allowed to add anything that wasn’t there in the live-action footage.
Helene had a background as a ballerina, which gave Cinderella’s movements a natural air of grace. Much of her expressions and movements paved the way for the character’s design on screen, and Helene even served as the costume and hairstyle model for the princess.
February 15, 1950, marked the day Cinderella hit theatres, and it was a massive success. The film helped Disney overcome its financial woes and received three Academy Award nominations. Plus, the studio started building Disneyland and continued creating films during the 1950s.
As for Helene, she went on to star in more animated Disney films. The production of Sleeping Beauty began in July 1953, and again, Disney hired Helene to act as the live-action reference for Princess Aurora.
Much like with Cinderella, the animation process was tedious. Animators observed the actors as they performed the whole film. Afterward, they would freehand draw using blow-ups of each frame as a reference.
That’s why Helene spent two entire years acting as the inspiration for Aurora. Then, it took almost 10 years for the film’s production to be officially completed, and it wasn’t a smashing success at the box office like Cinderella.
It’s important to note that when Sleeping Beauty was re-released in 1970, it was extremely prosperous and became incredibly popular. Still, the film’s first release was a different story, and Walt Disney’s interest in animated films waned as a result.
Nonetheless, Disneyland pushed Disney to witness significant financial prosperity by the end of the 1950s. So, despite the bombing of Sleeping Beauty at the box office, the studio decided to continue producing another animated film project: 101 Dalmatians.
Helene was hired as a live-action model for the third time, taking on the role of Anita Radcliffe. Unlike the prior two films, some cost-effective animation methods allowed the production expenses to remain lower.
The movie came to theatres on January 25, 1961, and performed remarkably. In fact, in North America, it was the eighth-highest-grossing film that year and showed feature animations could still be viable for Disney.
Regardless, this film marked Helene’s final Hollywood role, and she ended up retiring. While working on Sleeping Beauty, she’d married Johnny Stompanato, a gangster. They split in 1955, and she married her second husband, a physician named Dr. David Niemetz, in 1959.
The pair welcomed a son into the world together, and Helene ultimately passed away at 61 years old in 1990.
Her work gave way to some of the most beloved Disney films and characters in history. Even so, Helene’s name and achievements remain underappreciated.
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