JoAnn Dean Killingsworth, often credited professionally as JoAnn Dean (September 23, 1923 – June 20, 2015), was an American actress,
dancer
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...
and professional
figure skater
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
. Dean became the first person to portray Snow White at Disneyland upon the theme park's opening on July 17, 1955. Since Dean's debut in 1955, more than 100 actresses have played Snow White at Disneyland.
Early life
She was born JoAnn Dean on September 23, 1923, in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, as the youngest of her family's two children, including her older brother, Donovan Dean. She was raised in Joliet, Illinois.
In 1931, her family relocated to Los Angeles, California, during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Her mother, Marion, a widow, initially opened a small canteen restaurant at the Beverly Manor apartment house in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, located in the vicinity of Beverly Boulevard and Normandie Avenue, to cover the family's $45 monthly rent on an apartment. Marion Dean sold a complete meal from her restaurant, featuring "soup, salad, entree, vegetable, baked potato, bread, coffee, and dessert, for 35 cents per meal." JoAnn Dean began waitressing at her mother's restaurant when she was 12 years old, while her older brother worked as a dishwasher.
The restaurant proved successful enough that Dean was able to enroll in dance lessons from the earnings.
Career
In 1939, Killingsworth, who was 15 years old, convinced her mother to allow her to audition for an ice skating show at the Long Beachice rink. She was successful in the audition and was chosen for the show. Once the Long Beach show was over, Dean was hired to skate in "It Happens on Ice," an ice "extravaganza" performing at the Coconut Grove nightclub, located in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
She was soon performing on "Ice Queen of Norway," a traveling "Hollywood Ice Revue" created by the Norwegian skater, Sonja Henie, including in New York City. Killingsworth was partnered with actor and dancer, Gene Nelson, during the ice show. Nelson became her long-term professional dance partner.
After leaving Henie's show, she teamed with Gene Nelson once again. The duo performed at the Center Theatre in New York City for a show called "It Happens on Ice" for two years. Killingsworth retired from ice skating at age 18 to focus on dancing in the entertainment industry. She then moved back to Los Angeles to pursue film acting and dancing roles.
She also did some print modelling as well, appearing in advertisements.
JoAnn Dean Killingsworth appeared on screen in dozens of films. By her own estimation, Dean acted, performed and danced in more than 100 films during her career. Her feature film credits included ''Silver Skates'' in 1943 with British Olympic skater
Belita
Belita Jepson-Turner (21 October 1923 – 18 December 2005), known professionally as Belita, was a British Olympic figure skater, dancer and film actress.
Biography
Born at Nether Wallop, Hampshire,Something for the Boys'', which starred Carmen Miranda in 1944; '' State Fair'' in 1945; '' Nob Hill'' in 1945; '' Rainbow Over Texas'' in 1946 opposite Roy Rogers; '' Lullaby of Broadway'' in 1951; and two films released in 1954, ''
Sabrina
Sabrina may refer to:
* Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
People
* Sabrina (actress), stage name of Norma Ann Sykes (1936–2016), a British glamour model and actres ...
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...
. She dressed in costume as a demitasse and saucer to dance in Betty Grable's 1945 musical, ''
Diamond Horseshoe
''Diamond Horseshoe'' (also billed as ''Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe'') is a 1945 Technicolor musical film starring Betty Grable and Dick Haymes, directed by George Seaton, and released by 20th Century Fox. It was filmed in Billy Rose's Diam ...
''.
Killingsworth appears on the
movie poster
A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. The ...
Doris Day
Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...
. (Killingsworth also appeared in the 1954 film).
She was as a member of the "Redettes," '' The Red Skelton Show's''
dance troupe
A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a sport, spectacle or entertainment. There are many different types of dance companies, often working in different list of dance ...
from 1953 to 1956.
Snow White
Dean performed long-term with her professional dance partner, actor and dancer Gene Nelson. Nelson's then-wife, film and theater choreographer Miriam Nelson, was casting performers for an ABC television special in preparation for the 1955 opening of the company's first theme park, Disneyland, to be located in Anaheim, California. It was Miriam Nelson who cast Dean as Disneyland's first Snow White. Nelson recalled her impressions of Dean in a 2014 interview with '' Orange Coast Magazine'', "I thought JoAnn looked like Disney's Snow White, with her dark bangs...She was very enthusiastic, bubbly and always in good spirits. I knew she'd do a good job." Killingsworth, a 5-foot-3 dancer with dark
brunette
Brown hair, also referred to as brunet (male) or brunette (female), is the second most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to a medium dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumela ...
hair, was described as a bearing a strong resemblance to Disney's animated Snow White.
In 1955, Killingsworth, who was 31 years old at the time, received a phone call inviting her to play Snow White for a 90-minute American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television special on the opening day of Disneyland. Killingsworth had never heard of ABC, Disneyland, or Anaheim, California, at the time. However, she accepted the one-day job, becoming Disneyland's very first Snow White at the parks opening day on July 17, 1955.
30,000 guests and dignitaries attended Disneyland's opening ceremonies (and ABC simulcast) on July 17, 1955. 11,000 people were guests of Walt Disney, mostly Disney employees, their families, members of the media, as well as celebrities, including Sammy Davis Jr.,
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
, and
Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...
. An additional 11,000 people were on hand for the opening thanks to
counterfeit
To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
tickets for the event. The temperature was 100 degrees.
Those in attendance watched the floats parade down Main Street, U.S.A. for the opening ceremony. An additional 90 million television viewers watched the television special, which was broadcast nationwide on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Killingsworth's Snow White was the only Disney Princess to receive her own float at the inaugural parade.
At the conclusion of the opening ceremony and television special, an announcer ordered Disneyland's
Fantasyland
Fantasyland is one of the "themed lands" at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney's animated fairy tale films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle ri ...
drawbridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...
to be lowered, opening the park "in the name of the children of the world." Killingsworth's Snow White and the other costumed Disney characters, including the Seven Dwarfs, "led" hundreds of children across the bridge into Disneyland. In reality, most ran across the bridge in a hurry to enter the park. In a 2014 interview with the ''
Orange County Register
''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...
'', she remembered that she and the other cast members ran across just before the children charged the bridge, "We turned around and tried to run pretty."
Her tenure as Disneyland's first Snow White ended at the closing of the theme park's first day. It was the only time the actress played Snow White at Disneyland. According to Killingsworth, it remained her best known role.
However, Killingsworth's role as Disneyland's first Snow White remained largely forgotten until 1987, which marked the 50th anniversary of the release of Disney's 1937 animated feature film, ''
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
''. That year, The Walt Disney Company celebrated 50th anniversary by re-releasing ''Snow White'' in theaters and public appearances by the character, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Rose Bowl.
Disney also launched a search for actresses who had played Snow White at Disneyland, Disney World and its overseas parks for a planned reunion. However, the company could not locate or identify Disneyland's first Snow White from its opening day, since Killingsworth had been employed by ABC, rather than the Walt Disney Company, for the television special. Killingsworth remained unaware of Disney's planned 1987 Snow White reunion until she was told by a friend about the planned event. She contacted the company and attended the event. Killingsworth was one of approximately 50 former Snow Whites who attended the reunion. She told the '' Associated Press'' at the time, "I didn't realize Disney was looking for me...If I had, I would have called somebody and said, 'Here I am. Here's Snow White'." Bob Roth, Disney's spokesperson at the time, confirmed that "I'm really quite certain this is the right person." The company gave her a jewelry box to mark the 50th anniversary.
Personal life
In 1958, Killingsworth and her then husband, Jim Killingsworth, moved from Hollywood to the
Balboa Island
Balboa Island is a harborside community in Newport Beach, California, accessible to the public via bridge, ferry and several public docks. The community is surrounded by a paved concrete boardwalk open to pedestrian traffic, designated as a pu ...
area of
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...
. Killingsworth did not want to commute from Balboa Island to Hollywood, so the move effectively ended her dancing career in the entertainment industry. In a 2014 interview, she reiterated that she had no regrets about the end of her dancing career due to the move to Newport Beach, "I’ve had a great life."
Killingsworth and her husband published two publications focusing on Orange County, California. Soon after moving to Balboa, the couple launched a weekly tabloid newspaper, ''The Newporter'', in 1959. Their second publication, ''Orange County Illustrated'', was a lifestyle magazine focusing on the
Orange Coast
The Orange Coast is the string of cities and neighborhoods fronting the Pacific Coast in Orange County, California. From northwest to southeast, these cities are Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clem ...
. The magazine ceased publication in 1977 following the couple's divorce. Killingsworth became a salesperson at Neiman Marcus after the magazine's closure.
She suffered a crushed vertebra in her sleep at her Balboa home during the 1970s when she was in her early 50s. The unusual injury limited her mobility at the time. To compensate, Killingsworth took up painting. Most of her work featured scenery or wildlife from destinations she had visited, including Spain, the home of
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...
in France, and wild gerenuks from Africa. Killingsworth sold only one of her paintings, a piece featuring fish, to Robert Guggenheim of the
Guggenheim family
The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from th ...
. Guggenheim has noticed the painting hanging in her Newport Beach magazine office and paid $200 for the artwork. Most of her other paintings were gifted to friends and family. An exhibition of her art was held at her retirement community in Brea, California.
Killingsworth moved from Balboa Island to the Oakmont of Capriana retirement village in
Brea, California
Brea (; Spanish for "tar") is a city in northern Orange County, California. The population as of the 2010 census was 39,282. It is southeast of Los Angeles. Brea is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
The city began as a center of cru ...
, in 2013.
Death
JoAnn Dean Killingsworth died from cancer at her home in
Brea, California
Brea (; Spanish for "tar") is a city in northern Orange County, California. The population as of the 2010 census was 39,282. It is southeast of Los Angeles. Brea is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
The city began as a center of cru ...
, on June 20, 2015, at the age of 91. She was survived by her stepsons, Bill and Larry Killingsworth, and her brother, Donovan Dean.
Her former husband, Jim Killingsworth, died in 1993.
Her death came less than one month before the 60th anniversary of Disneyland and her debut as the park's first ever Snow White.