An Exclusive Interview with Margaret Kerry
By Tamara Berger
When Margaret Kerry visited us at Autograph for an interview, I welcomed her to my “office”—a desk among others in a thousand square-foot room. She pantomimed opening an invisible door and stepping inside; so perfectly that when she closed it behind her I could swear it was quieter. Kerry was meant to be a performer. Now 78 years old, Kerry has been performing since the age of four, when she began acting and dancing in Hal Roach’s Our Gang comedies, later known as The Little Rascals. Kerry started as Peggy Lynch, in Los Angeles, California and got her stage name by the suggestion of Eddie Cantor, her onscreen father in the film If You Knew Susie (1948). From 1949-52, she starred in one of TV’s first family sitcoms, The Ruggles, and later voiced 21 different dialects for more than 600 cartoons, including Clutch Cargo and Space Angel.
At 22, Kerry’s pouting pantomimes and nimble movements earned her the part as the live-action reference model for Tinker Bell in the original 1953 Disney animated movie Peter Pan. The bursts of emotions that Kerry packed into the small pixie have made Tinker Bell one of the most recognizable Disney characters of all time. Tinker Bell is the icon of The Walt Disney Company, opening shows and movies, and is at the forefront of Disneyland’s firework show. She inspired a book series and will be starring in her own feature film in 2008.
Enjoying the popularity of Tinker Bell, Kerry is a friend to her fans and loves to sign. She possesses a passion for everything that she has done and speaks with sincerity. Her enchanting voice is captivating as she tells the stories of her experiences and it’s one that just words on a page can’t describe.
Autograph: You started acting at a very young age. How did your career begin?
Margaret Kerry: I was 4 years old when I did my first film, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and I was a little fairy in it…you would think there’s a theme developing here. This was during the Depression and my mother—I was adopted—decided that I was cute enough to act and she got my name to Central Casting.
Is it something you wanted to do?
Nobody asked me. I just did it and I was training all the time so I became good at performing. When I graduated high school on the set of If You Knew Susie, I would’ve loved to gone on to college, but I was under contract. I was schooled with Bobby Driscoll, who was my brother in the movie and later was the voice of Peter Pan, in this little canvas box that they fixed up for us. When I graduated, I told Bobby that I didn’t have to come back there again and he said, “Oh please, please come back. It’s so lonely.” So I did, and read my books between scenes. I was extremely isolated as a child, as most child actors were then. I don’t know about today, but they were then because any other child actor could’ve been your competition, so you never chatted with them.
So when you were in The Little Rascals series you never made friends with the other cast members?
Oh no, never even thought about it. You were there to work. They wanted someone who was 4 years old going on 30. As an example of what it was like, Shirley Temple wrote in her book about the time the director locked her in a closed, sound proof booth that was used to control the noise from the early film cameras. He put a chunk of ice in there and said to her, “Unless you behave, we’re going to leave you here.” The children then were raised differently. Children run the world today; they didn’t then.
Some people ask me, “Did you enjoy your childhood?” And I say, “Compared to what? It’s the only one I had.” It had always been a job. Fortunately, I’m fairly good at it. Performing for an audience is certainly a reward. When I later found out that there were people who loved Tinker Bell, and I could meet them and we could talk about her—in a way that’s an extension of the performance, which is such a reward because I could’ve been known as the lady being stabbed in Psycho, [laughing] but my legacy is this darling little sprite.
How did you get the part as Tinker Bell’s reference model?
I was working at Fox as an assistant dance director when my agent told me about the audition. So I thought, how do you play a three and a half inch fairy who couldn’t talk? I went home that night and choreographed a pantomime dance to an instrumental song, preparing breakfast; closing the refrigerator door with my foot when there was no refrigerator or washing my hands where there was no sink. I created a three and a half minute sketch and I took my record player and marched over to Disney Studios. I went into this tiny office, which surprised me because I thought the animator Marc Davis would’ve had a big office. So I was crowded to do the dance, but I did it. Then they asked me to do the famous scene where she lands on the looking glass, preening herself and measuring her hips. Next thing I knew, they asked if I could come in to work the next Tuesday.
Since Tinker Bell couldn’t talk, where did you get your inspirations for the physical language you conveyed?
Well, many years later, in 1999, I was having lunch with Marc Davis and his lovely wife, Alice, when Marc leaned over and said, “Margaret, you’re still Tinker Bell.” So I suspect he saw a lot of her in me and I think I brought her to life. I gave her a tomboy approach with a comic feel. I figured she was about 12 years old and very childlike—the world was her oyster and she had never seen it before, so everything was brand new. I think they weren’t sure of what her personality was yet. It was one of those, we’ll know it when we see it things, and when I auditioned, it was, “That’s it!” So there’s much of me in her. I often call her my alter ego and when I sign my name, she has never complained about me signing her name under mine. I was the model and voice for the redheaded mermaid in the Neverland lagoon, too, so I also sign saying that I am the great grandmother of The Little Mermaid’s Ariel.
Were your pantomimes filmed?
Yes. There was a crew sitting by the camera discussing what they had in mind and I would try out a few things on the soundstage for them first, then they filmed it. They’d film the first take and then I’d be asked to do another for protection. That’s how I became “Two-Take Tink.”
When you saw the first sketch of Tinker Bell was it different than you envisioned?
No, I took one look at her and thought, “Yes!” With a little top knot on her head and her bangs that swept back and forth. Marc drew this precious character with such curves that it caused a lot of consternation for the production in 1951. It was not the time for an independent girl to go flitting about, but Marc said one of the ways he got away with it was he made her from the waist up a little girl and from the waist down she was a woman. He also often turned her away from the viewer so you couldn’t see all of her curves.
Do you get a lot of fans who dress up as Tinker Bell?
Oh, yes. I think the most interesting part is that the parents know what a reference model is and they are excited to meet me, but when they tell their kids that I’m Tinker Bell, of course the kids want to tell their parents, “You’re out of your mind!” So, I make it a point to explain to the children that I was her reference model.
What was your first autograph signing experience like?
Well, in the 1990s, I was working for KKLA talk radio and I was trying to get the comedian Chuck McCann for an interview. I had tried twice before, but he never came. Then one day, I saw him having lunch and I said to him, “This is not fair. I want to have you on my show,” and he said, “Why aren’t you signing over at the collectors show?” I said, “What’s a collectors show?” He said they would love it if I was there and that people love Tinker Bell. I had no idea that anyone was collecting Tinker Bell. So Chuck gave me a number to call for the Ray Court’s Hollywood Collector’s Show. When I first walked in, I didn’t know what to expect. There was a table with my name and 60 people were lined up to meet me. I was stunned!
And you’ve been doing conventions ever since?
Yes, but I’m slowing down. I recently signed at the California State Fair. I met 1,500 people and signed 650 photos. It was so much fun.
Did you ever sign autographs when you were younger?
I did as Sharon on The Ruggles. But interestingly enough, ABC and the producers kept all our fan mail from us. They never showed it to us and we didn’t know to ask for it.
Have you had any interesting interactions with fans?
I must have seen scores of fans and I have yet to meet a fan who is rude or unkind. I have friends as fans. I can pick up the phone and call them; I’ve stayed overnight at people’s homes when I’m traveling. I would urge people to join the National Fantasy Fan Club and get into a Disney club because they become your family. I’ve had fans who will get things signed for another member. It’s such a warm, wonderful extended family and it’s all Walt Disney’s fault! His legacy lives on.
Your website states that you were voted best legs in the ’50s. What was that like?
Well, I had a friend who was going to be in this contest, The World’s Most Beautiful Legs contest. She didn’t want to do it alone so she talked me into going. We all wore a one-piece suit and we stood behind a screen so the judges could only see our legs. Well I won and my friend was so upset she didn’t talk to me for two years. I couldn’t believe that I did win because my legs, which are exactly like Tinker Bell’s, are rather short. I don’t have the long legs like today’s girls. But that’s how I got the title and they never ran another contest, so I’m still the world’s most beautiful legs!
What’s next for you?
I’m finishing my book, which seems like I’ve been writing for decades. I’ve done so many things it’s sort of a scrap book of fun stories and a couple of them about being adopted and being a child actor. I’m also going on the speaker circuit. If people want a speaker, I’ll talk about “Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life” and I also speak on a business subject called “It’s Nobody’s Business but Your Own.” And fans can always contact me through my website www.TinkerBellTalks.com. I would be delighted to hear from them.
TAMARA BERGER is assistant editor at Autograph. She can be reached at tamara@autographmagazine.com.