77 Years After Serving as the Model For Tinker Bell, Margaret Kerry Is Still Dancing
68 years ago, a young Margaret Kerry (then known as Peggy Lynch) answered an audition call to serve as the live-action model for Tinker Bell in Disney’s adaptation of Peter Pan.
After auditioning for Disney Legend Marc Davis, Kerry won the role and was tasked with pantomiming the motions that would eventually be animated, helping create one of the most iconic characters of all time.
Photo: Margaret Kerry
Spending six months at Disney Studios, Kerry acted out scenes that would eventually become iconic animated sequences.
Becoming Tinker Bell
At 96 years old, Kerry is still an entertainer. In fact, during a recent appearance at Mayberry Days, she took the stage and showed off her tap dancing skills.
Photo Credit: Rick Law (@observantview)/Twitter
Despite the many years that have passed since Kerry served as Tink Bell’s live-action stand-in, she still remembers her time with Disney fondly.
Photo: Cartoon Brew
“At that time, they didn’t have electronics. Everything was done by hand,” she told Woman’s World. “So, they cast a person in the role and then filmed them with 35-millimeter film.”
“We Want Her To Be You”
When Kerry first met Marc Davis, she was prepared to portray a fictional character.
Photo: The Walt Disney Family Museum
“I said, ‘What do you want her to be? Ditzy like Betty Boop? Above it all like the Queen of the Angels?’”
Davis was having none of it. “He said, ‘Margaret, we want her to be you.’”
The Disney Legend, she recalls, let her create the Tinker Bell that fans would come to know and love.
Photo: D23
“I said, ‘Golly, I can do that,’” she explained. “I turned her into a dancer,
A Magical Legacy
After the reference footage of Kerry was sent to animation, Davis would pick out the main frames. From there, animators and inbetweens took her movements and created an animated character who still resonates with audiences today.
Photo: Wilmington Star News
It is a lasting legacy that Kerry does not take for granted.
“I could have been the actress who got her throat slashed in Psycho,” she says, reflecting on her career. “What do you do with that? Everything that I have done, people are enjoying today. That’s amazing.”
Photo: MickeyBlog
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below. One of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond-level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon! Also, Thanks for reading!
