Sunday August 21, Disney's D23 Convention, Anaheim, Margaret Kerry, the original model for Tinkerbelle in Disney's Peter Pan, poses with her fans.
While it was always (and wrongly) publicized that Marilyn Monroe was the original inspiration for the first visual presentation on the screen for J.M. Barrie's eternal pixie, the truth is a little more down to earth that it was the legendary comedian Eddie Cantor's protege who answered an open call at Disney in the early 1950s. She was chosen by the Walt's favorite artist Marc Davis to spend six months alone on a sound stage with just simple props pantomiming the world's most famous firelight creating live-action reference footage for the animated film. While herself was never seen in the film, fans have made Kerry more famous than other more visible
movie stars of her time.
Kerry's little known other contribution to the baby boomer culture is creating voices for all 52 episodes of the kitsch TV cartoon classic Clutch Cargo.
