Snow White (Disney character)
Originally, Disney could not find what they thought was a suitable voice for Snow White. Around 150 girls auditioned for the role of Snow White, including well-known actresses such as Deanna Durbin, whose voice seemed too old to Disney. One assistant to Disney called music teacher Guido Caselotti, complaining that Hollywood had no singing girls. Caselotti wanted to offer to send their best to listen to the students, but it turned out that his 20-year-old daughter Adriana overheard a conversation on another phone in the house, and she began to sing in a young girl's voice. Her father was confused and told his daughter to get away from the phone, but the casting director liked her voice and invited her to audition. After Walt Disney heard her, he immediately gave her the role. The studio signed a multi-page contract with Adriana Caselotti: she was forbidden to sing in a movie or on the radio before or after the movie premiered because Walt Disney did not want the voice of Snow White to be heard anywhere else. Instead, she received $970 (now worth approximately $).
JoAnn Dean Killingsworth
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.