 From www.wdwinfo.com Disney Legend Ginny Tyler dies at age 86  Photo courtesy Disney Parks Blog Ginny Tyler, Disney Legend and Disneyland Storyteller, died last week at the age of 86. Tyler died July 13 in Issaquah, Washington. She was known for her voice work, and especially for voicing animal characters. Some of the characters she portrayed were two female squirrels in The Sword in the Stone and several barnyard animals in Mary Poppins. She was the narrator on the Bambi and Babes in Toyland records, as well as the voice for Polynesia the Parrot in the 1967 film Dr. Dolittle. Other work included the voice of Casper the Friendly Ghost in 1963, the damsel of distress in Space Ghost in 1966, and several characters in the TV show Davey and Goliath. Tyler said that she grew up always being able to easily recreate animal sounds, something that she may have learned from her mother, who was a performer and had studied bird calls in school. As Disneyland Storyteller, she worked at the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland. The show had been redone for syndication, and she hosted segments from the park telling stories and taking viewers behind the scenes. Her proudest moment was with Walt Disney himself. She was telling him how wonderful Disneyland was and he replied, "That goes for my Disneyland storyteller too." "That was me. I've never felt prouder," she wrote in her book. She became a Disney Legend in 2006, and at the award ceremony, gave her thanks in character voices: Minnie Mouse, Pinocchio, a Sword in the Stone squirrel, and a witch. |