Rhoda Williams
Encyclopedia
Rhoda Williams was an American
actress who voiced Drizella Tremaine in Walt Disney's Cinderella.
. She began her acting career at age five, when she and her family moved to Hollywood
from Galveston, Texas
. She was the daughter of Edgar P. Williams, Superintendent of the Grain Elevators from 1900–1929 and Mrs. Jessie Williams, who was active in the First Methodist Church in Galveston. She had learned to read at age three, and performing on radio came naturally to her. She soon had her own local weekly show on KMPC's, "We Who Are Young."
, Meet John Doe
, That Hagen Girl
, and Mr. Belvedere Goes to College
.
In Walt Disney
's Cinderella
, she was the voice and model for the nasty stepsister, Drizella. She attended Hollywood High School
and earned a B.A.degree
from UCLA
when she was 18.
" and "Star Trek V
".
, as well as voicing a nine-year old French boy in "The Jayhawkers!
". She returned to Walt Disney Studios as the voice and model for the AudioAnimatronic mother and teen-age daughter at the General Electric '"Carousel of Progress. at Disneyland.
at California State University, Northridge
. While studying for her degree, she began a second career as a teacher of dialects and speech for the stage. First at CSUN's Summer Teenage Drama Workshop. then during the regular sessions. She also created a filmstrip
on "Medieval Theatre" which was distributed by Oleson Films to high schools and colleges throughout the country. She received her Master of Arts degree in Theatre in 1972 and continued to teach at CSUN intermittently. She also taught Voice and Speech at Estelle Harman's Actor's Workshop in Hollywood.
President for Alexandria Avenue School in Los Angeles
. Since then. however. most of her activities have been linked to her unions, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, since 1938, (AFTRA) and Screen Actors Guild, (SAG), since 1937.
While she was a member of the Los Angeles Local. she was a Local and National Board member, Local Education Committee Chair. Co-Chair of the L.A. Women's Committee. Western Region Chair of the National Women's Committee and member of the joint AFTRA-SAG Merger Study Committee.She also edited the Los Angeles Local publication, DIALLOG. from 1974 to 1987.
>From 1978 until 1981. she was West Coast Coordinator for a CETA project to increase employment for professionals in the performing arts.From 1981 to 1982, she was Assistant Executive Director of the Los Angeles Local of AFTRA. In January, 1993, after her move to Oregon, Williams was elected to the Local Board of the Portland Local of AFTRA, where she was Treasurer and Alternate to the AFTRA National Board. She and her husband were also editors of the SAG/AFTRA Portland newsletter for AFTRA and SAG.
In Los Angeles, she was a Vice-President and Secretary of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). She also served several years as an appointee to the State Wage Board for the Broadcasting Industry and was an AFTRA delegate to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. For the California State Federation of Labor, she coordinated and conducted the Communications Skills workshop at the Federation's "Women In The Workforce" conferences from 1977 until 1989.She has also taught Communication skills at the AFL-CIO's Western Section Summer School for Labor Union Women.
From 1984 until 1992. she was Secretary-Treasurer of the UCLA Theater. Film and Television Alumni Association and was one of the Charter members of that organization. She has also been Secretary of the InterGuild Women's Caucus. an organization of women in the entertainment industry guilds and unions. which awarded her its Distinguished Service Award. She was a founding member of the Education Council of the Los Angeles Music Center, with special interest in the Music Center on Tour program; a past member of the Glendale Arts Council Board; a founding member of Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters; and an honorary member of REPS (Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound) and of SPERDVAC (The Society for the Preservation of Radio Drama. Variety and Comedy).
Williams performed at local theaters in Eugene, Oregon
. "Pirates" at the Lord Leebrick Theater and "70 Girls 70" at the Very Little Theater.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
actress who voiced Drizella Tremaine in Walt Disney's Cinderella.
Cinderella (1950 film)
Cinderella is a 1950 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film had a limited release on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. Directing credits go to Clyde Geronimi,...
Early life
Rhoda Williams was born on July 19, 1930 in Denver, ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. She began her acting career at age five, when she and her family moved to Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
from Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
. She was the daughter of Edgar P. Williams, Superintendent of the Grain Elevators from 1900–1929 and Mrs. Jessie Williams, who was active in the First Methodist Church in Galveston. She had learned to read at age three, and performing on radio came naturally to her. She soon had her own local weekly show on KMPC's, "We Who Are Young."
Early radio 1937-1957
Her move to national radio came when she was nine years old and was cast as a small boy on NBC's "I Want a Divorce!" During the next several years she appeared in almost every major show emanating from Hollywood, including "Dr. Christian", "One Man's Family", "Arch Oboler Presents" and "Life of Riley". During her teen years, she was also featured or co-starred on many productions of "Lux Radio Theatre" with such stars as Bette Davis, Olivia DeHavilland, Van Johnson, Deborah Kerr, Walter Pidgeon, Rosalind Russell, Clifton Webb, Loretta Young and many others.In 1949, she began a five-year stint as Robert Young's oldest daughter, Betty, on NBC Radio's "Father Knows Best."Motion pictures
During this period, she also appeared in movies such as National VelvetNational Velvet (film)
National Velvet is a 1944 drama film, in Technicolor, based on the novel by Enid Bagnold, published in 1935. It stars Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp and a young Elizabeth Taylor....
, Meet John Doe
Meet John Doe
Meet John Doe is a 1941 American comedy drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The film is about a "grassroots" political campaign created unwittingly by a newspaper columnist and pursued by a wealthy businessman. It became a box office hit...
, That Hagen Girl
That Hagen Girl
That Hagen Girl is a 1947 American drama film directed by Peter Godfrey. The screenplay by Charles Hoffman was based on the novel by Edith Kneipple Roberts. The film focuses on small town teenage girl Mary Hagen whom gossips believe is the illegitimate daughter of former resident and lawyer Tom...
, and Mr. Belvedere Goes to College
Mr. Belvedere Goes to College
Mr. Belvedere Goes to College is a 1949 American comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent. The screenplay written by Mary Loos, Mary C. McCall, Jr., and Richard Sale was based on characters created by Gwen Davenport...
.
In Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
, she was the voice and model for the nasty stepsister, Drizella. She attended Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
and earned a B.A.degree
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
when she was 18.
Early live and filmed television
With the advent of television, Williams moved into the new medium on such early live shows as "Lights, Camera, Action!" and "Slice of Life" and, with the advent of film TV, "Date With Judy'", "Chrysler Theatre",'"Laredo", "The Big Valley", "Run for Your Life", "Dragnet", "Ironside", "Project UFO", "Marcus Welby, M.D.", "Policewoman", and "Barnaby Jones".She appeared on "Superior Court" and "General Hospital" and provided alien voices for "Star Trek IVStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
" and "Star Trek V
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series...
".
Voice overs
She also specialized in voices and dialects and was the "voice" for Brigitte Bardot in the American version of The Night Heaven FellThe Night Heaven Fell
The Night Heaven Fell is a 1958 French-Italian film directed by Roger Vadim. Vadim had already acquired international fame with his daring debut And God Created Woman...
, as well as voicing a nine-year old French boy in "The Jayhawkers!
The Jayhawkers!
The Jayhawkers! is a movie set in pre-Civil War Kansas starring Jeff Chandler and Fess Parker, and directed by Melvin Frank.-Cast:Jeff Chandler ... Luke Darcy Fess Parker ... Cam Bleeker Nicole Maurey ... Jeanne Dubois Henry Silva ... Lordan...
". She returned to Walt Disney Studios as the voice and model for the AudioAnimatronic mother and teen-age daughter at the General Electric '"Carousel of Progress. at Disneyland.
Early live television and filmed shows
In 1968, she started work on her Master's degreeMaster's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
at California State University, Northridge
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
. While studying for her degree, she began a second career as a teacher of dialects and speech for the stage. First at CSUN's Summer Teenage Drama Workshop. then during the regular sessions. She also created a filmstrip
Filmstrip
The filmstrip was a common form of still image instructional multimedia, once commonly used by educators in primary and secondary schools , now overtaken by newer and increasingly lower-cost full-motion videocassettes and DVDs...
on "Medieval Theatre" which was distributed by Oleson Films to high schools and colleges throughout the country. She received her Master of Arts degree in Theatre in 1972 and continued to teach at CSUN intermittently. She also taught Voice and Speech at Estelle Harman's Actor's Workshop in Hollywood.
Work for the union
She began a long association with various civic and professional organizations in 1959, when she served as PTAParent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
President for Alexandria Avenue School in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Since then. however. most of her activities have been linked to her unions, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, since 1938, (AFTRA) and Screen Actors Guild, (SAG), since 1937.
While she was a member of the Los Angeles Local. she was a Local and National Board member, Local Education Committee Chair. Co-Chair of the L.A. Women's Committee. Western Region Chair of the National Women's Committee and member of the joint AFTRA-SAG Merger Study Committee.She also edited the Los Angeles Local publication, DIALLOG. from 1974 to 1987.
>From 1978 until 1981. she was West Coast Coordinator for a CETA project to increase employment for professionals in the performing arts.From 1981 to 1982, she was Assistant Executive Director of the Los Angeles Local of AFTRA. In January, 1993, after her move to Oregon, Williams was elected to the Local Board of the Portland Local of AFTRA, where she was Treasurer and Alternate to the AFTRA National Board. She and her husband were also editors of the SAG/AFTRA Portland newsletter for AFTRA and SAG.
In Los Angeles, she was a Vice-President and Secretary of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). She also served several years as an appointee to the State Wage Board for the Broadcasting Industry and was an AFTRA delegate to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. For the California State Federation of Labor, she coordinated and conducted the Communications Skills workshop at the Federation's "Women In The Workforce" conferences from 1977 until 1989.She has also taught Communication skills at the AFL-CIO's Western Section Summer School for Labor Union Women.
From 1984 until 1992. she was Secretary-Treasurer of the UCLA Theater. Film and Television Alumni Association and was one of the Charter members of that organization. She has also been Secretary of the InterGuild Women's Caucus. an organization of women in the entertainment industry guilds and unions. which awarded her its Distinguished Service Award. She was a founding member of the Education Council of the Los Angeles Music Center, with special interest in the Music Center on Tour program; a past member of the Glendale Arts Council Board; a founding member of Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters; and an honorary member of REPS (Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound) and of SPERDVAC (The Society for the Preservation of Radio Drama. Variety and Comedy).
Williams performed at local theaters in Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
. "Pirates" at the Lord Leebrick Theater and "70 Girls 70" at the Very Little Theater.