Evelyn Kennedy
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2022) |
Evelyn Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1915 |
| Died | 1990 |
| Other names | Evelyn Kennedy Myers |
| Occupation | Music editor |
| Years active | 1955–1981 |
| Musical career | |
| Instrument(s) |
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Evelyn Kennedy Myers (1915 – 1990) was a music editor for the Walt Disney Company, where she contributed to over 100 movies, including Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), Mary Poppins (1964), and The Jungle Book (1967).
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Evelyn Kennedy was born in Amarillo, Texas. She studied at the Amarillo School of Music. There, she became a pupil of Lila Austin, who had studied under E. Robert Schmitz and Joseph Lhevine.[1] On July 12, 1936, Kennedy married Austen Myers.[2]
Kennedy was an accomplished pianist and accordionist, and began teaching at her alma mater. Kennedy held recitals for her students performing keys on stage. During World War II, Kennedy joined the United States Navy and was hired to be a stenographer typist for Walt Disney Productions, where they were commissioned to provide wartime propaganda.[3]
Career at Disney[edit]
Because of World War II, the gender shift in the workforce had changed with women taking a larger role in the workplace. Breaking into the film industry, which was heavily male dominated, was difficult; however, Kennedy's skill solidified her position. She was hired by Walt Disney Productions in 1954, with her first film being Lady and the Tramp (1955). The film earned an estimated $6.5 million in distributor rentals within the United States and Canada.[4] Over the next three decades, Kennedy collaborated with several musical composers, editing and compiling recorded dialogue, sound effects, and instrumental score music to match every visual cue for over 100 films.[3][5]
In an interview with Richard Sherman (of the Sherman Brothers), he talks about his work-relationship with Evelyn Kennedy. "She was a bit older than me, so I was kind of like 'the kid' wandering around, but I was so interested in how she did it. She never let anybody [else] into her editing room where she worked with the Moviola – switching and pushing the film around to make it work. She had a little sign that said, 'Nobody can enter except Richard Sherman.' I was the one guy she would let come in. I was not supposed to talk, so I could just stand there and watch how she worked and how she did it. I was fascinated by it.... It was 'lessons' for me. I was learning so much in those days."[citation needed]
In 1977, when discussing her job as a film music editor, Kennedy's only lament was that she "there were more openings for young people looking for a career".[3]
Filmography[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Lila Austin Myers Returns from Studies in Denver". The Amarillo Globe-Times. September 1, 1937. p. 8. Retrieved April 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ex-Students Wed on July 12 in Amarillo". Canyon News. July 23, 1936. p. 5. Retrieved April 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Kennedy, Evelyn (March 1977). "Film Music Editor". Music Educators Journal. 63 (7): 71. doi:10.2307/3395214. ISSN 0027-4321. JSTOR 3396097. S2CID 221051320.
- ^ "1955's Top Film Grossers". Variety. January 25, 1956. p. 1 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Brown, Ray (October 14, 1975). "Eight wins don't add up to much". Regina Leader-Post. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Holt, Nathalia (2019). The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-43916-9. OCLC 1124852972.
