I was recently contacted by a marketing rep about reading the book,
The Voice of Villainy: The Betty Lou Gerson Story by Lona Bailey, PhD. Admittedly, Gerson has never really been high on my radar, but I was aware that she was the vocal talent behind one of the most famous animated villains of all-time, Cruella de Vil, from Disney’s “101 Dalmations.” Having recently finished the book, I can’t say I’d recommend it. Clocking in at a little over 100 pages of biographical text (in large print, no less), it reads more like a college term paper, with plenty of gaps of info that unfortunately seem to hit just as the author stumbles upon something halfway interesting. The book also includes a large appendix with chronological listings of Betty’s work; in fact almost half of the book is dedicated to these exhaustive lists. I commend Bailey on her work in digging up the list of vintage radio broadcasts, but can’t applaud her for her writing skills or ability to create a biography that digs deeply into the source material beyond what could be found on Wikipedia.
If you want to learn new information about Betty’s work at Disney (which began with the voice-over narration of “Cinderella”), you’ll be sorely disappointed. In fact, her work at Disney is glossed over with a scant four pages on “Dalmation.” I patiently waded through pages upon pages of background info about Betty’s family history and the abundance of explanatory text of the hurdles women had to overcome because of the societal constraints of the time. In describing Betty’s narrator gig for “Cinderella,” the author states:
No cast or crew member of “Cinderella” knew they were contributing to a legendary film or legendary production company that would become and stay a household name for decades after. It was simply business as usual, though the element of animation was certainly a twist of novelty.You lost me, Lona. Business as usual? At the point “Cinderella” got the green light, Disney animation was struggling as it hadn’t had a financial hit since “Snow White” (1937). The studio was staying afloat thanks to making Government films during the war. The studio’s financial livelihood and success rested on the shoulders of the animated heroine and her glass slipper. I’m not sure who Lona interviewed for this portion, but it couldn’t have been anyone associated with the Disney Studio. In the few pages she writes about “Dalmatians,” she completely disappoints again, giving very little new info about Gerson’s part in the production. Bailey manages to misspell the name of Mary Wickes, the actress who was used as the live-action reference model for Cruella because Gerson didn’t quite have the physical look that animator Marc Davis was seeking (even though Bailey claims that Cruella was “Gersons’s wicked animated alter-ego”). For me, the book offered few relevatory bits of info, other than discovering that Gerson was an acting coach for a very young Mary Tyler Moore. Even that tidbit was a disappointment as there was no further information about whether the two kept in contact over the years or what Mary thought of her in retrospect.
As far as photos, the cover shot is all you get. Thanks to ebay, I can provide these two images. The shot above shows Betty Lou and her husband, Joseph Ainley. From the accompanying 1936 publicity blurb:
Radio Actress Married In Chicago Photo shows Joseph T. Ainley, Chicago Advertsiing Company official and his bride, the former Betty Lou Gerson, 22 year old radio actress. The couple were married in Chicago April 27, upon Miss Gerson’s arrival from the West Coast where she appeared on a radio program, and the couple kept the marriage secret until April 29.
Above is a shot from Betty’s 1949 anti-communist film, “The Red Menace.”
Finally, a painting I did a few years back of the most famous character that Betty Lou voiced, Cruella de Vil.
Betty, you deserved better.
See more photos at my
main website.
