She wasn’t afraid to do physical comedy."
When she was tapped to be the model for Cruella, Wickes already had an association with Disney.
She was part of the cast ofAnnette,a series starring Mickey Mouse Club darling Annette Funicello.
Cruella in ‘101 Dalmatians’; Mary Wickes.Everett Collection (2)
Wickes played what else?
But why would someone of her stature agree to being an uncredited animator’s model?
That was just Wickes' work ethic.
©Disney
“Mary wanted nothing more than to work constantly,” Taravella says.
“She loved work.
She would take almost anything she was offered, that she didn’t find offensive.
She was a real old school working actress.”
Instead, she just made Cruella her own.
“Cruella is unorthodox,” Taravella reflects.
“That was Mary.
It’s not an accident that Disney chose somebody with such an unconventional aura.”
What a perfectly wretched legacy, darlings.
