An evil laugh… a flash of green flames… a dragon… a black cat. What do these have in common? They’re present around Halloween, they’re spooky, and they could belong to a villain. In this case, they belong to 2 of the most iconic villains to ever appear on the big screen. Our villains have a few things in common: they are both a part of fairytales that have been around for centuries, they are both a part of Disney animated movies, and they are both voiced by the same person. Cinderella’s Lady Tremaine (1950) and Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent (1959) were both voiced by the legendary Eleanor Audley.

Eleanor Audley as Maleficent. Image from: http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/08/miss-audley.html

Eleanor Audley’s Broadway Debut

Eleanor Audley was born on November 19th, 1905 as Eleanor Zellman. She grew up in New Jersey, and at about 12 years old her family moved to New York City. It was the perfect location to launch her career in entertainment, where she began on Broadway. Her first ever role was the “Guest of the Hotel” in Howdy, King in December 1926. That show ran for a month and had 40 performances. She continued on Broadway all the way through to 1944, starring in shows such as On Call, Pigeons and People, Thunder on the Left, Kill that Story, Ladies’ Money, Susan and God, and In Bed We Cry. Her longest running role was Charlotte Marley in Susan and God.

Susan and God playbill. Image from: https://www.playbill.com/playbillpagegallery/inside-playbill?asset=00000150-aea5-d936-a7fd-eef5e5ef0002&type=InsidePlaybill&slide=1

Radio Career

After Eleanor’s career on Broadway, she began making appearances on radio shows. This is where her recognizable voice really started to become synonymous to her. One of her most famous roles was on a radio sitcom called My Favorite Husband that starred Lucille Ball and Richard Denning. The radio show ran from 1948 to 1951, with Eleanor starring as the mother-in-law, Mrs. Cooper, in a few episodes. She also starred in Father Knows Best, another radio sitcom that aired on NBC every Thursday night in the 1950s. She played the neighbor, Mrs. Smith.

Cinderella (1950)

Eleanor soon after began her work in film, with her first role in The Story of Molly X in 1949. She had already begun to make a name for herself in the industry, and was soon casted to be the evil stepmother in Disney’s newest animated film, Cinderella, in 1950. Disney animator Andreas Deja speaks about how she was the perfect fit for the role in the documentary From Rags to Riches: The Making of Cinderella.

“The whole studio just loved Eleanor Audley. I think that they knew they couldn’t have found anybody better. She had authority, there’s a command in her voice, sarcasm... there are so many qualities that are in her voice.”

— Andreas Deja

Eleanor not only served as the voice of Lady Tremaine, but was also the live action reference model for her as well. In certain photos of Audley you can see the great similarities the 2 have. Frank Thomas was the supervising animator for the character of the Step-Mother, Lady Tremaine, in Cinderella. He recalls their time working together on the project, as he modelled the majority of the look of the character after Audley. The look and the voice together just made sense.

“Her voice has such color in it, and whenever you captured that in the drawings, it gave you a very satisfying feeling.”

— Frank Thomas

Eleanor Audley as Lady Tremaine. Image from: http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/08/miss-audley.html

Lady Tremaine. Image from: https://www.rotoscopers.com/2014/10/26/villain-vignettes-26-lady-tremaine/

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

After her successful time at Disney working on Cinderella, she was then cast as the villain again in Disney’s next princess film, Sleeping Beauty. According to the 1997 VHS documentary of the making of Sleeping Beauty, it is said that Walt personally suggested Eleanor for the role. It’s been said that she initially turned down the role due to having tuberculosis at the time of the offer, but luckily was able to recover before having to record.

The lead animator for Maleficent, Disney Legend Marc Davis, worked closely with Eleanor as he wanted to model the facial features after her as well, similarly to Lady Tremaine. He got the idea for the cape and horns from different historical religious texts he studied.

“Eleanor Audley was a fine actress. There’s a lot of the facial look that I put into Maleficent - that really is Eleanor Audley.”

— Marc Davis

According to Andreas Deja’s blog, he recalled that she had once told him that the Disney studios held a private screening of Sleeping Beauty just for her. She ended up being very proud of the work and time she had spent with Disney, as they also became some of her most famous pieces of work ever.

Maleficent. Image from: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-maleficent-villains-20140530-story.html

Eleanor Audley’s Time on Television

Her experience on radio sitcoms and films then translated into her getting roles on television sitcoms through the 1950s to the 1970s. Her first television appearance was on The Mickey Rooney Show as Bessie, which was actually the pilot episode of the series in 1954. She continued to play supporting characters on other successful TV shows such as I Love Lucy (1957), The Millionaire (1958), The Twilight Zone (1960), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), and Green Acres (1965). Audley continued to appear on television shows all the way up until 1970, her last series being My Three Sons.

Eleanor Audley on Green Acres. Image from: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0041598/mediaindex/?ref_=nm_mv_close

Eleanor Audley, Mary Tyler Moore, and Dick Van Dyke. Image from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0559855/

Madame Leota and Later Years

Not only has her voice echoed through homes of families watching Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, but it has also echoed through a very particular mansion that needed a villainous tone. Audley provided her voice for another Disney project in the 1960s - The Haunted Mansion. She is the voice of Madame Leota, the floating ghostly psychic that haunts the attraction. Though she did not also provide her facial features for the ride as the face is portrayed by Leota Toombs, her voice had the perfect tone and intonation needed for the spooky ride.

Eleanor passed away at the age of 86 in November 1991 due to respiratory failure.