Virginia Davis was the young cutie hired by Walt Disney in the 1920s to star in the Alice Comedies, a series of shorts where a little girl would enter a cartoon world and interact with the animated characters. These were some of Walt's earliest attempts at animation and the series was a moderate success. Crude by today's standards and overshadowed by Walt's subsequent work, the Alice Comedies were the first projects Walt was able to distribute on a wide basis. They also introduced the animated bully Pete, who went on to antagonize Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse after the Alice shorts were discontinued.
It's probably safe to say that Davis was the first Disney "star"...even preceding Oswald. Four young actresses played Alice over the course of the series, but she was the first and the one most often associated with the series. She was only 5 years old when she began working with Walt.
More on her career and death here:
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/virginia-davis-1918-2009.html
It's probably safe to say that Davis was the first Disney "star"...even preceding Oswald. Four young actresses played Alice over the course of the series, but she was the first and the one most often associated with the series. She was only 5 years old when she began working with Walt.
More on her career and death here:
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/virginia-davis-1918-2009.html
