Cliff Edwards Autograph - Voice of Jiminy Cricket

Disney's delightful Jiminy Cricket was the miraculous result of the artistic genius of animator Ward Kimball and the unique vocal talent of Vaudevillian Cliff Edwards. Edwards was known to audiences as "Ukelele Ike" and performed a small string of jazz and novelty records, culminating in a 1929 hit single with his rendition of "Singin' In The Rain" some twenty years before Gene Kelly made it world-famous. In 2002, Cliff's recording of "When You Wish Upon A Star" from this movie was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame and the song has remained a Disney mainstay to this day. After a hard life of personal challenges and tragedies, he passed away in 1971.

Cliff Edward's Jiminy Cricket was the grounding of the story in "Pinocchio" and was so charming that Disney brought the character back many times to narrate cartoons and television programs, most notably the "I'm No Fool" series of educational shorts that were shown on Disney television and to schoolchildren for many years. Lead animator Ward Kimball worked very hard to create a cartoon cricket that would be lovable and would work in the movie. He went through several variations before developing the top-hatted voice of reason for Pinocchio that we all came to know and love.

This Disney collectible features a very rare Cliff Edwards' autograph taken from an autograph book, and includes a colorful page from a children's book that features Jiminy, all in an 11x14" mat. Any Pinocchio collector would love this piece!