February is National Bird-Feeding Month, and Disney Archives is celebrating with a post about Jane Darwell, known for playing the Bird Woman in Mary Poppins.
Jane Darwell, the ‘Bird Woman’
Disney Archives remembers Jane Darwell’s portrayal of the Bird Woman in the 1964 movie, Mary Poppins. In the film, the Bird Woman sells breadcrumbs for a “tuppence a bag.” Walt Disney himself personally cast Darwell, an Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actress in The Grapes of Wrath (1940).
Darwell said in 1964 that she played all her scenes with a flock of pigeons, and it wasn’t easy “with 25 or 30 birds fluttering around or perched all over you.” She noted that despite that, they became fast friends and never upstaged her.
The Bird Woman is the subject of “Feed the Birds,” a song composed by the Sherman Brothers that became one of Disney’s favorite songs.
You can view the full post below:
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