Evelyn Kennedy

Evelyn Kennedy Myers (1915 – 1990) was a music editor for the Walt Disney Company, where she contributed to over 100 movies, including Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), Mary Poppins (1964), and The Jungle Book (1967).

Early life
Evelyn Kennedy was born in Amarillo, Texas. She studied at the Amarillo School of Music. There, she became a pupil of Lila Austin, who had studied under E. Robert Schmitz and Joseph Lhevine. On July 12, 1936, Kennedy married Austen Myers.

Kennedy was an accomplished pianist and accordionist, and began teaching at her alma mater. Kennedy held recitals for her students performing keys on stage. During World War II, Kennedy joined the United States Navy and was hired to be a stenographer typist for Walt Disney Productions, where they were commissioned to provide wartime propaganda.

Career at Disney
Because of World War II, the gender shift in the workforce had changed with women taking a larger role in the workplace. Breaking into the film industry, which was heavily male dominated, was difficult; however, Kennedy's skill solidified her position. She was hired by Walt Disney Productions in 1954, with her first film being Lady and the Tramp (1955). The film earned an estimated $6.5 million in distributor rentals within the United States and Canada. Over the next three decades, Kennedy collaborated with several musical composers, editing and compiling recorded dialogue, sound effects, and instrumental score music to match every visual cue for over 100 films.

In an interview with Richard Sherman (of the Sherman Brothers), he talks about his work-relationship with Evelyn Kennedy. "She was a bit older than me, so I was kind of like 'the kid' wandering around, but I was so interested in how she did it. She never let anybody [else] into her editing room where she worked with the Moviola – switching and pushing the film around to make it work. She had a little sign that said, 'Nobody can enter except Richard Sherman.' I was the one guy she would let come in. I was not supposed to talk, so I could just stand there and watch how she worked and how she did it. I was fascinated by it.... It was 'lessons' for me. I was learning so much in those days."

In 1977, when discussing her job as a film music editor, Kennedy's only lament was that she "there were more openings for young people looking for a career".