By David Laurell

With a wave of her wand, and a few magical words, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother helped the cinders-to-satin-princess attend a gala ball, meet a handsome prince, and see all of her dreams come true.

As everyone who has seen The Walt Disney Company’s 1950 animated classic knows, at the conclusion of the film, Cinderella and her prince go on to live happily ever after. What isn’t apparent is what becomes of the Fairy Godmother who quietly disappears, perhaps to continue the work fairy godmothers do – offering positive encouragement, inspiration and empowerment to help others realize their dreams.

Those offerings have certainly been the life’s work of Mary Alice O’Connor – the woman who inspired Disney’s Fairy Godmother character.

Born in Berkeley, CA in 1916, Mary Alice became seriously ill during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Unlike the thousands of young children whose lives were claimed by that outbreak, Mary Alice survived, and has credited that virus for giving her strong antibodies that resulted in a long and healthy life. When Mary Alice was a young girl, her mother worked as a special assistant to then-California Governor Clement Calhoun Young. During those years, Mary Alice spent quite a bit of time with her mother in Sacramento. “I was always a very curious child who was interested in everything and everyone,” said Mary Alice. “During our time in Sacramento I became fascinated with government, education, business and community involvement.”

A few years later, during her senior year of high school, Mary Alice’s family left Northern California for Los Angeles when her father, who had taught economics at Stanford and the University of California Berkeley, took a faculty appointment at Los Angeles City College. Mary Alice completed her high school education at Hollywood High School and then went on to earn a degree from Los Angeles City College. She then entered the work force, first at the Douglas School and Ranch Camp in Pebble Beach, and then, back in Hollywood, as a social events coordinator for several notable film stars including Basil Rathbone. During World War II, she also coordinated talent and served as a hostess for the USO’s Hollywood Canteen.

In the early-1940s, Mary Alice’s life forever changed when she met an Australian artist by the name of Ken O’Connor. “He had come to our home for a tea,” said Mary Alice. “When he left, I announced he was the man I was going to marry – and three years later I did!” In February of 1944, Ken and Mary Alice purchased a home in Burbank, close to the Disney Studios where Ken had been hired as an art director and layout man. An early animation pioneer, O’Connor worked on close to 100 shorts, 13 animated features, and films for the Army Motion Picture Department. He served as the art director on Disney’s “Man in Space” series that has been credited with sparking the public’s interest in space exploration, and worked on the educational film “Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom,” that won an Academy Award in 1953. During this time, he also teamed up with Mary Alice to co-produce two children – John, who was born in 1947, followed three years later by Joan Patricia.

Ken continued to work with Disney through the early-1990s on a variety of theme park projects, and in 1992, six years before his death, he was presented with the Disney Legends Award for his significant contributions to the studio. Among those contributions were his creation of the witch’s death scene in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the “Dance of the Hours” in “Fantasia,” the marching cards in “Alice in Wonderland,” the Skull Rock in “Peter Pan,” and for his work on such classics as “Pinocchio,” “Dumbo,” “Lady and the Tramp,” and “Cinderella,” for which he created the magical pumpkin coach.

While “Cinderella” was in the early stages of production, Ken was also given the charge of creating the Fairy Godmother character. For inspiration he went no further than his own wife. While Mary Alice was only in her early-30s at the time, Ken applied his creativity to imagine how she would look as an older woman. It wasn’t much of a stretch for O’Connor to select his wife to be the inspiration for the Fairy Godmother being as that Mary Alice had become a real life fairy godmother. During Ken’s career at Disney, Mary Alice embraced volunteerism as her life’s work. Ever since World War II, when she wrapped Christmas presents for American troops, she dedicated herself to improving the lives of others by volunteering with numerous charities and non-profit organizations. She was a tireless community volunteer, and served as an elected official on the Burbank Board of Education.

While Mary Alice’s fingerprints can be found on the creation of hundreds of positive programs and fundraising endeavors, the pinnacle of her dedication to making the lives of others better and helping dreams come true, has been her commitment to ensuring that children are exposed to the arts. In promoting arts education she served as the first chairman of “The Children’s Open House at the Hollywood Bowl,” that introduced thousands of children to the joys of music, dance, poetry and theater. Honored by numerous government officials and organizations for her volunteer work, Mary Alice was presented with The National Volunteer Center Beautiful Activist Award and was lauded by President Gerald Ford for her volunteerism during a White House Rose Garden ceremony. In 1998, she received the Older American Recognition Award, and in 2007, she saw the mayor of Burbank cut the ribbon on “The Mary Alice O’Connor Family Resource Center.”

Today, at the age of 93, Mary Alice continues to make dreams come true. Despite the fact that she can no longer leave her home, she is currently involved in a fundraising effort for the American Cancer Society’sRelay For Life. “My family always teased me that I was either out at a meeting or at home on the phone planning the next one,” laughed Mary Alice. “Luckily for me, they always supported my commitment to our community through volunteering.”

Questioned on why she so deeply embraced the spirit of volunteerism and the desire to help others, Mary Alice said she felt it was in her blood. “I have always had a true love of people,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in everything and in everyone I’ve met.”

With her positive outlook on life, Mary Alice’s optimism is legendary to all who have been touched by her magical wand of inspiration. Asked if she has any magical words on how people can stay positive despite the ravages of age, declining health, the loss of loved ones, or tough financial times, Mary Alice answered without hesitation. “There’s no magic to it. You just have to keep a positive outlook,” she said. “Just be positive. Don’t be grumpy. Don’t fuss. Always figure out a way to be helpful. You don’t have to hang on to bad things. Get rid of them. Get them out of your head. That way you’ll have more room for all the positive things.”

When queried on if she harbors a special affection for Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, the woman with the twinkling eyes and upswept hair who is the spitting image of the character simply shrugs. “Well Ken created her when I was much younger, so I guess you could say I have grown into her,” she said with a laugh. Further pressed on if she had any say in the character’s creation, Mary Alice admits to not being able to draw a straight line. “But that never stopped me from critiquing Ken on the things he was doing,” she said. “Positive critique,” she quickly added. “Always positive.”

* Editor's Note: This story is the result of Mrs. O'Connor's last interview. She peacefully passed away on June 12, 2010 at the age of 93.