The Rise and Fall of Deafy

Before the final seven dwarfs were cast, there were many others that didn't make the cut.  One such fellow is Deafy.  According to J. B. Kauffman in his book The Fairest One of All, Deafy was the unused dwarf list that came the closest to making it.  Each dwarf has their own gag (Sneezy's monster sneezes and Doc's ability to mix words up) and Deafy, was naturally, hard of hearing.  At one point they artists discussed having Deafy carry a horn, but that idea was ultimately rejected by Walt.  It might have been fun to see Deafy in the scene where the dwarfs are inspecting the cottage after the apparent break-in.  The dwarfs' search would have been constantly interrupted by having to explain everything to Deafy several times.  Deafy was still on outlines all the way through 1935 but, in the end, Deafy was replaced by Sneezy.  There have been a few explanations of why he was dropped: the constant explaining would slow down the plot or the final dwarf line-up did not include any physical afflictions.