Disney History

2008-07-24T02:29:00.001-07:00

It is a holiday in Madrid tomorrow, so the blog will be updated again on Monday.

2008-07-24T02:26:00.000-07:00

This just in through Ross Anderson.

The commemorative stamp below released in Canada on May 21, 2008, includes a beautifil portrait of Walt created by the artist Yousuf Karsh in 1956

2008-07-23T03:53:00.000-07:00

Walt's People update

Since Volume 7 is virtually ready, I thought you might be curious as to what's in store for Volume 8. I have just finalized the table of contents (save for two pieces that are still TBC), so here you go:

Foreword: Paula Sigman-Lowery
Dave Smith: Ruth Disney Beecher
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston: Les Clark
Milt Gray: James Bodrero
Robin Allan: Theo Halladay about Sylvia Holland
Robin Allan: Retta Scott (very short)
Jim Korkis: Retta Davidson (article)
Floyd Norman : Retta Davidson (TBC) (article)
Steve Hulett: Mark Kirkland about Moe Gollub
Richard Hubler: Ben Sharpsteen
David Tietyen: Lou Debney
David Tietyen: Jim MacDonald
David Tietyen: Charles Wolcott
Richard Hubler: Bill Cottrell
Mike Lyons: Ward Kimball (TBC)
Richard Hubler: Herb Ryman
Richard Hubler: Donn Tatum
Richard Hubler: Card Walker
Richard Hubler: Bob Sherman
Richard Hubler: Harry Tytle
Richard Hubler: Dolores Voght
Richard Hubler: Tommie Wilck
Richard Hubler: Welton Becket
John G. West: Bill Anderson
Richard Hubler: Robert Stevenson
Christopher Finch and Linda Rosenkrantz: Don Griffith
Jim Korkis: Floyd Gottfredson
Tony Fischier: Floyd Gottfredson
Jim Korkis: Al Taliaferro
Jim Korkis: Jack Hannah
Jim Fanning: Carl Barks
Scott Wolf: Harriet Burns
Charles Solomon: Roy E. Disney
Göran Broling: Correspondence with Frank Thomas
Didier Ghez: Bud Hester
Didier Ghez: Ken Southworth
Didier Ghez: Dale Baer

2008-07-23T02:22:00.000-07:00

Do not miss today:

- A Walk Inside Sleeping Beauty Castle by Wade Sampson
- 1939 Disney memo warns of “gross language” by Jerry Beck

2008-07-22T02:39:00.000-07:00

Tytla talks!

A few months ago, while in New York, I had the chance to meet John Culhane for the first time. John was kind enough to praise Walt's People and mention that he would soon start contributing to the project.

This is especially exciting as John has conducted taped interviews with Disney artists that no one else ever interviewed on tape: John Lounsbery and Bill Tytla among others. When I mentioned this to John, though, he objected about Tytla. "There is another taped interview that exists. I saw someone interview Tytla in Montreal in 1967. The person who interviewed him - I can't remember her name - was the daughter of a famous French director." I could not let this go by. A few weeks after that meeting I realized that the person who had conducted the interview was Louise Beaudet, who passed away in 1997 after having directed for many years the Cinémathèque Québecoise. I then contacted the Cinémathèque Québecoise and true enough, they had an unreleased interview with Tytla on tape.

I have now secured a digital copy, thanks to the help of David Lesjak, Michael Barrier, Mark Sonntag and Don Peri. There are no surprises in the interview. I do not have the rights to release it in Walt's People and will not try to get those rights as the content does not justify any efforts. However, I thought some of you might like to hear Bill's voice for the first time. As you are aware of my passion for Brazil, it will not come as a surprise that I chose an excerpt where Tytla discusses his animating Jose Carioca.

Click on this link to reach the page where the interview excerpt is hosted. Wait a few seconds till it loads, as it is a pretty heavy file.

2008-07-22T02:35:00.000-07:00

Do not miss today:

- A Disney Version by Hans Perk
- In amazing realistic presence... by Kevin Kidney
- 510th Bombardment Squadron insignia by David Lesjak
- Who wants to join the 1930s Mickey Mouse Club? by David Lesjak

2008-07-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[March 1945 issue of Motion Picture magazine.]

2008-07-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

Do not miss today:

- Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk-Through To Return on Laughing Place.
- Sleeping Beauty - storyboard Seq 19 Pt 1 by Michael Sporn

2008-07-18T02:11:00.000-07:00

Sébastien Durand mentions that the book Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, the first part of Julie Andrews' autobiography, contains a few pages about her first meeting with Walt. The making of Mary Poppins will be featured in the second part of the autobiography.

2008-07-18T02:07:00.000-07:00

This just in from Ed Mazzilli:

[Animation Mentor (AnimationMentor.com), the leading online character animation school created by animators for animators, today announced a panel discussion and tribute to the life, work and inspiration of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston which will take place on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles, California. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston are two of Disney's famed Nine Old Men whose historic work includes Alice and Wonderland, Bambi, Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and their acclaimed book on animation, The Illusion of Life.

This extraordinary event reveals the past and future of animation through the eyes of true genius and includes a conversation about animation with contemporary animation legends from Disney Studios, DreamWorks Animation SKG, and others who were inspired by masters Thomas and Johnston. The panel will be followed by a short documentary by Animation Mentor of never-before-seen interview footage of these two animation legends.

"We are truly honored to host this tribute for two beloved animators who have been an instrumental part of animation history and have entertained and inspired so many," said Bobby Beck, chief executive officer and cofounder of Animation Mentor. "We are thrilled to bring such a phenomenal group of talented animators who learned from Frank & Ollie and share a passion for the world of animation. The ability to also share Frank and Ollie's thoughts on animation through rare interview footage will be a special gift that we are proud to give to the world."

Tom Sito, a professional animator and adjunct professor of animation at University of California Los Angeles and University of Southern California, will lead the panel discussion.

Panelists include:

-- Don Hahn, Disney Studios. Hahn is a two-time Academy Award winner and film producer responsible for producing some of the most successful Walt Disney animated films of the past 20 years, including Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

-- Dave Burgess, DreamWorks Animation SKG. Currently a senior animator at DreamWorks Animation on Monsters vs. Aliens (in production), other work includes Bee Movie, Flushed Away, Over the Hedge, Madagascar, Shrek 2, and The Lion King. Burgess is also a mentor for Animation Mentor.

-- Kevin Koch, animation director at Medical Cyberworlds, president of the Animation Guild, and mentor for Animation Mentor. Work includes Quest for Camelot, Prince of Egypt, Sinbad, Shrek 2, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, and Terra.

-- Theodore (Ted) Thomas is an independent film director, writer and producer, and National Emmy Award-winner. He is the son of the late Frank Thomas and wrote, directed and produced the documentary film Frank and Ollie. Other films include Where the Toys Come From and Walt & El Grupo. ]

2008-07-18T02:02:00.000-07:00

Do not miss today:

- CAREY ORR - WALT'S MENTOR by Mark Sonntag
- Walt Celebrates Disneyland 1965 by Wade Sampson

2008-07-17T00:54:00.000-07:00

I just received yesterday a book that I found really exciting. Comic Character Metal Sand Toys, written by world-famous collectors Pat and Doug Wengel, is pure delight for Disneyana collectors. Let me mention first that you should not be fooled by its name: despite the very broad title, the book focus is 90% on Disney and less than 10% on the rest.

What makes it very exciting to me - aside from the fact that with 176 pages it is a really complete reference book and the fact that I discovered in it two photos of Kay Kamen that I had never seen before - is the shere number of pages that are dedicated to foreign Disneyana. In other words, unlike all recent Disneyana books that only focus on seen-so-often-we-can't-care-less US items, this book broadens the scope tremendously. As you know, I have been researching foreign vintage Disneyana for years, but even so I discovered quite a few treasures in the Wengel's book.

In other words: a must-have for serious Disneyana collectors.

2008-07-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[The Randy Bright book (The Disneyland Inside Story, 1987) and the Mechanical Engineering citation (1986) both have the story that Joe Fowler found the Alweg monorail and then told Walt. In the citation version, Joe Fowler AND Roger Broggie find it together, which is possible, as both of them were sent to Europe together to work on Brussels' World's Fair. Disney helped with the American Pavilion. Walt also told them to look for rides/attractions/curiosities to bring back to Disneyland.

According to an Alweg company archival Web site (and most of today’s Disney historical sources), Walt Disney saw the first full-scale Monorail test train in 1958 while in Germany. He and Lillian were driving down the road and saw the saddleback monorail zooming overhead by accident and Walt followed the track and was confronted by people who only spoke German.

After determining he wanted something similar for his theme park, Walt sent Disney Legend and former Imagineer Bob Gurr to Cologne, where he helped develop a scaled down Alweg line for Disneyland. On Oct. 20, 1958, Gurr presented his first designs of the Monorail train to Walt Disney.

Todd James Pierce has also located two articles that appeared in the Los Angeles Times in early 1957 that clearly describe the ALWEG monorail system and also give the location of the test track. These were not small articles hidden in the newspaper since they were describing a possible deal to have an Alweg monorail system in Brazil. So the Alweg monorail was not a secret before Walt discovered it.

So, what’s the real story? Is it the now accepted version that it was Walt who discovered the monorail by happy accident or did some of his top people find it and passed along the information to Walt?]

2008-07-17T00:49:00.000-07:00

Jim Korkis just discovered a great site that features all of Floyd Gottfredson's Disney paintings.

2008-07-17T00:44:00.000-07:00

For those of you who work for Disney in California, this just in from Jim Korkis:

[The Disney Archives in California is doing a series of interesting seminars for cast members at the Disney Studios and I hope they are being taped for future researchers.

On Thursday, June 19th, Disney Author Jim Fanning gave a special seminar at the Disney Archives entitled: "Ludwig Von Drake and the Color Television Revolution" featuring “rarely seen clips, stills and advertising material”.

July 10th "Disneyland Parades & Events of 50s & 60s" presented by Robert Tieman.

August 21 "Disneyland: The Way We Were" presented by Dave Smith.

September 18th Q&A with Tony Anselmo.

October 23rd "Haunted Mansion Collectibles" with special guest, actor & collector, Daniel Roebuck.

November 13th"The Magic of Marc Davis" presented by Archivist, Rob Klein.

December 18th "50 Years of Candlelight at Disney Parks & Resorts"– Becky Cline takes you back through 50 years of the most beloved tradition at the Disney Parks, The Candlelight Procession & Concert.]

2008-07-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

Do not miss today:

- Victory Through Air Power storyboard art - part 2 by David Lesjak
- Joel Chandler Harris by Mark Mayerson
- 65 Years Ago Today... and 53 Years Ago Today... posted by Michael Barrier on July 17, 2008.

2008-07-16T00:56:00.000-07:00

And here is the second mystery of the day.

I received today a short series of three letters from Thurston Harper to Dave Smith that will be released in Walt's People - Volume 9.

Thurston Harper was an artist working for Disney during the Alice Comedies era and therefore fills a few small gaps realted to those days at the Studio.

However, Harper also mentions that he returned to the Disney Studio from 1935 to 1937. I need to know more about Harper. Would anyone have a way to tell me what projects he tackled from 1935 to 1937 and when he passed away (probably in the '80s or '90s, since he was still alive and in good health in 1978)?

2008-07-16T00:53:00.001-07:00

Here is one of the two mysteries of the day: I have just received those photos of Disney gag drawings from a reader of the blog. Apparently there were more in the series. Would anyone be able to guess who is the artist who might have created them? The style looks oddly familiar, but I really can't place it.

2008-07-16T00:51:00.001-07:00

Do not miss today:

- The Whole Tooth: Disney and Dentistry by Wade Sampson

2008-07-15T03:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a request for help from a reader of the blog. Any idea?

[About 25 years ago, when I was in elementary school, I remember checking out 1 or 2 books from the school library frequently that were educational in nature, about the human body, which was written by a medical professional but illustrated copiously with the Disney characters alongside the other, more scientific diagrams. I remember the book being fairly text heavy, and it seemed to me they covered the systems of the body and things like that. As I recall, the books were around 150 pages or so long (maybe longer), so these were pretty decent sized books. They were hardcover, with primarily white covers, and for the life of me I've been looking around like crazy trying to at least come up with the name or author of the book (or books) in an attempt to find it again. I've done some looking around on eBay, and have seen the "Wonderful World of Knowledge" book series, but I'm almost positive that's not what I'm looking for.]

2008-07-15T03:06:00.000-07:00

This just in from Diane Disney Miller through Jim Korkis about the photo I posted yesterday:

[That photo is from the 1952 voyage home. My cousin Marjorie is the young woman on the left side of the photo. I am across the room from my father (my back is to the camera).]

2008-07-15T03:01:00.000-07:00

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[The Big Bamboo was a small little bar near Walt Disney World that was home to many Disney cast members over the years and a favorite of late Disney Legend Ralph Kent. More information on the place can be found here: http://www.bigbamboolounge.com/.

It was decorated with artwork and artifacts from those who opened WDW back in 1971 and although it looked a little frightening stuck back off 192, there were some strict rules including that if you bothered a woman there you were only given one warning and then kicked out. It was also near the fabled "Snow White Village" where the first WDW college students were housed until housing was built at Vista Way. Unfortunately, the hurricanes in 2004 caused such damage that the place closed and never re-opened. However, apparently the legend will still live on when next month the new version of the Big Bamboo will open. More information can be found here: www.nubamboolounge.com. This project is spearheaded by a WDW character artist who was trained by Ralph Kent and who has obtained some memoribilia (including the recipes for one of the famous drinks served at the original lounge) to utilize at the new location that is right across the street from the memory of the original lounge.]

2008-07-15T02:52:00.000-07:00

Ed Bergen who heads up The Carl Barks Fan Club just sent me the link of the club's site as well as some of the past newsletters of the club in which I found quite a lot of interesting information for anyone truly interested in the Duck Man. Definitely worth checking out.

2008-07-15T02:47:00.000-07:00

Do not miss today:

- British Mickey Mouse Weekly war reference by David Lesjak
- Western Air Lines insignia stamp album - part 2 by David Lesjak
- Sleeping Beauty’s End - 1 by Michael Sporn

2008-07-14T02:50:00.000-07:00

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[One of the people I work with is Anne Cullen and she shared with me the following picture and the following information:

“My Great Uncle’s name was John Korista he was the Captain of the S.S. Independence. It sailed from New York to Europe and back. His wife my Aunt Nita also worked on the ship, she was the manager of the Saks Fifth Ave. store. After John left the S.S. Independence he was Captain of the First Nuclear Power Freighter the Savannah. Both the S.S. Independence and its sister ship the S.S. Constitution still sail today off the coast of Hawaii.”

Now, my question is, what is the rest of the story? When was this picture taken? Anne says that she remembers her Aunt Nita talking about Lillian, Walt’s wife, coming to visit her shop and that Lillian was very nice. ]

Jim mentioned that Michael Barrier later sent him additional information:

[Walt (and Lilly and Diane and Sharon) sailed back from Italy to the U.S. on the Independence in both August 1951 and August 1952, according to the immigration/emigration records available online, but Walt looks a little older in your photo than I would expect him to look on those dates. He and Lilly flew back from London on Pan Am after their summer 1953 visit.

Unfortunately, the online records extend only up to 1957, so if Walt sailed back on a later date (as opposed to flying, which he did most if not all of the time from the late '50s on), there's no easily accessible record of that.]