This just in from Steve Maslowski, son of one of Disney True-Life Adventures cinematographers, Karl Maslowski:

[Attached are three photos - one which shows my father with Walt; another shows my father with a woman in a boat taken during the filming of an old show called "Secrets of Earthquake Lake" at Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee. The woman apparently was one of the stars. A third photo shows my father a few years earlier in the same area on his way to build a tower to photograph nesting egrets. If I remember right, some of the film Dad shot then was subsequently used in Secrets of Earthquake Lake.]

The excellent book about Walt Disney World that I mentioned on the blog a few days ago is now available on CreateSpace and should soon be featured on Amazon.

If you read Italian and enjoy the history of Disney comics, here is another book that might be worth getting.

Do not miss today:

- The Walt Disney World Totem Poles by Jim Korkis
- Future Fantasias, 1940 by Michael Crawford
- What's the connection between Roy E. Disney's camera and the 1965 Watts Riot? by Floyd Norman

Here are a few more photos of the Bob Youngquist retirement party. Who can you recognize (outside of Ward Kimball, of course)?

Jérémie Noyer just emailed me to mention that he is currently working on a third volume in his interview series (in French). That book will focus on Disneyland Paris and should be released by the end of the year.

Do not miss today:

- Disney’s “Clara Cleans Her Teeth” (1926) by Jerry Beck
- The Santa Fe Magazine - August 1955 on Vintage Disneyland Tickets
- Van Eaton Galleries planning Cartoon Auction by Jerry Beck

A few years ago, Steve Hulett posted photos of the Bob Yougquist's retirement lunch (here, here, and here) on the Animation Guild's blog. I have just found more photos of that party on ebay. Here are two (who can you recognize on the photo below aside from Woolie, Ken Anderson and Frank Thomas?) and I will post three more tomorrow.

Do not miss today:

- Walt Disney Vs. The Air Pirates by Michael Crawford (Outstanding article)
- Veteran and Disney Cartoonist Bob Bales by Jean M. McLean (Thanks to Christopher Garrison for the link - I am currently conducting an interview of Bob Bales, which will be released in a future volume of Walt's People)
- Jenny teaches Peter by Ed Gombert

Any idea who the artists are on this photo?

(This photo apparently comes from the collection of former Disney artist Al Stetter and is being sold on ebay at the moment)

Do not miss today:

- What a Character! - Fresh Up Freddie by Jeff Pepper
- THE FAUNTELROY FOLLIES: The Continuing History of Donald Duck by Paul F. Anderson
- Made For You and Me: Localizing Disney’s Imperialism for an Egyptian Audience by Nadim Damluji (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link)
- How the "Disney World" project was described to Florida legislators back in February of 1967 by Jim Hill

I wonder who Joe Rinaldi caricatured. Any idea?

(This document seems to come from the estate of Disney artist Al Stetter and is being sold on ebay at the moment).

Don Peri's new book has been released one month earlier than planned. I am about to run and order my own copy today. I have a feeling that you should really do the same.

I have a feeling I had never seen this particular photo (being sold on ebay at the moment). Had you?

Do not miss today:

- A Visit To EPCOT Center, 1984 by Michael Crawford
- The Lost Forests Of EPCOT Center by Michael Crawford
- Robbins Barstow and the Disneyland Dream on Film by Jim Korkis

This brought back memories! I was still a student when German artist Ulrich Schroeder created this statue in the early '90s and offered it to Ollie Johnston during his trip to Paris (where Ulrich was based at the time). I am fortunate to own a copy of it (without the marble base).

If you want to get Ollie's, check out today Howard Lowery's latest auction.

Do not miss today:

- Where Walt Was: November 8, 1965 by Michael Barrier

I am likely to be visiting Disneyland as well as Disney's California Adventures on February 12th and 13th. If this were confirmed, would any reader of the blog want to meet there? Please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com if you do.

(And if you happen to work at Disneyland, could you please mention it in your email?)

Walt's People - Volume 10 is now available through Amazon. Please spread the news.

Disney Historian: Jim Korkis

I have a feeling you will love those two videos.

The Disney Books Network was updated this weekend.

Walt Disney at the Copenhagen Airport

This just in from Are Myklebust:

[Here's an extremely short film clip of Walt Disney at Copenhagen Airport (Denmark) in the 1960s. You can spot the Scandinavian Airlines System logo (SAS) on the shuttle bus behind him.]

Here is a book I am really looking forward to. I am biased since I contributed an essay about Joe Fowler and Carl Bongirno to this volume, but the subjects explored as well as the contributors are bound to make it worthwhile if you are interested in the history of the Disney parks.

Here is the table of contents:

[Jim Hill: Foreword
Chad Emerson: Introduction
Tom Corless: The Sunset Boulevard that Was, Is, and Never Will Be
Tom Corless: When is the 3 O’Clock Parade? Then, Now, and Forever
Michael Crawford: Tomorrow’s Windows: Looking Back at Horizons
Michael Crawford: A Brief History of the Future: From EPCOT to EPCOT Center
Jason Diffendal: The Walt Disney World Monorail System
Jason Diffendal: Spaceship Earth
Greg Ehrbar: Much Ado About Hoop-Dee-Doo
Greg Ehrbar: The 65th Year for Mickey, the Very First Visit for Kids
Sam Gennawey: Walt Disney’s EPCOT and the Heart of Our Cities
Didier Ghez: Joe & Carl: Two Men Who Built the World
Adam Goswick: Disney Brings Sports to the World
Scott and Carol Holmes: Whatever Happened to Beastly Kingdom?
Debra Martin Koma: Magic of the Night: The Evolution of Walt Disney World’s Nighttime
Fireworks Displays
Jim Korkis: Meeting Mickey: Remembering Mickey’s Toontown Fair
Jim Korkis: For Your Pleasure: The Mythology and Reality of Pleasure Island
Mike Lee: The Relative Truth About If You Had Wings
Mike Lee: Thunder Mesa & the Western River Expedition: A Neverending Story
Chuck Mirarchi: History of the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue
Chuck Mirarchi: History of the Main Street Electrical Parade
Chuck Mirarchi: History of the Contemporary & Polynesian Resort Hotels
Lou Mongello: Walt Disney World Resorts That Never Were
Foxx Nolte: Goodnight, George: A Ghost Story
Foxx Nolte: Another Magic Corner of the World
Jeffrey Pepper: EPCOT 1939
Michael Scopa: The Carousel of Progress: What Would Walt Think?
George Taylor: An Island Filled with Tropic Beauty, Colorful Birds, and the Mystery of Ben
Gunn’s Buried Treasure!
Kevin Yee: Honoring the Cast: Insider Tributes & Homages
Kevin Yee: Theme Park Archaeology]

Do not miss today:

- Carl Fallberg and Lost Disney Books by Jim Korkis
- Book Review: Walt's People Volume 10 by Didier Ghez by George Taylor

Grace Huntington worked at the Disney Studio in the '30s as a storywoman. I was excited to stumble upon her autobiography yesterday. The book was edited and released last year by her son Berkeley Brandt. I suspect that the book does not contain very much about Grace's Disney career but even that small section will probably satisfy me. We will see.

The new issue of the Twenty-Three magazine will be released on February 1. I am particularly looking forward to Becky Cline's article about Walt and Roy's 1935 trip.

Jim Korkis and I are in the process of interviewing another one of the individuals who were involved in the making of the True-Life Adventures, artist and naturalist Boyd Shaffer.

I discovered the existence of Boyd Shaffer thanks to the book pictured above. Based on Boyd's wife's review of the book I do not recommend that you buy it since it seems to be full of inaccuracies. The interview we are conducting with Boyd and that should be released in Walt's People - Volume 12 will probably become a good reference about him and his work for Disney.

Do not miss today:

- Walt Disney - February 9, 1939 by Mark Sonntag
- Walt Disney - January 22, 1937 by Mark Sonntag
- United China Relief - part 2 by David Lesjak
- Disney trainer Lloyd Beebe created Olympic Game Farm in Sequim
- Beebes remembered in Sequim, beyond

Luciano Berriatua bought recently from Leslie M. Brooks (who manages the Wabbits store on ebay) this great drawing by Ferdinand Horvath.

Luciano asked himself two questions: When was it created and who are the artists caricatured?

To find the answer, he followed the following reasoning:


The paper's three circular pegs and 2 rectangular ones started being used around mid-1935 and until 1944 but strangely the size of the paper (9,5" x 12") corresponds to pre-1935 sheets (the ones used starting in 1935 are usually 10" x 12") . It is therefore likely that pre-1935 paper was used with the new perforations in this case.


In addition, since Horvath left Disney in 1937, the drawing probably dates from between 1935 to 1937.

The first model sheets of Fantasia's centaurs, created for the "Cydalise" sequence, are from September 1938. Horvath's drawings would not therefore be connected to Fantasia. More on this below.

Who are the artists caricatured? The left centaur definitely looks like Ham Luske. The one on the right is identified as Gustaf Tenggren, which is definitely not impossible. Leslie Brooks guessed that the centaur in the middle was Gilles "Frenchy" de Tremaudan, but de Tremaudan always wore very recognizable Harold-Lloyd-type glasses and did not have the kind of hair which appear to be one of the two key features of the middle centaur, along with his nose. By looking at Studio photographs, Luciano recognized Johnny Cannon (see above).

If the drawing was not linked to Fantasia, what project inspired it?

In Robin Allan's book Walt Disney and Europe, in the Appendix B, we see a list of "Other unfinished European projects" which includes 1116 The Odissey (Adventures of Ulysses) and 1125 Mythological Research (Stories of Mythology), both probably from the '30s.

A large number of Hurter's drawings in the book He Drew As He Pleased seem to come from those projects, as is the drawing below from Horvath that appeared in the catalog of Graphic Gallery number 8.

Do not miss today this very fun article about Donald by Paul F. Anderson and please also try and leave comments on the Walt Disney Family Museum's blog.

- EVOLUTION OF A DUCK, THE 1940s “THE DONALD DUCK DECADE” by Paul F. Anderson

A nice caricature of Ollie Johnston and a few of Bill Tytla are being sold on HowardLowery.com at the moment.

Do not miss today:

- THE MISSISSIPPI MOVES AT DHI~Dixieland at Disneyland Continued by Paul F. Anderson
- The Disney's America Story - Part Three by Sam Gennaway

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[Ever since it appeared at Disneyland in 1993 and later at the other Disney theme parks, there have been a variety of stories on unofficial Disney websites of what Walt is pointing at and saying to Mickey. Even the Disney Company has suggested that at Walt Disney World, Walt is pointing to the statue of his brother Roy ("Sharing the Magic") on Main Street. Here is what Disney sculptor Blaine Gibson told the media at the unveiling about the Partners statue in 1993:

"I thought that it was an honor to do a statue of Mickey and Walt who was, in my opinion, the real genius behind all of this. For me, it was a labor of love. Walt gave me and many others some of the happiest times of our lives, and this project was important because it wasn't just for Walt...it was about Walt. Our faces are all we really have that can tell people who we are. Many people asked me what Walt might be saying as he stood there with Mickey, and the expression I tried to capture was Walt saying to Mickey, 'Look what we've accomplished together', because truly they were very much a team through it all."

Also at the dedication, Marty Sklar who was then President of Imagineering told the press, "From now on you can get three symbols of Disneyland in one photograph. What a memory and souvenir of Disneyland that will be."]

The Mouse Factory



I always wondered what Ward Kimball TV series from the '70s, "The Mouse Factory," looked like and why so many at the Studio (Woolie Reitherman, Wilfred Jackson and others) hated it. Now I know, thanks to someone who posted quite a few episodes on YouTube including Spooks and Magic (part 2 above), Fitness, Snow, The Reluctant Dragon, and Goliath.

Do not miss today:

- MOUNTAIN MANIA CONTINUES TO MAKE SPLASH AT DHI by Paul F. Anderson
- TUESDAY TRIVIA: What Does This Animal Have To Do With Disney History? by Paul F. Anderson
- "The Flying Gauchito" by Michael Barrier
- Paul Castle: The Man Inside the Mouse by Jim Korkis
- Lost Imagineering: Baby Herman's Runaway Baby Buggy Ride by Jeff Pepper

I just found the following image on the Ward Kimball page on Facebook. The person who posted it said:

[Another from the three-eyed women series. A couple have guessed it's for the Haunted Mansion. Not according to Ward. All we know is what he said in an interview once: "These are some portraits I did for Vincent Price. They called up the Studio for someone who'd do a painting of a woman. Nice, old-fashioned, with three eyes. So I sat down and made these sketches. They look like women you see."]

Any idea what this project might have been?

Do not miss today:

- DIXIELAND AT DISNEYLAND 1963 by Paul F. Anderson
- The American Magazine - August 1955 at Vintage Disneyland Tickets
- Lost Treasures - Euro Disney Preview Center 1990 - 1992 by Maxime (excellent article)

Two weeks ago I met Spanish collector Luciano Berriatua who showed me the above drawing (part of his impressive collection). Based on the type of paper, the size of the paper and the peg system, we can date the drawing as having been created at some point between 1928 and 1935 at the Disney Studio.


From the name of the character (Mytyl), Luciano deducted that it might have been part of an abandoned project by Disney to adapt Maurice Maeterlinck's play The Blue Bird to the screen.

Dave Smith confirmed the following: "There was an early story number (1007) for the project, which was written off on 9/30/39."

Interestingly Luciano also noticed that in Frank and Ollie's The Illusion of Life one can see the drawing below, whose caption reads, "Ham Luske's suggestion for a younger Snow White, more easily animated." That caption does not make much sense considering the drawing. Snow White with wings? Why? It makes more sense if one thinks of the characters from The Blue Bird representing the stars.

How seriously did the Studio work on that project? Did other drawings survive? Is there any correspondence between Disney and Maeterlinck? All questions that hopefully will be answered some day.

Do not miss today:

- Olympic Game Farm founders Lloyd and Catherine Beebe die within two days of each other (Thanks to Greg Heberlein for the link)
- ADVENTURELAND GROWS...And Not Just The Trees by Paul F. Anderson
- Evolution of a Duck by JB Kaufman
- Vintage “Alice in Wonderland” String Holders by Amid Amidi

This seems to have been a True-Life Adventures week. I hope I am not boring to many of you, but, for some reason, since I interviewed Jack Couffer the subject has started to excite me. I will have a lot of cool animation-related material to post next week (including a few scoops) but here is one last post about the True-Lifes:

I still need to locate the following documents. Can any reader of this blog help me?

- Tom McHugh's article from Popular Mechanics (September 1954) titled Animals are like other People in pdf format
- Walt Disney's Naturalist-Cinematographers by Frederick Foster in American Cinematographer (February 1954)
- The very rare 20-page booklet titled New Explorations in True-Life Adventures and People and Places (1953)
- The elusive booklet or article titled The Story of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventure Series (1952)

I had the pleasure to interview yesterday William Garst, one of the last surviving cinematographers of the True-Life Adventures. He worked on The Vanishing Pairie and on the True-Life Fantasy Perri. The interview will be released in Walt's People - Volume 12.

Sewall and Eleanor Pettingill also worked for Disney for a while and I have just located a book that tells about their adventure filming Penguins in the Falkland Islands (the islas Malvinas for my Argentine friends) for the company. The book is called Penguin Summer: An adventure with the birds of the Falkland Islands and was released in 1960 by C.N. Potter.

Finally, this just in from Jim Korkis:

[Here is an excerpt from the May 1959 issue of “THINK” magazine (Vol. 25 No. 5), an IBM employee publication. The writer visited and interviewed Walt Disney and here is Walt's comment on the True Life Adventures films:

“We’re doing True Life Adventures all the time. We have cameramen all over the world. Sometimes they disappoint us, though. We had one team in Australia, but they didn’t come up with anything. Australia isn’t a good spot for animals. No predators there. What can you do with a koala bear? He looks at you and eats a eucalyptus leaf." (Walt laughs)]

This just in from Charles Solomon:

[I am working on a new book about the three Toy Story films which should be released next year.]

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[Paula Lowery found a website that displays an extraordinary collection of Disneyland postcards. The site is well organized and easy to navigate and features some cards NOT in the outstanding NICKEL TOUR book.]

Do not miss today:

- The Disney's America Story - Part One by Sam Gennaway
- The Disney's America Story - Part Two by Sam Gennaway
- How to Catch a Cold . . . as Taught by Disney and Kleenex by Jeff Pepper

In the end it was much faster that planned. Walt's People - Volume 10 has just been released. It is available at this link on Xlibris and should be on Amazon within 4 to 6 weeks.

Please, if you have a blog, a mailing list, a facebook page, or a web site, try and spread the word.

Volume 10 contains all the surviving interviews conducted by Bob Thomas for his biography of Walt, An American Original. It's 324-pages long and here is the table of contents.

Foreword: Diane Disney Miller

Jim Korkis: A history of the Walt Disney biography by Bob Thomas
Didier Ghez: Bob Thomas
Paul F. Anderson: Bob Thomas
Bob Thomas: Walt Disney
Bob Thomas: Walt Pfeiffer
Bob Thomas: Lillian Disney
Bob Thomas: Edna Disney
Bob Thomas: Ub Iwerks
Bob Thomas: Wilfred Jackson
Bob Thomas: Bill Cottrell
Bob Thomas: Herb Ryman
Jim Korkis: Walt’s secretaries
Bob Thomas: Dolores Voght Scott
Bob Thomas: Ham Luske
Bob Thomas: Woolie Reitherman
Bob Thomas: John Lounsbery
Bob Thomas: Ward Kimball
Bob Thomas: Frank Thomas
Bob Thomas: Milt Kahl
Bob Thomas: Hazel George
Bob Thomas: Marc Davis
Bob Thomas: Dick Huemer
Bob Thomas: Ollie Johnston
Bob Thomas: Ken Anderson
Bob Thomas: George Bruns
Bob Thomas: Larry Clemmons
Bob Thomas: Bill Anderson
Bob Thomas: Robert Stevenson
Bob Thomas: Bill Walsh
Bob Thomas: Roy E. Disney
Bob Thomas: Winston Hibler
Bob Thomas: James Algar
Bob Thomas: John Hench
Bob Thomas: Harper Goff
Bob Thomas: Dick Irvine
Bob Thomas: Card Walker
Bob Thomas: Donn Tatum
Bob Thomas: Wathel Rogers
Bob Thomas: Roger Broggie
Bob Thomas: Marvin Davis
Bob Thomas: Joe Potter
Bob Thomas: Robert Foster
Bob Thomas: Joe Fowler

I mentioned a few weeks ago an auidio tour called A Walt in the Park with Rolly Crump that might be worth getting. I have now listened to that program.

If you are interested in the making of Disney theme parks, do yourself a favor and get that recording right away. It is absolutely full of stories I had never heard or read before. About 20% of the stories can be found in issues 9 and 38 of The E-Ticket, all the rest is new to me.

Way to go to Ken Kenbow for having produced that truly great show!

Thanks to Greg Heberlein, here is the obituary of Lloyd Beebe and his wife released in the Sequim Gazette.

Do not miss today:

- Disney Pipes and Pops by Jerry Beck
- Glen Keane on Tangled by Michael Barrier
- Progress City Library – Theme Park Design: Behind The Scenes With An Engineer by Michael Crawford
- Windows to the Past: The PT-9 Mosquito Boat by Jeff Pepper
- Vintage Headlines: Mosquito Master by Jeff Pepper

I approved yesterday the galleys of Walt's People - Volume 10. I have good hope now that the book will be available before the end of the month, potentially as early as in about 10 days.

This just in from Jeff Kutti:

[Jim Korkis may be referring to the film Roy O. Disney mentions in this quote from an interview of 1968 with Richard Hubler:

"As I have said before, Walt was a natural publicist, public relations type fellow. He was from the start… For example, real early in the game down here, you wanted to get your pictures into a good theater. We used to have a theater down here on Figueroa near Seventh street that was quite popular. The best pictures ran there then. So we happened to know the manager – got acquainted with him. Walt made a deal with him. We had a picture –Mickey Mouse. So we made a reel of Mickey coming out on the screen and leading the live orchestra down beneath him there. And then they took exception to him and they started quarrelling back and forth and then the live orchestra makes a gesture like they’re throwing things at Mickey. On the screen come all these things that drive Mickey off the screen. It was just a novel little introduction for him with his orchestra, and for that he booked our cartoon in the theater and he put it up on the marquee for one afternoon to give us time enough to get out there and photograph it. So with those pictures we could get it in the trade papers and so on, just to start making other exhibitors think they were worthy of booking."]

We visited this weekend an exhibition of photos by John Gutmann and I thought you would enjoy seeing this one titled Broke But Selling Popeye and Mickey Mouse (1936).