This just in from Gunnar Andreassen:

[From one of the Spanish - or Mexican - magazines that I bought recently.  However none of them seemed to be complete, so there was no information about the magazine or year of publishing.

WD gets the golden medal from the Venezia Exposition, 1935.]

The caption reads:

[Mr. Dalla Rosa, Vice-Consul of Italy in Los Angeles gives Walt Disney the Golden Medal of the International Cinema Exposition of Venezia won for the short Easter Bunnies.]

This just in from Howard Green:

[Here is the just completed obit for Stormy Palmer, along with a nice picture of him with Roy.

LEGENDARY DISNEY EDITOR NORMAN "STORMY" PALMER PASSES AWAY AT AGE 94; EDITED MANY OF DISNEY'S "TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE" FILMS INCLUDING OSCAR® WINNER "THE LIVING DESERT"

(March 27, 2012- Burbank, CA) - Veteran Disney film editor Norman "Stormy" Palmer passed away on Saturday, March 23 at his home in Northridge, California from age-related natural causes.  He was 94 years old.  Palmer worked at The Walt Disney Studios for 45 years, and became closely associated with the acclaimed series of "True-Life Adventure" films.  Among the popular titles in that series that he edited are "The Living Desert," "The African Lion," "Beaver Valley," "White Wilderness," and "Nature's Half Acre."  He also served as editor on such classic Disney live-action films as "Ten Who Dared," "The Incredible Journey," and "The Gnome-Mobile," and has more than 20 editing credits on the Disney television anthology series.  Palmer served as a mentor to the late Roy E. Disney, who began his career in the Studio's Editorial department and went on to help guide the Company as vice chairman and head of animation for two decades.
"Stormy was one of the key players in creating the classic Disney True-Life Adventures series, and he was a true pioneer in the field of nature documentaries," says Dave Bossert, Producer and Creative Director at Walt Disney Animation Studios, and the producer (along with Roy E. Disney) of the True Life Adventures DVD collection.  "He took tens of thousands of feet of raw footage and was able to craft it into some of the most riveting, beautiful, and entertaining nature films ever created.  That series of Oscar®-winning films set the gold standard for years and helped to inspire the many generations of nature filmmakers that followed."
Palmer was born on October 7, 1918, in Santa Ana, California.  A fourth-generation Californian, he graduated from Hollywood High School in 1937, and headed north to Oregon to become a ranch hand and learn how to ride horses.  The following year, in 1938, he got a call from the Disney Studios, where he had earlier applied, and soon found himself with an entry-level job as a staff projectionist.  After six months, Palmer moved into the Editorial department, where he assisted on such animated classics as "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia."
During World War II, Palmer worked with director John Ford in the field photo branch of the U.S. Navy, and edited films for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington D.C.  He also served an overseas stint as an aerial photographer on numerous surveillance missions.
In 1946, Palmer returned to Disney's Editorial department, where he met and fell in love with Barbara Major from the Ink and Paint Department.  They were married on December 4, 1947, and remained devoted to one another through 52 years of marriage.  Barbara passed away in 2005.
In 1953, Palmer received his first feature film credit on the Academy Award®-winning True-Life Adventure classic, "The Living Desert."   He had previously worked on "Beaver Valley," "Nature's Half Acre," and "Water Birds."  He went on to edit many other films in that acclaimed series including "The African Lion," and "White Wilderness."  He also edited "Grand Canyon," the 1959 Academy Award® winner for Best Live-Action Short.  The innovative CinemaScope film was a pictorial interpretation of Ferde Grofé's famed "Grand Canyon Suite."  For the 1952 Oscar®-winning True-Life featurette, "Water Birds," Palmer used Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody to great effect in capturing the mood and adding entertainment value to the film. 
Disney's bold entry into television provided more great opportunities for Palmer to explore his talents as an editor.  He worked on more than 20 episodes for the long-running anthology show ("Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" and other titles), from the mid 1950s to the early 1980s.  His television credits as an editor include "Atta Girl, Kelly!," "The Best Doggoned Dog in the World," and "One Day at Teton Marsh."
As a feature film editor, Palmer made his mark on such popular Disney fare as "Ten Who Dared" (1960), "The Legend of Lobo" (1962), "The Incredible Journey" (1963), "The Gnome-Mobile" (1967), and "The Shaggy D.A." (1976), among others. 
Palmer retired from The Walt Disney Studios in 1983, and devoted his leisure time to sailing, golfing and woodworking.
He is survived by two daughters -- Christine Thomson of Salem, Massachusetts, and Lindsey Palmer of Santa Ynez, California -- and two grandchildren, Amanda and Colin Sebern.  A third daughter, Laurie Palmer, passed away in 2012.  Funeral services and cremation will be private.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the name of Stormy Palmer to Southern California Hospice Foundation (Simi Valley Branch) at www.socalhospicefoundation.com]

This just in from Gunnar Andreassen.

Do not miss today:

- Walt Disney and Riverfront Square Part 4  -  Walt Goes to St. Louis by Todd James Pierce
- JOURNAL OF A DISNEY HISTORIAN~The Arthritic Alligator Edition by Paul F. Anderson
- Disney Hoppy Easter Memories by Jim Korkis
- Harrison Ellenshaw reveals all....(almost!) by NZPete (outstanding interview!)
- 12 Lost Disney Characters You’ve Probably Never Heard Of by Sara Franks-Allen (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link)

Sad news just in from Joe Campana:

[Apparently Norman "Stormy" Palmer has passed. Sad news.

No actual news or press release I know of, but the attached photo was taken in the Legends Court at the Disney Studio yesterday...]

This just in from Hans Crezee:

[I see from your blog you were somewhat frustrated because you missed the Icelandic Buri (= Adventures of Mickey Mouse) book. It is actually a fairly late edition as it is dated 1942.

An even more interesting book was sold earlier, an icelandic version of the first Big Little Book but with a different cover design and massively thick with more than 300 pages! Condition is not great but I would think the printrun cannot have been that big at the time. These are some of the images from eBay as I have not got around yet to make my own pictures but if you like them I can get additional pictures of both books.

PS I saw a Danish version of the book on the internet and my guess is that the Icelandic version is a translation of this Danish version which still uses the original cover of the American original, and the title in Icelandic is a literal translation of the Danish title which was piblished by Gyldendal in 1934.]

Can't wait for this book!

 

This just in thanks to Gunnar Andreassen.

If you are interested in recent Disney history, this new book might be of interest.

Quite a few items from the Hardie Gramatky Estate are being auctioned off at the moment on Philip Weiss Auctions (lots 2374 - 2391).

Do not miss today:

- Walt Disney and Riverfront Square - Part 2 by Todd James Pierce
- Walt Disney and Riverfront Square - Part 3 by Todd James Pierce
- The Return of Roger Rabbit by Jim Korkis
- Personal Finance: How Disney gets its 'hi-ho' worker enthusiasm by Claudia Buck (Thanks to Michael Goldberg for the link)

This just in from Gunnar Andreassen:

[I thought you might like to have this hight resolution scan of a painting of Walt Disney on the cover of The Commentator, October, 1938, which I bought recently.

In my opinion this is one of the nicest magazine covers with him that was made in his lifetime.

I started thinking:  How many magazine covers with WD are there ?  Certainly not a large number, as most of the magazines with "Disney articles" had something else on the cover.  I can't remember having seen a movie magazine with WD on the cover, those were reserved for the stars of the silver screen.

Even if he was depicted in a lot of magazines in the 1930s, his features were probably not well known among ordinary people.

A shift took place in the 1950s when he became a TV celebrity.

Enclosed you'll also find my attempt of making a list of magazines with WD on the cover.  I'm sure that I don't know all that were made.  Do you know or have magazine covers with WD that have escaped my attention ?

Pictorial Weekly, England, April 5, 1930, Photo of WD with cardboard figure of Mickey           

The Tatler, England, 1931 or 1932, Photo of WD with cardboard figure of Mickey           
                               
VU, France, 1931, Photo of WD with cardboard figure of Mickey  

Der Ansporn, Germany, April 4, 1932, Photo of Walt and six Mickeys  

Popular-Films, Spain, August 14, 1933, Photo of Walt and Mickey     
                               
La Settima Arte, Italy, 1935, WD at drawing table with M.M. and S.S. figures           
(La Perla Della Productione)   

Voila, France, June 25, 1935, Photo of Walt and Lillian - Paris background                          
                               
Time Magazine, USA, Dec. 27, 1937, Color photo of WD with dwarf figurines           
                               
The Family Circle, USA, June 24, 1938, No. 25, vol. 12, Photo of WD - two drawings of Donald Duck           
                               
The Commentator, USA, October, 1938, No. 3, vol. 4, Painted portrait of WD - small drawing M.M.   

Cine-Journal, Portugal, November 21, 1938, Photo of Walt with Mickey and Donald and various Silly Symphony characters

Primer Plano, Spain, 1941, Portrait of Walt (launched the infamous rumor about Walt being born in Spain, thanks to Franco's propaganda machine)

The New York Times Book Review, USA, June 7, 1942, Photo of Walt      
                               
Saturday Review of Literature, USA, June 6, 1942, Photo of WD   

La Presse, Canada, 1944, Photo of WD      
                               
Picture Post, England, March 23, 1946, Photo portrait of WD 

Aqui Esta!, Argentina, two issues from April and August 1946, Photo of Walt in Argentina         
                               
Showmens' Trade Review, USA, January 17, 1948, No. 3, Vol. 48, Photo of WD "drawing Steamboat Willie"       

Guideposts, USA, June 1949, Photo of WD and beginning of his article "There's Always a Solution"       
Quick (News Weekly), USA, April 24,  1950, Photo of WD - drawing Cinderella   
                               
Epoca, Italy, Dec. 9, 1950, Photo of WD, drawing of Donald Duck 

TV Forecast, USA, Dec. 23, 1950, Photo of WD  and drawings/photos of his Characters
                   
Electric Trains, USA, Dec, 1951, Photo of WD on Lilly Belle         
                               
The Miniature Locomotive, USA, May-June 1952, Photo of WD and passengers on miniature train   

Leoplan, Argentine, July 15, 1953, Photo of WD and Goofy doll      
                               
TV Guide, USA, October 1954, Photo of WD - and characters art           
                               
Time Magazine, USA, Dec. 27, 1954, No. 26, Vol LXIV, Painting of WD by Boris Chaliapin           
                               
TV-Radio Life, USA, March 1955, Photo of WD  (+ Donald and Mickey)           
                               
Newsweek, USA, April 18, 1955, Photo of WD in front of blowups of his characters           
                               
Look, USA, July 26, 1955, Photo of WD           
                               
The Santa Fe Magazine, USA, August, 1955, Photo of WD, Mickey doll and train           
                               
Hudson Family Magazine, USA, 1955, No. 3, Vol. 3, Photo of WD           
                               
Saturday Evening Post, USA, Nov. 17, 1956, Painting of WD and his char. On train, by Tenggren       
Disneyland, USA, July 1955, Photo of WD and painting of Disneyland
                  
Disneyland, USA, July 1956, Photo of WD and Mickey Mouse
                  
Disneylander, USA, July 1957, Photo of WD   
                               
TV Guide, USA, Dec. 14-20, 1957, Photo of WD  (+ characters in color) 

Disneylander, USA, May, 1958, Photo of WD on Lilly Belle         
                               
Walt Disney's Magazine, USA, February 1959, Photo of WD and ?           
                               
Wisdom, USA, 1959, No. 32, Photo of WD 

Picturegoer, England, March 21, 1959, Janes Munro and small photo of WD and his characters
                   
Continental, Mexico, Nov. 22, 1961, Drawing of WD and his characters         
                               
Newsweek, USA, Dec. 31, 1962, Photo of WD, Mickey Mouse and the Castle           
                               
TV Magazine, USA, Feb. 24, 1963, Drawing of WD, not caricature           
                               
Pictorial Magazine, USA    Sept. 1, 1963, Caricature of WD           
                               
TV Week, Australia, Feb. 20, 1965, Photo of WD and dolls

TV Times, Australia, March 25, 1964, Photo of WD and drawings of his characters

Disney News, USA, Winter 1965/1966, Photo of WD in Disneyland with characters]

Gunnar's email from yesterday, inspired me to scan this article from a German magazine I recently acquired.

This just in from Gunnar Andreassen:

[Have you seen this scene from "Die vom Rummelplatz" on Youtube (Anny Ondra as Mickey Mouse in 1930) ?




Are Myklebust just made me aware of a Swedish poster version for this film, and this led me to finding this on Youtube. This was new to me - and a very funny performance.]

Disney scholar Jim Hollifield just sent me a copy of this excellent autobiography of actor David Frankham which he helped edit. The chapters on David's work for Disney, on One Hundred and One Dalmatians and Ten Who Dared, was obviously the highlight of the book as far as I am concerned. I also enjoyed very much the foreword by our good friend Brian Sibley.

Do not miss today:

- JOURNAL OF A DISNEY HISTORIAN~Welcome to Francis, Walt's Apartment, & More by Paul F. Anderson
- Walt Disney and Riverfront Square - Part 1 by Todd James Pierce (outstanding series - not to be missed!)
- 93-Year-Old Cel Painter June Patterson Talks About the Disney Classics by Amid Amidi

Two exciting new books are now available for pre-order on Amazon:

- The Secrets of Disney's Visual Effects: The Schultheis Notebooks by John Canemaker

- Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Color Sundays: "Robin Hood Rides Again" edited by David Gerstein

Do not miss today:

- Walt Disney’s Forgotten “Carrot” Characters by Jerry Beck
- Animation Anecdotes #101 by Jim Korkis

This caricature of Walt was sold recently in an auction. The catalog description read:

[PEN & INK ILLUSTRATION - Caricature by George Wachsteter (1911-2004) of Walt Disney, for the Sept 1, 1963 season premiere of NBC-TV's 'Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'. This durable family TV staple had its beginnings over ABC in 1954 as 'Disneyland' & later as 'Walt Disney Presents' in 1958. The series moved to NBC in 1961 and was retitled 'Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color' to capitalize on the dominance of color programs on NBC. The series under various names has endured as a fixture on television ever since. On 14" x 22" illustration board, for the cover of the Sept 1, 1963 New York Journal-American TView Magazine, original copies are included. 14" x 10" image. Edge toned and soiled, image is fine.]

Thanks to Gunnar Andreassen for the heads up.

 And here are a few sketches by Ferdinand Hovath, also from Hakes.com