INCOMPLETE ROSETTA STONE

A few months back, I stumbled upon one page of a document titled "Story Situations", dated September 20, 1939. I was stunned! I knew exactly what I was looking at: This was a page of a much longer document listing story ideas for abandoned Disney shorts. Looking at a list I have in my collection, I deducted that the full document must have been between 30 and 35 pages long. By conducting some additional research, I realized that a friend of mine had 9 additional pages. I now have pages 21 to 30, but I am still missing pages 1 to 19 and 31 to 35 (or 34).

The Disney Archives do not seem to have a copy of this document and it is entirely possible that the additional pages will never be found.

This is immensely frustrating from a historical standpoint since the document contains the synopses of various shorts in progress about which we know almost nothing. Based on another list, I know for example that the lost pages of the "Story Situations" document contain the synopses of a planned Band Concert sequel and a Country Cousin sequel.

If anyone of you has any idea of where to find the additional pages, please do not hesitate to email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com

This is a long-shot, but who knows ;-)

Help Needed

Theme Park Press is currently working on a collection of never-released-before interviews with artists who worked on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We need volunteers to help Theme Park Press' owner, Bob McLain, transcribe as quickly and reliably as possible the hundreds of hours of interviews. Could some of you help? If so, could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

Help needed in Washington D.C.

I am still looking for a volunteer in Washington D.C.who would be willing to conduct some research in the Archives of American Art. If you are willing to help, could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

Jim Korkis recently reminded me that the magazine The Atlantic Monthly commissioned writer Paul Hollister to do a series of articles on Walt (just as Pete Martin did later for The Saturday Evening Post) which would be released as a book.  Apparently, the manuscript was completed but never released. The Paul Hollister papers are preserved by the Archives of American Art and I am wondering if the manuscript might be there.

Help needed

If you read this and bought the above photo on ebay this week, would you consider emailing me a high resolution scan (300 or 600dpi) at didier.ghez@gmail.com? I would be glad to share part of the buying cost.

Thanks in advance.

Looking for a Research Assistant

This just in from my good friend and fellow Disney historian, Joe Campana:

[I am seeking a research assistant - preferably a college student - who must live in Southern California and have a strong interest in animation history (with an emphasis on Disney animation.)

The position would be an internship requiring 4-8 hours per week and can begin within the next few weeks. Specifics can be discussed once we exchange contact information.

Emails may be sent to animationhistory [at] gmail [dot] com ]

Indexing Project - Help Needed

The Walt's People book series urgently needs an index. Without one, its value to historians and enthusiasts is much more limited than it could and should be.

A few years ago, Paula Sigman-Lowery and Diane Disney Miller started working on the project with a small team of volunteers. Unfortunately Diane's passing last year put a temporary stop to the effort and Paula is no longer able to lead this project.

I need to find someone who would be willing and able to take Paula's place to lead this critical project. It would have to be someone who has a solid understanding of general Disney history and can identify themes that would be important to researchers. Unfortunately it is not just a matter of knowing the names and indexing the words. Good organizational skills are also critical, of course. And the volunteer should be detail-oriented, meticulous and willing to check and double-check.

Could anyone help? If so, please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com A million thanks in advance.

Would anyone of you have any rare documents (memos, story meeting notes, etc) linked to Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free and Melody Time?

If so, could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

Help needed in Washington D.C.

Any volunteer based in Washington D.C. who would be willing to conduct some research in the Archives of American Art? If so, could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

Jim Korkis recently reminded me that the magazine The Atlantic Monthly commissioned writer Paul Hollister to do a series of articles on Walt (just as Pete Martin did later for The Saturday Evening Post) which would be released as a book.  Apparently, the manuscript was completed but never released. The Paul Hollister papers are preserved by the Archives of American Art and I am wondering if the manuscript might be there.

Looking for Diana March

I am currently exploring the fascinating world of women in Disney's Story Department before WWII: Bianca Majolie, Dorothy Ann Blank, Grace Huntington, Kathleen Millay, Sylvia Holland, Ethel Kulsar, etc.

The Studio seems to have employed a writer in the late '30s called Diana March, who worked on the abandoned Don Quixote project. The only other thing I know about her (thanks to Arienne Tytla's autobiography) is that Diana married layout artist Art Heinemann.

Would anyone of you have anymore info about her? If so, could you email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

Help Needed in Alabama and in Washington D.C.

Now that Disney's Grand Tour has been released, prompted by reader of the blog John Meder, I have decided to investigate in detail the subject of Disney and Space.

The best documents are stored at the Walt Disney Archives, of course, but also in Huntsville, Alabama (the papers of Werhner Von Braun) and in Washington D.C. (the papers of Willy Ley).

Will I be lucky enough to find volunteers willing to help me dig up those documents in Huntsville and in Washington D.C.? If so, could you please email me at: didier.ghez@gmail.com?

[UPDATE: I found a volunteer for Washington D.C., but still need one for Huntsville, Alabama!]

Help needed in London

I am looking once again for a volunteer in London willing to go to the British Film Institute to get access to a few great documents which shed light on the early days of Disney in the UK. A first volunteer already helped me a lot with this. But there are still a few great documents to extract and he is now too busy to go back one last time.

Could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

Help Needed

I am working on the introduction for the "lost" autobiography of a Disney story artist of the Golden Age (I can't reveal the name yet) and need your help.

Could readers of Walt's People or of Don Peri's books, send me quotes from Disney artists or people who worked for Walt (not Disney's family members) which present Walt in a very favorable light? I am looking for "Walt the caring human being," or "Walt the marvelous boos" not "Walt the genius." Quotes from other books are fine too as long as you tell me exactly where they come from and as long as they are quotes from Disney artists or employees.

Please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com

Help needed!

Are you based in London? If so, I need your help with some Disney-related research. I need someone to go to the British Film Institute and dig into the Denis Gifford Collection. I have a feeling we might be able to find a few treasures related to the early history of Disney in the UK (pure speculation at this stage, but some clues tell me that we might have some good luck).

If you are ready to volunteer, could you email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

Thanks in advance.

Help Needed

Help Needed

A good friend is trying to locate a scan of the article about Disney by Janet Flanner released in Harper's Bazaar from November 1, 1936. Can anyone help?

Help Needed!

Once again, I need the help of a volunteer. Is anyone of you based in Wyoming?

I just discovered by Pete Martin, the journalist who wrote the book The Story of Walt Disney by Diane Disney Miller, donated his papers to the American Heritage Center in Laramie. Among those papers are some interviews with several of the artists involved in the creation of the movie Swiss Family Robinson. I would love to get access to those documents.

Could you contact me by email (didier.ghez@gmail.com) if you can help?

Help Needed in Georgetown!

Do we have readers of the blog living close to Georgetown University? If so, could you email me. I have just discovered there a few documents related to Disney and WWII and to Disney and the DOD and would need help accessing them.

Help Needed

Would one of you be able to send me a scan of the following document?

[Hamilton, Bruce, "Carl Barks and John Stanley" / transcribed by Milo George. Comics Journal No. 250 (February 2003) p. 159-162. Barks & Stanley are interviewed together by Bruce Hamilton in 1976 during a joint panel at New Con.]

Thanks in advance

Help needed!

Do you live in New York and would you be willing to visit the Manuscripts and Archives Division of the New York Public Library? There are some apparently fascinating Disney history related documents linked to the 1939 (no typo here) World's Fair which really need to be checked.

Please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com

Help needed!

I am trying to get access to the article The Life Story of Mickey Mouse which was released in the January 1934 issue of the Windsor magazine. Can anyone help?

Help needed

Would any reader of the blog be able to help me locate the article "Mickey Mouse Financier" released on October 21, 1933 in the magazine Literary Digest?