It looks as if the long-awaited autobiography of Imagineer Bob Gurr is about to be released in the Summer of 2012. Already available for pre-order it will be titled Design: Just for Fun.

Does anyone know how much this autobiography contains about Peggy Lee's work for Disney?

I have sent this morning the manuscript of Walt's People - Volume 11 to the publisher, Xlibris. This means that the release date of this latest installment should be somewhere between end of September and early October.

As a reminder, here is the table of content of this huge volume.

Foreword: John Canemaker
Didier Ghez: Ruthie Tompson
Christopher Finch & Linda Rosenkrantz: Walt Pfeiffer
John Culhane: Shirley Temple
John Culhane: I. Klein
Peter Hansen: Basil Reynolds
Christopher Finch & Linda Rosenkrantz: Eric Larson
John Culhane: John Hubley
Robin Allan: Jules Engel
Darrell Van Citters: Ed Love
Darrell Van Citters: Mike Lah
JB Kaufman: Frank Thomas
Dave Smith: Carl Nater
John Culhane: John Hench
John Canemaker: Ward Kimball
Dave Smith: Ward Kimball
Didier Ghez: Frank Armitage
Robin Allan: Ray Aragon
Didier Ghez: Ray Aragon
Gord Wilson: Jacques Rupp
David Tietyen: George Bruns
John Canemaker: Dale Oliver
John Canemaker: Iwao Takamoto
John Canemaker: Richard Williams
Charles Solomon: Brad Bird
Alberto Becattini: Don R. Christensen
Jim Korkis: Tom Nabbe
Dave Smith: Roger Broggie
Didier Ghez: David Snyder
Didier Ghez: Carl Bongirno
John Culhane: Daniel MacManus
John Culhane: Ted Kierscey
John Canemaker: Glen Keane
Didier Ghez: Joe Hale
Jérémie Noyer: Mark Henn
Christian Ziebarth: Andreas Deja and Mark Henn
Didier Ghez: Ed Catmull

This just in.

Do not miss today:

- Walt Disney World Stories by Jim Korkis
- Obsessive Disney-related trivia: A Tyrus Wong in-joke by Jerry Beck
- Urban archaeology: Sleeping Beauty’s Paris apartment discovered (Thanks to Jerry Beck for the link)

This just in from Joel Cohen:

[Part 2 of auctions of some of my items will be sold September 25 2011 at this link. There will be 32 lots of some of my cherishedbooks and figurines. Please bid if you want, the reserves are very low.D etailed descriptions are listed in his on line catalog.]

As we know, in 1933 a version of Alice in Wonderland which would combine live action and animation was discussed between Walt Disney and Mary Pickford and a test was shot in Technicolor. Would any of you happen to have access to that footage? I would love to see it.

Do not miss today:

- Ward Kimball: A Biography by Amid Amidi
- Carolwood Pacific and Other Backyard Railroads by Mitch

Great Song of the South concept drawing by Ken Anderson being offered for sale on Van Eaton Galleries at the moment.

Tomorrow is a holiday in Madrid. The blog will be updated again on Monday.

Since Hubert Gregg played Prince John in the live-action version of Disney's Robin Hood, there might be a few pages about his Disney career in his autobiography.

Would anyone happen to have this book? If so, could you scan and send me the one or two relevant pages?

Do not miss today:

- Happy Birthday, Fred Moore! by Andreas Deja
- Happy 100th Birthday, Fred Moore! by Amid Amidi
- Fred Moore's 100th Birthday by Mark Mayerson
- Fred Moore's 100th by Jenny Lerew
- The Definitive Barks Collection??? by Peter Richardson (thanks to John Wigmans for the link)

This just in from Göran Broling:

[Hard to believe but on September 8th, it will be seven years since Frank Thomas passed away...

Attached are two files, and since you are so interested in every document concerning Disney I wonder if you have seen this folder before? It was given to those attending the tribute and memorial event celebrating the life of Frank Thomas at El Capitan Theatre. Howard Lowery actually sent it to me when he found out that I have been a longtime penfriend with Frank. He had been to the event himself. It may be of interest to see for you if you not was aware of it, and feel free to post it on your site if you wish. There is a nice caricature of a young Frank drawn by himself.]

Do not miss today:

- Phantom Boats! by Todd James Pierce
- Tim Burton by Andreas Deja
- Walt's Last Words: NOT Kurt Russell by Jim Korkis
- The Fatal Flubber Fiasco of ’63 by Michael Crawford (Thanks to Sébastien Durand for the link)
- Au clair de La Luna with director Enrico Casarosa by Jérémie Noyer

- So Dear To My Heart: Elias and Flora
- Back to School at the Disney Studio by Lorraine Santoli
- Worth as Much as a Man: Cracking the Celluloid Ceiling by Paula Sigman-Lowery

I just love this Norwegian box from the '30s currently being sold on ebay.

Help Needed.

Once again, I need your help. I have recived the authorization to release in future volume of Walt's People, the very in-depth interviews conducted with Disney Imagineers by Jay Horan in the mid-'80s.

I have already received the transcripts of those with X. Atencio and Bill Evans (pictured above) thanks to Jay Horan and Todd James Pierce.

Those interviews are about 80-page long each and need to be properly digitized with an OCR and cleaned up.

Would anyone be up to that task? If so, you can email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com

Do not miss today:

- Clowns in the Magic Kingdom by Todd James Pierce
- The original “Rescuers” theme by Jerry Beck
- Pixar before Pixar by Amid Amidi
- The Ghosts of Marceline: The Midget Autopia by Jeff Pepper

The elusive Charles "Cap" Palmer

I received earlier this week the following email from a friend at Disney. Can anyone help?

[I am trying to get hold of a photo of Charles "Cap" Palmer, a writer who worked for Disney for about five years in the forties/fifties and had a key role in developing the story of Lady and the Tramp. Do you perhaps have a photo of this gentleman, or do you know how I might find one? The Academy library has a photo but getting hold of it is complicated since it belongs to the deMille Collection. The WGAw has nothing.

Palmer was a New England businessman (he possibly went to Dartmouth, since he's mentioned in one of their alumni mags, and claimed to have played trombone in a jazz band to work his way through school) who moved to L.A. (where his wife was from) in the '30s from Boston and started writing instructional books ("How to Sing for Money" was one of them) as well as short fiction for magazines (Colliers etc.), and started writing radio scripts around 1940. Walt's wife apparently read one of his pieces in Cosmopolitan and recommended him to Walt. He and Walt became friendly and drove to work together every day, as gas was rationed at that time (they lived a few blocks apart, Disney in the well-to-do section, and Palmer in the "trying hard" section, according to his account). He worked for Disney for five years, helping to develop Alice in Wonderland and Lady and the Tramp, then went on to become a screenwriter and has five credits on IMDB. He founded Parthenon Pictures around 1954, I believe, which became a major producer of business and documentary films. He was born in 1901 per IMDB and died in 2005, according to the WGA.]

Do not miss today:

- The Horizons Story, Part III: Disney’s House Of Magic by Michael Crawford
- Eating Like Walt Disney by Jim Korkis

Ann Ronell is "famous" for having written the lyrics of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? This biography seems to contain two chapters dealing with Disney. I will pick it up at some point over the next 12 months and try and review it. (Thanks to Amid Amidi for the heads up.)

This English nursery set from the '30s by Lines Bros. Ltd. was being sold on ebay last week. It is the first time I ever see it in 25 years of collecting.

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[Here is a link to some publica domain Disney newsreels.]

Not sure how I forgot to mention this upcoming book about Maurice Noble by Tod Polson to be released next year by Chronicle Books. Definitely a volume I am looking forward to.

Do not miss today:

- Mickey Mouse’s Cartoon Band by Jerry Beck
- Why For did Phase II of Epcot's World Showcase never get built? by Jim Hill

This just in from Dana Gabbard (through Jim Korkis):

I have finally posted my entry for George Sherman on Wikipedia. His daughter is delighted at the results. Hope you like it.

Do not miss today:

- D23 Expo: Western River Expedition Virtual Ride-Through Video by Alain Littaye
- Disney Rescuers Lost Song Louis Prima SITTIN' IN MY FAVORITE POSITION (Thanks to Jerry Beck for the link)

I have just received a review copy of the upcoming book Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Layout & Background. Like the 3 previous volumes in the series it is a beautiful book filled with fascinating artwork. Like the 3 previous volumes it is a must-have.

But like the 3 previous volumes the book is also slightly frustrating. The fact that close to 50% of the artwork comes from post-1984 movies is to be expected but is nonetheless a bit of an issue for Disney history enthusiasts. The main issue however is the fact that an extremely large amount of the art is not credited to anyone. When we are talking about the early shorts I can understand this to some extent, but when it comes to some of the clearly recognizable layouts and backgrounds from The Aristocats, Jungle Book, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, or even Alice in Wonderland, one wonders how the names of Ken Anderson, Walt Peregoy and Claude Coats are not mentioned. Annoying and slightly shocking.

This being said, should you buy the book? My answer is an unqualified "yes". But this does not erase the frustration.

The Disney Books Network has been updated.

In 1939, DeSoto offered Walt a new car if he would advertise their latest model. At first, Walt did not want to do the advertisement because he did not drive a DeSoto. However, his mother Flora said that she and Walt's dad would like a new car so Walt did do the ads that appeared full sized and in color in LIFE magazine. He gave the car to his folks who loved it.

For years, everyone assumed that there were only two ads: Walt in a suit walking out of his Woking Way house to the car and Walt sitting on a lawn chair while a butler appeared on the other side. Just this week, Disney Historian Jim Korkis uncovered there was a third ad.....Walt with a tennis racket in front of the car. Walt's pants and shoes are the same in all three photos so it is reasonable to assume they may all have been shot the same day in the same general location with Walt just changing his shirt.

"I have never seen this third ad ever before in all my years of collecting which, of course, brings up the question if there is even another version of the ad out there. The text copy in all three ads is exactly the same. Only the picture is different," said Jim. "I wasn't even looking and just stumbled across the ad by accident which is how alot of new Disney history is being discovered these days."

Do not miss today:

- Introducing the Museum's New CEO: Gabriella C. Calicchio!
- How to Capture a Disneyland Dragon by Todd James Pierce
- Aristocats by Andreas Deja
- Ward Kimball and UFOs by Jim Korkis
- The Walt Disney Family Museum and the Incredible Growing Walt! by Tim Callaway

Great news: Don Ballard's new book has now been released and can be ordered here.

This is a new book I will definitely pick up in the near future.

Can you help? Amid Amidi is looking for one episode of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color that Ward Kimball was heavily involved with: “A Salute to Alaska” (1967).

Do not miss today:

- The Bear that never was by Andreas Deja
- Disney's ARISTOCATS "SHE NEVER FELT ALONE" Eva Gabor RARE "Lost" Demo by Huston Huddleston (Thanks to Jerry Beck for the link)
- U.S Steel 1971 Disney World Commercial (Thanks to Rob Herdon Jr. for the link)
- TV Guide on Jiminy Cricket (1955) by Jerry Beck
- Kimballana by Amid Amidi
- On e-bay by Mark Sonntag

I am not spending at all at the moment, but if I were I would probably pick up this extremely unusual Spanish or Mexican butter box from the '30s.

Very interesting photo of Roy and the Cinephone trucks being sold at the moment on ebay. Way too expensive though (and that's an understatement).

There is a good article on the subject at this link.

If you do not yet know about the great WEDway Radio site, you should. It is managed by Nate Parrish and his brother and the shows are a real delight. I asked Nate to tell me what he considers as the best shows and he mentioned the following:

[We did a show on the roots of the Tahitian Terrace Restaurant at Disneyland. Its episode 75 of WEDway Radio. Heres a link to that show.

We did a show that started a series for Walt Disney Worlds 40th Anniversary back in May. It was episode 72 of WEDway Radio. Heres a link to that show.

We did a show on the story of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from 1926-2006. It was episode 55 of WEDway Radio. Heres a link to that show.]

Do not miss today:

- EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A CAT Original Demo 1968 Disney Aristocats (Thanks to Jerry Beck for the link)
- Memories of Bob Hope and Disney by Jim Korkis

Unfortunatelly I just heard this weekend from Steven Hartley that artist Del Connell had just passed away. For more information about his life and career, follow this link.

Do not miss today:

- Lost Louis Prima Disney Song by Jerry Beck
- Designing "it's a small world" - The 1964 New York World's Fair by Maxime Bogaert
- Robbie Sherman Talks About His Father, the Sherman Brothers and the Kennedy Center Honors by Tim Callaway

Today is a holiday in Spain. The blog will be updated again tomorrow.

Today we follow President Eisenhower during his visit of Disneyland.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Michael Barrier has posted one more of his interviews.

Do not miss today:

- Corny Cole - An interview by Michael Barrier and Milton Gray

- The Ghost and Yale Gracey by Todd James Pierce
- Prod. UM19 - Giantland by Hans Perk

If you have not yet added Ward Kimball as a friend on Facebook, you are missing many great documents linked to Ward's and Disney's history, like this recently posted photo showing "Ward with Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer, Dan Dailey and Benny Goodman. The photographer? A young Stanley Kubrick."

I owe you an update about the status of Walt's People - Volume 11.

I am glad to say that I received yesterday the cover caricatures and I am proud to announce that starting with Volume 11, none other than John Musker is the artist creating those caricatures.

Volume 11 is absolutely huge (in fact I need to be much more careful in the future regarding each volume's length since I am reaching the limits of what Xlibris can actually release in a single book). It will probably be almost 700-page long and absolutely full of never-released-before material.

I am hoping to get all comments from the contributors by the end of August, which would mean a release date around October if all goes well. Frankly there may be some delays this time around, so I will keep you all updated in the weeks to come.

Do not miss today:

- Jim and the Uncensored Mouse by Jim Korkis
- Walt Before Mickey - a book report by Michael Sporn
- MARY POPPINS AND THE CAPTAIN by Brian Sibley

We have all seen the photo of the big Mickey Mouse from the 1934 Macy's parade. In these two videos we see him getting prepared and then "in action".

Do not miss today:

- Walt in Kansas - 1922 (REDISCOVERED) by Mark Sonntag
- A Color Mickey Mouse Clube Serial? on The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link)
- The Newsprint Mouse and Duck by Michael Barrier

In 1946 Walt and Lilly travelled to the UK and to Ireland. I have a feeling that you will enjoy this interview conducted when they landed in London. And here they are arriving in Southampton.

Do not miss today:

- For Sale: Rare Disney acetates by Jerry Beck
- THE CARTOGRAPHY OF DISNEYLAND MAPS by Paul F. Anderson
- RICHFIELD SHOW "The World Beneath Us" by Paul F. Anderson

Tour of Walt Disney's Office



This just in thanks to Jim Korkis and Mike Scopa.

Do not miss today:

- Unpublished Photo of Walt in the Gulfstream by Todd James Pierce
- Silent Animation articles by Michael Sporn
- The Disney UFO connection by Grant Cameron