Monday, March 05, 2012

As promised here is a small selection of photos from our trip to Burma (Myanmar). My wife took close to 3000 photos, so this is just a sampling to give you a taste of what we saw.

The above picture was taken within the Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon.

The two photos below are from a night market in the same city of Yangon.

Below: The Mahamuni pagoda in Mandalay. Men stick gold leaves on the Buddha.
And I forget to notice a few colorful visitors.
But fortunately manage to pay attention when a procession enters the pagoda a few minutes later.

Carving Buddhas in Mandalay.
Below: The Shwe Nandaw monastery, made entirely of carved wood.


Use of the thanakha to protect from the sun and preserve the skin.
Kuthodaw pagoda, close to Mandalay.

Lunch of the monks in a monastery close to Mandalay.
Apparently one can eat those flowers, when cooked in a soup.


The U Bein bridge in Amarapura, close to Mandalay.


View from the U Bein bridge.
In our hotel in Mandalay.

In a monastery close to Bagan.
One of the most special places in the world: Bagan and its 3300 temples!

Leaves of betel which locals are used to chewing.

More photos of Bagan.


On Ngapali beach small crabs are also astounding natural artists.



Would anyone of you be able to help me locate the two articles below?

- Filming ´The African Lion´ in America Cinematographer (September 1955).

- Husband and Wife Camera Team by Arthur Rowan in American Cinematographer (July 1951).
This just in from Kyle Ryan:

[I'm researching for a biography of Burne Hogarth (1911-1996).

I'm curious if, in the course of your Disney research or otherwise, you've seen anything involving Hogarth.

Disney director Nick Nichols attended/taught at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts before he started his own studio/school. Hogarth met Nichols at the Academy while in his teens then assisted Nichols on some newspaper panel work.
Many years later, it may have been Nichols who facilitated Hogarth (allegedly) having some input on the Disney Jungle Book feature.]

Would anyone have any material for Kyle?
The Disney Books Network was updated over the weekend.

Friday, March 02, 2012

This just in from Mindy Johnson via the Disney History Institute Facebook page:

[Just got word from Disney Editions that my book, 'Tinker Bell - An Evolution' has been given the green-light! This fascinating look at the origins and high-flying evolution of one of Walt's most beloved characters explores the 13+ years of story and character development, featuring never-before-seen artwork and rarely seen photos! Details are being worked out, but the release of this lush, visual celebration of classic Tinker Bell will likely be Fall '13. Stay-tuned for more details!]

If you are note yet following the Disney History Institute Facebook page, you really should. It is more active than ever and include great documents like this photo of Walt and Diane from their visit to the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield in 1940.

Do not miss today:

- Mistress Masham's Repose by Andreas Deja
- 1960 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremonies
- Walt Disney Visits Henry Ford's Greenfield Village
- Action Analysis - May 3, 1937 by Michael Sporn
- Canon Style - Disneyland in the 1950s by Todd James Pierce
- Happy Valentine's Day from DHI (And Mickey & Minnie) by Paul F. Anderson
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILLIAN DISNEY by Paul F. Anderson
- WALT & LILLIAN--BIRTHDAY & VALENTINE'S DAY by Paul F. Anderson
- The Greatest Disneyland Tragedy by Todd James Pierce
- DISNEYLAND HOTEL Guest Historian Don Ballard
- How Could I Have Missed This? by Todd James Pierce
- Disney is Looking by Andreas Deja
- Disney Storyboards for Kelvinator, 1955 by Kevin Kidney
- Walt Disney's Secret Characters (Part One) by Kevin Kidney
- Three more from The Abandoned
- Return of Walt's Words by Jim Korkis
- And The Academy Award Goes To….Walt Disney! by Jim Korkis
- What's On Walt's Bookshelves? by Jim Korkis
- John Lee Hancock In Talks For Making Of Mary Poppins Pic ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ by Mike Fleming (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link)
- The First Hyperion Ave. Studio by Hans Perk
- More of Walt's Gulfstream... by Hans Perk
- Dick Lundy by Hans Perk
- Sleeping Beauty Another Way by Hans Perk

Thursday, March 01, 2012


I will post a few photos of our trip to Myanmar (Burma) next week.

But for now, here news about the physical version of a book which I enjoyed very much in manuscript form a few weeks ago. It should soon be available on Amazon too (outside of the Kindle version that is, which is already there).

Only the first few chapters of the Cathy Sherman Freeman's autobiography deal with her father's (George Sherman, Head of Publications at Walt Disney Studios from the late 1950s to 1974) career at Disney, but Cathy's life is a beautiful and moving one. Quite a few of you will probably enjoy this book.

Monday, February 13, 2012

This just in from Bruce Bohner:

[ I ran across this photo of Walt in a book about my city, Lakewood, Ohio and thought I would share it with you.

The caption is:

"17784 Beach Road

Walt Disney visiting the Clifton Park summer home of Cleveland businessman Vernon Stouffer in 1961. Disney was in Cleveland to advise the zoo on new exhibits, and Stouffer was the president of the Cleveland Zoological Society. Image courtesy of Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections."]

Friday, February 10, 2012


We are about to leave on a long deserved vacation to Burma (Myanmar). There will be one automatic update of the blog on Monday (a great shot of Walt which I had never seen before). The blog will then be silent until March 1st.

Please note that I will probably have little or no access to emails until that date.
It looks as if both the long-awaited Disney Sketchbook and the Poster Art of the Disney Parks book will finally be released this year by Disney Editions.

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Just announced on Amazon: Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Walt Disney's Nine Old Men: The Flipbooks. Pete Docter is listed as author of the book.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Walt in Argentina (1941)



I believe some of you will enjoy those rare images of Walt in Argentina, which I bought from a friend recently.

When Jim Korkis saw this clip last week he realized right away that this video had been included as part of the bonuses of the Three Caballeros Laser Disc.

Speaking of which: Would any of you own the Three Caballeros, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and Pinocchio laser discs? Do you have a way to transfer the bonuses to a DVD? If that is the case, could you please email me?

Do not miss today:

- Televisionary - this 1941 piece of art lives up to its name by David Lesjak
- The Carousel of Progress Cast by Jim Korkis

Tuesday, February 07, 2012


This could definitely become a good read when it is released.
Do not miss today:

- Where Walt Was: March 30, 1957 by Michael Barrier
- WALT AND ELIAS by Paul F. Anderson
- Disneyland Canon: 1957 by Todd James Pierce
- Patricia Disney (1935-2012) by Jerry Beck
- How Much is a Ward Kimball Painting Worth? by Amid Amidi

Friday, February 03, 2012

VERY IMPORTANT

Tragedy has just struck Børge Ring. You can read the reports on CartoonBrew, Hans Perk's site and Michael Barrier's website. I have just donated through Paypal to help the Ring family. I would strongly encourage you to do so too if you can.
Since I am still researching Disney's wild-life productions, I just discovered those two books which some of you might enjoy. Tom McHugh's The Time of the Buffalo, contains a full chapter about his work for Disney on The Vanishing Prairie, while the biography of Morley Nelson discusses his work on some of the animal movies created for Disney's TV programs.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

I am still gathering material about Walt's 1935 trip to Europe and I believe most of you will enjoy this extremely rare article I stumbled upon recently from the English magazine Life and Letters Today (September 1935). The author met Walt in his suite in London.

Do not miss today:

- Summer Magic in Town Square by Jim Korkis
- Børge Ring on Stan Green by Michael Barrier
- "I don't think we can continue" by Michael Barrier

Wednesday, February 01, 2012


The contents of the Spring 2012 issue of the magazine Twenty-Three have just been announced. What the official page does not say is that some of the best Disney historians are contributing to this issue, including David Gerstein and Greg Ehrbar contributed articles to this issue.

I had the pleasure of being asked to write an article about Kay Kamen for that issue, and I believe most of you will enjoy it since it contains several never-released-before stories about Kay and since, thanks to the help of Joe Campana, Michael Barrier and Charles Kenney, the account of Kay's early days is now more complete and precise than ever.