“Clown Prince of Disneyland” is a must-own … If you can find a copy to purchase, that is

Jim Hill

15 years ago

For the better part of five years now, I have been waiting
on “Wally Boag: Clown Prince of Disneyland” (August 2009, Disney Editions).
Ever since I first learned that this project was in the works, I have been dying
to get my hands on Gene Sands & Wally’s book.

So imagine my surprise last week when – as I was chatting
with a fellow Disney history buff – I off-handedly mentioned how disappointed I
was that “Clown Prince” hadn’t been published yet.

“The Boag book? It’s out,” my pal interrupted. “I got my
copy three months ago.”

“It’s available for purchase?!,” I sputtered. “No. That can’t
be. I was out at Disneyland in September and Walt Disney World in October and I
didn’t see ‘Clown Prince’ for sale anywhere at either resort. I even check
Amazon.com weekly for this Disney Editions title. And the Boag bio isn’t available
for pre-order there either.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” my friend continued. “But
I pre-ordered my copy last year. ‘Clown Prince’ got shipped to me back in August
and it’s a really great read.”

Indeed it is. As soon as I finished talking with this Disney
history buff, I arranged to get my very own copy of “Wally Boag: Clown Prince
of Disneyland.” And this 176-page hardcover was everything that he said it was
and more.

The cast of the Golden Horseshoe performs for Walt (in box on upper left)
and Lillian Disney in honor of their 30th wedding anniversary
Copyright 2009 Disney Editions. All Rights Reserved

Profusely illustrated with photos from Wally’s personal
collection, “Clown Prince of Disneyland” is just a joy to page through. Loaded
with great stories about what it was like to work with Walt as the Happiest
Place on Earth was just getting off the ground, Boag’s bio is really a
must-have for any serious Disneyana collector.

The only problem is – as of this moment – there are only two
places on this planet where you can purchase a copy of this great new Disney
Editions book. One is the official Wally Boag website and the other is the gift
shop at the Walt Disney Family Museum.

Beyond that … bupkis. You can't buy “Wally Boag: Clown Prince of
Disneyland” at any of the Disney theme parks. Nor can this
handsome volume currently available for order through Amazon.com.

Wally takes pie-throwing tips from silent screen legend Buster Keaton
Copyright 2009 Disney Editions. All Rights Reserved

“And why is this exactly?,” you ask. To get an answer to
this question, I turned to Wally’s son Laurence. Who then told me about how
this eagerly awaited memoir wound up being an orphan.

“Gene and my father must have spent 10 years working on this
thing,” Laurence recalled. “It started out as just this series of video
recordings. So that Dad would then have something to show the grand-kids whenever
they asked about his career in show business. But as Gene & my Dad actually
began watching these recordings and hearing all these great stories again, they
realized that they had the makings of a book.”

But given all of the
posters, playbills and show biz memorabilia that Wally had collected over the
years … Well, Boag and Sands wanted to include this material as part of his
memoir. Which is why they had to get someone involved with “Clown Prince of
Disneyland” who was familiar with layout. Which is why they then turned to
Bruce Gordon.

Wearing a specially made Fred Macmurray mask, Wally
performs stunts for "The Absent Minded Professor"
Copyright 2009 Disney Editions. All Rights Reserved

“Gordon seemed like the perfect guy for this project,”
Laurence continued. “Bruce had already co-written several Disney history books.
More to the point, he was a whiz at layout. Which is why we were thrilled when Gordon
agreed to collaborate with us .”

But then – just a few months after he started working on “Clown
Prince” — Bruce suddenly died. And since that this veteran Imagineer hadn’t actually
finished laying out Wally’s memoirs when he passed away in November of 2007 …
Well, that really set this project back.

“And then stuff like that kept on happening,” Laurence
explained. “Marty Sklar – who’d been a real champion of this book — retired
from Imagineering in June of this year. And then Disney Publishing went through
a reorg and ‘Clown Prince’ somehow got lost in the shuffle.”

Fulton Burley (left), Wally & Elliot the dragon entertain the crowds
while out on a 1977 press tour for "Pete's Dragon"
Copyright 2009 Disney Editions. All Rights Reserved

But the real kicker came when Boag’s kid called the buyer
for Disney Parks & Resorts (You know? The individual who orders all of the
merchandise that’s sold in the shops at Disneyland & Walt Disney World?).
And as Laurence explained that “Wally Boag: Clown Prince of Disneyland” was
finally available to order, this buyer reportedly said “Wally who?”

As Laurence tells this story, the phone call pretty much went
downhill from there. As he tried to explain the important role that his Father
played in Disney Company history, this buyer basically cut him off. Saying – in
essence – “We’re not so much interested in Disneyland’s past anymore. We’d
prefer to talk about Disneyland’s future.”

To be fair, about 10 minutes after that phone call ended,
Laurence received a second call for this same Disney Parks & Resorts buyer.
In the interim, they’d evidently been talking with other people at their office about
Wally Boag. Which is why this individual was now aware of the 27 years that he’d
spent performing at the Golden Horseshoe. Not to mention the script writing &
voice work that Wally had done for “The Enchanted Tiki Room.” As well as the
stunts that Boag had performed in “The Absent-Minded Professor” and “Son of Flubber.”

Julie Andrews & Wally Boag reunite on the stage of
Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe in 1963
Copyright 2009 Disney Editions
All Rights Reserved

Albeit reluctantly, this buyer tried to make amends. Back pedaling from their earlier "Wally who?" comment, this individual now insisted that they were aware of Boag’s window on Main Street. This buyer then told Laurence that “I think I
may have seen your Dad perform once back when I first started with the Company.” But even then this buyer still refused to
order any copies of “Wally Boag” Clown Prince of Disneyland.” Saying something to the effect that “ … we’ve stocked books like this in the past. And they don’t really
sell all that well. Which is why I still think that we’re going to have to take a pass.”

Now where this story gets weird is that – over the past few
weeks – Boag’s son has repeatedly been contacted by members of the Golden Ears.
Which is Disneyland’s Alumni Association. And since many of these folks
actually worked with Wally and/or have very fond memories of Laurence’s Dad,
they’ve been looking forward to reading “Clown Prince of Disneyland.” Which is
why all their e-mails to Laurence typically start out just as today’s JHM
article did. With an opening line that reads something like this:

“I have been looking for Wally’s bio in the Park for months
now. But because I never saw it on store shelves , I just assumed that ‘Clown
Prince of Disneyland’ hadn’t been published yet. So imagine my surprise today when
I stumbled upon your website …”

So here we have a book that people are actively looking for
at Disneyland, that former Cast Members actually expect to find whenever they shop
in stores at that theme park … And yet the buyer for Disney Parks & Resorts
still took a pass on “Wally Boag: Clown Prince of Disneyland” (Which – I’ll
remind you – is a Disney Editions title. Meaning that this book was produced by
The Walt Disney Company’s own publishing arm) because – as Laurence Boag was
reportedly told – “ … We’re not so much interested in Disneyland’s Past
anymore. We’d prefer to talk about Disneyland’s future.”

You wanna know the really ironic part of this story? When I visited
the Disneyland Resort earlier this year, I remember seeing tons of merchandise available
for purchase that was tied to Pixar’s 2008 release.

Yeah, that Wall-E
Disneyland has room for. But not Wally
Boag. The Disney Legend that Walt personally selected to perform at Slue Foot
Sue’s Golden Horseshoe.

If you want to learn about what it was like to audition for
Walt Disney, you should definitely pick up a copy of “Wally Boag: Clown Prince of
Disneyland.” Which – as I said earlier – is only available for purchase in two places
right now. In the gift shop at the Walt Disney Family Museum as well as at the official
Wally Boag website.

But who knows? Maybe today’s story might convince a few folks
to free up some retail space at Disneyland. So that a Disney
Editions book that Guests actually expect to find when they next shop at the
Happiest Place on Earth might then be available for purchase there.

Your thoughts?

And if you still feel like doing a bit more shopping after
you pick up that copy of “Wally Boag: Clown Prince of Disneyland” … Well, if you
click on the Amazon banner below, JHM then gets a teeny tiny chunk of whatever
you spend.

Think of it as a way of showing your appreciation for all
the great stories that you've read at this site over the years.

Happy Holidays!