Last week, I attended a fundraising dinner at one of Walt's
favorite restaurants, The Tam O'Shanter. As attendees dined on their famous
prime rib, Disney author (and former Disney Home Video honcho) Mindy Johnson
talked with special guests Alice Davis and Kathryn Beaumont about their
experiences with Walt.
Alice talked
about how she first met Walt (at that very restaurant!) and how Walt
prophesied that one day she would work for him, and how that prophecy coming
true worked out. Kathryn talked about how her initial nervousness over meeting
The Great Walt Disney melted away in seconds as he pulled her into his
enthusiasm for the upcoming "Alice
in Wonderland
." We saw rare photos of her acting out her parts as Alice,
including some wild contraptions to mimic her moving around in a bottle, and
told how they put up a little house around her for the scene in The White
Rabbit's house, then had to rebuild it as a frame so that animators could see
how her arms moved inside the house. She also shared photos from her work on
"Peter Pan
," as Wendy Darling, of course, but she also shared that she was one of
several different models used for Tinker Bell as well.
Kathryn Beaumont looks on as Alice Davis' husband Marc draws the title character from
Disney's "Alice in Wonderland." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Todd Regan, Big Kahuna of the Walt Disney Birthplace and
CECCI, then shared with us about progress on the restoration, noting that it
was imperative that the house be protected before this year's coming polar
vortex (yes, another one) hits Chicago. The ugly metal siding was removed to
reveal the original wood that Elias used to build the house that Flora
designed, but this left the house vulnerable.
A helpful donor made an offer: If anyone
that night would sponsor a window at $2500.00, they would match it with a
second window. Two for one. Alice Davis was among the people there who
sponsored one of the windows for the house, on behalf of herself and her
husband Marc. She and the other donors will have their names on a plaque below
each window.
Also on offer was a tour of Walt Disney's former home on Woking
Way,
which moved the house a little closer to its goal.
Copyright WDB Restorations, LLC. All rights reserved
The initial goal for Phase One is $40,000.00 – and they're
just about halfway there. They're hoping that they can raise funds in time to
protect the house Elias built from further damage before winter hits.
This is a really important part of Disney history, and the
fact that we, the fans, can actually have a hand in its restoration is a chance
I never thought I would have. We would be giving back to Walt's memory, but
also giving to future fans, especially the children who visit the CECCI (a
children's charity to be based out of the house, The Center for Early Childhood
Creativity and Innovation), so that tomorrow's child will be able to learn
about Walt and, it is to be hoped, learn how to dream big and make those dreams
come true, like Walt did.
Any donation, big or small, will help. Please make a
donation at http://startsomegood.com/wdb.