What with all the hype surrounding Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, I’m sure that you’ve heard stories about how proud Walt was of his theme park. How Disney poured his heart and soul (not to mention his life savings) into the creation of “The Happiest Place on Earth.”
But did you ever wonder if Walt had any moments of doubt about Disneyland? If the old Mousetro ever stood there in late 1954 / early 1955, surrounded by torn up orange trees and half-built buildings and thought: “What have I gotten myself into?”
Well, it did happen. Though you won’t find this moment described in any of the authorized Disney histories. Only in “Walt’s People” (Xlibris Corporation, January 2005), Volume One of a brand-new series of books which will publish detailed transcripts of interviews with artists and Imagineers who once worked directly with Walt.
It’s only in “Walt’s People” where you’ll hear about Walt’s one public moment of panic. In an interview with Robin Allan, longtime Imagineer Harper Goff described the scene:
RA: I believe that you saw Walt almost break down once while the park was under construction.
HG: [Yes. Walt was almost alone and high up on the central scaffolding that was built in the middle of the park.] It was nothing but a sea of drains and ditches and nothing above ground. “I have half of the money spent,” he said ” and nothing to show for it.” He said this with tears in his eyes. “Nothing!” And he was not a fearful man.
You’ll find gems like this scattered throughout the “Walt’s People” books. These little weird moments that never quite make it into the buffed & polished version of Disney Company history. These colorful little ancedotes that give a real insight into the Mouse Factory actually ran while Walt was in charge.
Take — for example — this excerpt from an interview that Paul F. Anderson did with Disney Legend Ken Anderson. Where Ken described how blunt Walt could be sometimes:
PAF: Tell me the story of when Walt came to you about making your name famous.
KA: That was in 1934, during my first days at the Studio. He called me into his office and said “I have something that I want you to learn here. This is the Walt Disney Studios. If you’re thinking of making a name for yourself, then you’d better get the hell out of here now, because the one thing that we’re selling here is ‘Walt Disney.’ Not because it’s me. But because that’s the name for the Studio. And that the place’s you work. That’s all you have to do. Push this one name, Walt Disney.” And he explained why it was that nobody got credits. It was all Walt Disney. “Because,” he said, “That’s what people remember. WAlt Disney. We want them to remember that. We want it to mean something. If you can accept that, you’re my man.”
Of course, Ken Anderson was able to accept that. Which is why he was then able to go on and work on such Disney classics as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Song of the South,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “101 Dalmatians.” The list goes on and on.
Mind you, it’s not just the worried Walt that you get in this book of interviews. Or the serious studio executive who wanted to make sure that everybody remembered his name. You also get Walt Disney, the regular guy. The man who seemed like he would have been a wonderful boss.
You’ll get a glimpse of that guy in this interview that Jim Korkis did with Imagineer Joyce Carlson. Who looked back quite fondly at all the years that she spent in the studio’s Ink and Paint Department:
JK: Did Walt ever visit you girls in the Inking Department?
JC: Oh, he used to come over. He used to walk through or bring guests to see what we were working on. But otherwise that was it. He was always very friendly to us.
JK: Did he ever give any presents to show his appreciation?
JC: At Christmas time, we’d have a little party and he’d bring little compacts, face pwders, nylons, cosmetics, and he’s go around to all the girls, and you could pick out what you wanted. Merry Christmas! [Laughs].
JK: How would you describe the ‘Walt Disney’ you knew?
JC: Well, Walt was … special, You saw him coming and he was someone you could look up to and you wanted to please, do a good job for him, help fulfill his dreams. It was exciting — you’d get on the elevator with Walt and he’d talk to everybody. It was wonderful, you’d just admire him so. We miss Walt. I miss Walt.
It’s these sort of ancedotes that make “Walt’s People” so special. Edited by Didier Ghez, this on-going series of books will attempt to collect the very best interviews that have ever been done with Disney artists. Contributors to the “Walt’s People” include the aforementioned Allan, Anderson and Korkis as well as noted Disney historians Michael Barrier, J.B. Kaufman, Mike Lyons and John Province. And among the Disney Legends that were interviewed for this book are Marc Davis, John Hench, Milt Kahl and Bill Tytla.
Complete with a great Peter Emlsie caricature of Anderson, Davis, Hench and Kahl on its cover, Volume One of the “Walt’s People” series is definitely worth picking up. And what with Volume Two due out in September of this year (Which will reportedly feature interviews with such Disney greats as Ward Kimball, Herb Ryman, Woolie Reitherman and Glen Keane) … This is one series that you really want to be supportive of. So that we can all eventually have access to this great collection of interviews. Which will show a whole different side of Walt from what you find in the authorized histories.
So do yourself a favor and follow this link over to Xlibris. Where you can order Volume One of this new series of books which will talk about ” … Disney with the Artists who Knew Him.”