“Blonde, of course. Brunettes are your thing.” He gave Adam a sly smile.
“I refuse to be baited. Shall we get back to the little princess or do you want to keep sparring?”
“My, aren’t you smug. I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.”
Adam just smiled and let Lance think he had the moment. They had been friends too long to take words like that seriously. “To pass the time, name all the princesses up until the 1960’s.”
“Well, there’s Princess Margaret of Great Britain….”
“Smart aleck. How about Disney princesses.”
“Well, you weren’t specific. How about Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella? Are they more to your liking?”
“They are both blondes, so no.” Adam just had to throw that in. “There’s Snow White. Alice wasn’t considered a princess, was she?”
“I don’t think so. What’s the name of that princess in Peter Pan they rescue?”
“You mean Tiger Lily? Ok, she would fit. Ariel, Belle and Jasmine were later in time, so they wouldn’t be included. There might have been a cartoon with Minnie as a princess. I’d have to look it up. Any others?”
“Gosh, I don’t know. Animated princess movies weren’t my favorites. They were more up your alley, Adam. So what do we have so far in regards to princesses and their houses?”
“Cinderella has the castle in Walt Disney World. There is a restaurant on the second level, I think. Don’t know about any offices. You already mentioned Sleeping Beauty and Disneyland.” Frowning to himself, Adam didn’t think this was the right track. “What about the houses they had in the movies?”
“Well, they all had their castles. And usually another house when they were in trouble, right?”
Adam ticked off the princesses on his fingers. “Snow White had the dwarfs’ house in the woods. Sleeping Beauty had the woodcutter’s cottage. Cinderella…wasn’t it just her step-mother’s house? Tiger Lily had a teepee, I guess, but no castle.”
Lance shook his head. “I don’t see what this has to do with the clue. Or Walt’s desk. Did he refer to his daughters as little princesses, maybe?”
“Don’t all doting fathers?”
Still thinking it through, Lance saw a flaw in the reasoning. “But he would have built the house for his daughter, not the other way around.”
They were almost at the turnoff for Adam’s apartment. Adam looked at the back seat. “Think we should open the envelope?”
“I don’t think so. To me it sounds like a last resort if we need help. This Mary, Mike or Jill….”
“Manny, Mo or Jack.”
“Whatever.” Lance pulled the Mercedes to a stop at the curb. “I think it should stay sealed for now.”
After the quiet solitude of the Golden Oak Ranch, the men were aware of all the noise around them as they walked to Adam’s apartment: a leaf blower, wheels screeching, police siren, doors slamming, someone arguing in a different language, laughter from the pool, heels clicking on the sidewalk, a baby crying somewhere in the complex. They were just normal sounds of life. What a sharp contrast to the peace and quiet they experienced out at the ranch. What a gift Walt had granted them—tranquil solitude.
Adam laid the Grant Deed on top of the railroad shares and the Alice script. He had wanted to add Walt’s nametag to his collection box, but, out of deference to Lance, he waited. He heard his computer ping and groaned out loud. “Will you please fix that for me? I don’t even have to look and I know its 7 o’clock.”
“Then you don’t need a clock.” Lance gave him a wide grin. “But, it’s too early for my reminder. It’s not even 5:30 yet. It’s probably an email.” He read the clue one last time. “I’m going home. I’ll give you a call tomorrow or Thursday if I come up with anything.” He knew Adam would do the same.
“You want some pizza? I was going to have one delivered.”
“Tempting as that sounds, no, thanks. I have other plans tonight.” He glanced at the clock in the kitchen. “And if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late.”
“Big date?” Adam was curious. He should be thinking about one of those for himself…someday.
Lance paused at the door. He didn’t want to lie to Adam, but he also didn’t want to explain himself. “Something like that. Later.”
No wiser, Adam just grinned. If Lance didn’t want you to know something, you did not find out. He was still grinning when he picked up the phone and ordered a ham and pineapple pizza.
Since Sleeping Beauty came out the same year as the purchase of the Golden Oak Ranch, Adam focused his search on her. But he was getting frustrated as he found nothing that indicated Walt referred to her as the little princess. The movie was not a financial success when it came out. It would be a couple of decades before it saw a positive monetary return. He looked over at his computer and wondered how in the world Lance had gotten so much out of it. Glancing at the clock he saw it was getting close to 8:00. If Lance was on a date, they should be done with dinner by now. He probably wouldn’t mind a quick call. And if he did mind, well, that would just be a bonus for Adam.
Lance’s cell phone rang about ten times before he picked it up. His hello was hushed and hurried.
This amused Adam. Usually Lance was friendly, almost glib on the phone. “Hey, it’s Adam. Am I interrupting anything important?” The double entendre only guys could give it came through loud and clear.
Before Lance could answer, Adam heard two blasts of a steam whistle in the background. A very familiar steam whistle. “Hey! Was that the Mark Twain? Where are you? Disneyland? And you talk about me needing a life!” He was only half-kidding as he gave a laugh.
Lance didn’t share the amusement. “I’m a little busy right now. What do you want?”
“Sorry.” Adam smiled, not sorry at all. He figured Lance had a pouty blonde on his arm who didn’t like sharing. “I’m coming up empty on my princess search. How do you find stuff on my computer? What do I do?”
Lance’s voice was muffled, barely discernible. “Sorry, sir, I’m getting off right now.” He must have had his hand over the receiver. Louder, he spoke to Adam. “Listen, Adam, I have to go. Just pull up any search engine and type in whatever words you want to look for. Bye.”
“Sir?” Adam repeated into the dead phone. He was surprised Lance had been so brief and, well, not himself at all. He would have to grill him next time Lance came over.
Adam stared at his blank computer screen for a minute, trying to remember what Lance had done. He didn’t know much about tool bars or history tabs or how to find what Lance had already searched. He saw an unfamiliar space at the top right of his screen. When he ran his mouse over it, it read, ‘type here to search the Web.’ “Ok, that was easy enough.” He typed in little princess Walt Disney and got over one million results. Just like that. “Oh, this is going to take a while.” He groaned as he looked through listing after listing of little princess party supplies and little princess clothing and little princess posters. He looked longingly over at the relative haven of his nice, organized research books all stacked in a neat pile. But, they hadn’t told him what he needed to know.
Knowing he didn’t have to click on each link to know it wasn’t what he wanted, he quickly went page after page through his search result. He saw that the princesses listed were usually Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine and Belle. In his mind, he had already dismissed Aurora, Belle and Jasmine. That left Snow White and Cinderella. Scrolling faster now, he concentrated on those two ladies. There wasn’t much on just those two alone other than copies of their movies. He finally found, around page twenty-five, an article out of a book he didn’t currently have. The article talked about the studio on Hyperion Avenue in Los Angeles, California, and all they had done to make Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs an outstanding piece of animation history. It was the first animated movie to use a multi-plane camera that would give the scenes depth and a three-dimensional feel. In December 1937, it premiered at the ornate Carthay C
ircle Theater in Los Angeles with searchlights streaking through the sky as Hollywood’s most luminous stars crowded inside. It went on to win an Academy Award and seven small ones. It was a financial success from the first day it was shown.
Adam stopped there. He felt he had his answer. The house for the little princess Snow White would have to be the Hyperion Studio. Finding the address to be 2719 Hyperion Avenue in Los Angeles, he leaned back in his chair, smiling. He and Lance could take a quick run out to L.A. tomorrow, check out the old buildings, and take it from there. The envelope was probably for some security guard who would be keeping watch over the site. There were probably displays of offices as they had been, including possibly Walt’s. It would be a fascinating tour. He glanced at his phone, but hesitated calling Lance again. Some of Lance’s girls could be difficult. He would wait until tomorrow.
It wasn’t until late Friday morning that they could make the short trip. With a flashlight, screwdriver and hammer stowed in the trunk and the envelope hidden inside a jacket pocket, Lance and Adam made their way forty miles northwest on the I-5 Freeway toward Los Angeles. The moderate traffic moved along at a good speed. They were looking for the Los Feliz Boulevard exit where they would make a left on Griffith Park Boulevard. Lance loved driving, so he was at the wheel again. Adam didn’t mind. He felt rather proud of himself for solving the clue single-handedly. Yes, that Internet was an amazing thing. He would have to spend some time learning how to use it more efficiently.
Lance took the off-ramp and they found Griffith Park Boulevard with no problem. Adam told him to make a sharp left onto Hyperion Avenue and they would be at the studio. Softly whistling along with the ‘50’s music playing on the radio, Lance did as he was instructed. The whistling stopped, however, when they pulled into the parking lot at 2719 Hyperion Avenue.
They were sitting in front of a huge grocery store.
The entry of the store was painted dark red and the sides were dark gold with five high arched windows facing the street. There were a few trees planted in front of the store on the Hyperion side of the building.
The two men got out of the car and just stood there. “You sure this is right?” Lance could see that Adam was stunned.
The address on the front of the store proclaimed 2719 and they knew they were on Hyperion. Adam saw the hillside off to the side from where they were standing. It had been empty in the black and white pictures he had seen of the studio but now it was covered with apartments and condos and private homes. The huge, sprawling, white studio, however, was gone. Behind the store—where the bulk of the studio should have been—were a few more businesses before they gave way to apartment complexes and houses.
They spotted a purple-colored sign and headed for it, stepping around shoppers and carts. The marker declared:
“Point of Historical Interest.
Site of Walt Disney’s original animation studio in
Los Angeles.
2719 Hyperion Ave. 1926 — 1940.
Cultural Heritage Board Monument #163.”
That was it. That was all there was to commemorate the legendary studio that put Disney’s name even more securely on the map. Adam felt thoroughly deflated.
Lance could tell his friend was both disappointed and embarrassed. It wasn’t time for kidding around. “Well, buddy, back to the old drawing board.”
Adam just nodded glumly and got in the car, fastening his seat belt. It was a quiet ride back to the city of Orange.
Since Adam hadn’t felt like tackling the research again, Lance just dropped him off at his apartment and then came back late Saturday afternoon. As he had looked the week before, Lance appeared to have been outside all day. He still refused to answer any direct question as to where he had been or what he had been doing. He did accept some leftover pizza and a beer.
“At least you are heeding the reminders.” He tried to lighten the mood as Adam’s computer chimed.
Adam just shook his head and deleted the box. At least that was getting easier for him. Now all he had to do was figure out how to delete the entire reminder process.…
“So, what did you come up with today?” Lance was in the kitchen as he washed the pizza remains off his fingers.
Glad his friend wasn’t dwelling on his embarrassment the day before, Adam went over some notes he had written. “I thought the word house in the clue might be literal, so I checked where Walt was living at the time period of Snow White in 1937. I was thinking maybe they moved into a bigger house after the movie became a success. But they were still living in the nice home on Woking Way which Walt built on the hill overlooking the studio in 1932. They wouldn’t move to the big house on Carrolwood until 1950. I find all of this amazing since he came to California in 1923 with only $40 in his pocket.”
Lance nodded as he retook his usual seat on the sofa. He had been thinking of a literal house as well. Now he knew it was time to shift gears. Perhaps Adam’s idea of a studio wasn’t wrong. What if it was just the wrong studio? “Okay, we know Snow White was a resounding success and he made a lot of money from it. What did they work on next?”
Adam flipped through some of his older notes. “They were working on Bambi, Pinocchio and Fantasia all around the same time. But, they were having trouble with all of them. With Bambi and Pinocchio, it was story trouble. Also with Bambi, they were having problems trying to draw animals that looked more realistic than cartoon-like. There were a lot of creative problems with Fantasia. Bambi was shelved and didn’t come out until 1942. Pinocchio was released in 1940, then Fantasia and Dumbo in 1941. But neither Pinocchio or Fantasia did well at the box office.”
Lance was still thinking along the lines of a studio. “If Walt didn’t use that money to build himself a better home, what did he build next? It was way too early for Disneyland. When was the studio in Burbank built?”
“I didn’t even think about that studio. I thought it was too new, but I could be wrong,” Adam thought out loud. “What dates did that historical marker say yesterday?”
“1926 to 1940.” Lance was able to instantly quote from his almost photographic memory—an ability he didn’t like sharing with too many people who expected it to work every time on every subject and have him perform like a trick pony. He knew Adam was distracted enough not to notice. “So, the Burbank studio opened in 1940. That corresponds with the new movies we’re talking about.”
Adam leaned back in his chair. “So, do you want to get into this tonight or tomorrow? You look pretty tired. Another big date at Disneyland?” It was worth a shot if Lance decided to tell him something.…
But it didn’t work. “Tomorrow sounds better. If I feel like it tonight, I’ll try to find a Manny, Mo or Jack who may have been at the studio in the 1960’s. See if you can find where Walt’s office was located.”
“You really think the Burbank Studio is the answer?” Adam watched as Lance went toward the door.
Lance nodded seriously. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Even though going to the Hyperion Studio yesterday wasn’t right, it felt right. A movie as successful as Snow White would give Walt the resources he needed to do a lot of the things he had in mind. We just need to find out what his next big goals were. We’re close, I do know that. See you tomorrow.” He lightly slapped the doorframe twice as a good-bye and shut the door behind him.
“Did you find any of the three men?” Adam got right down to business when Lance showed up at his door the next morning.
“Good morning to you, too.” Lance gave him a glib comeback as he walked over to the sofa. He added some pages of his own notes to the ever-growing pile in Adam’s living room. “I found one of them. Maybe. Jack could have referred to Jack Webb who worked with Disney to build Sound Stage 2 in 1949. Jack was then able to film his own show Dragnet there. But, Jack passed away in 1982. If the note refers to him, I’m afraid he won’t be much help.”
Adam was silent as Lance walked into his kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator. Good luck there, buddy, he thought to hims
elf with a chuckle. I can’t remember the last time I went to the store.
Coming back empty-handed, Lance asked what Adam had found in his research.
“Not much.” Adam hated to admit that as he searched for a particular note he had written. “I found an animator who has been with the Studio since 1953, but his name doesn’t fit. Well, unless we get really creative with his last name and switch the two T’s for N’s and get rid of the last three letters altogether….” He broke off at the confused look on Lance’s face. “Here.” He held out his note to show Lance what he meant.
“So, instead of Manny, you have Matty. Well, it’s closer than anything else we have. And you know for sure he’s still there?”
Adam nodded. “Yes, I read an interview he did not too long ago. Sounds like a nice guy. We could start there and maybe he could help.”
Lance was skeptical as he thought back over the clue they were following. “You think we should give him the envelope?”
“I don’t know how else we’re going to get into the Studio. It isn’t open to the public. Well, one building has a reception area and some memorabilia on display, but that’s about it. Too bad. It would be a fascinating tour.”
Lance was silent for a minute. He didn’t like giving up the envelope to just anyone. Not knowing what was written inside, he felt it might somehow be their only link to finding the next clue. “Well, I don’t think we would accomplish much going there on a Sunday. We might have more luck on Monday. Want me to try and get an appointment with him?”
Adam gave him a grin. “Going to sing him the campfire song?”
“Only if I have to,” Lance sighed. “Only if I have to.”
Wednesday morning at 10:30, the two friends were at the guard house at the W. Alameda Avenue entrance of the Burbank studio. They had just passed under the huge entry arch that proclaimed “The Walt Disney Co.” in big red letters in the distinct cursive Disney lettering. Off to the right was the Team Disney Burbank Building that held the offices of the president and board-members. It was a huge glass and brick building completed in 1990. The most distinctive features were the six 160-foot tall dwarfs that were holding up the roof of the building with Dopey at the place of honor above the others at the apex of the roof. The Disney Legends plaques were on orange columns leading up to this building. They weren’t directed to this building, however. The men were sent around to a different parking lot and told to park next to the sound stages. This was near the original Animation building with its eight wings where, on the third floor in Wing H, Walt’s offices had been. The innovative louvered screens designed by Walt were still in place over the many windows. The animators inside those offices had been able to adjust the amount of light coming into their work area. Off to the left, they could see the tall silver water tower with its picture of Mickey.
Sometimes Dead Men DO Tell Tales! Page 13
