Walt Disney

by Neal Gabler

  “I believe everyone…” Peet, Autobiography, n.p.

  “They even applauded…” Steve Hulett, “A Star is Drawn,” Film Comment (Winter 1979).

  “highlight.” Greene and Greene, Man Behind the Magic.

  “Clark Gable and Carole Lombard…” Krause and Witkowski, Walt Disney’s Snow White.

  “thunderous ovation.” Peet, Autobiography.

  “I don’t know how we did it.” Canemaker, “Grim Natwick.”

  Congratulations. Hunt Stromberg to Walt, Dec. 29, 1937; Tel. Harman-Ising Studios to Walt, Dec. 22, 1937; Nat Levine to Walt, Dec. 27, 1937, Snow White (First Nite Congratulations, etc.) Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1938-1939, Q-T, A1519, WDA.

  I WISH I COULD MAKE PICTURES…” Tel. DeMille to Walt, Feb. 1, 1938, Walt Disney Corr., 1938-1939, A-De, A1515, WDA.

  “It’s probably too soon…” Joe Rosenberg to Walt, Dec. 23, 1937, B Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, A-D, A1511, WDA.

  “Let your fears be quieted…” NYT, Jan. 14, 1938.

  “an authentic masterpiece…” “Mouse & Man.”

  “among the genuine artistic achievements…” [Jan. 26, 1938] Ferguson, Film Criticism.

  “happiest event since Armistice.” NYT, Feb. 8, 1940.

  “he thought Metro Goldwyn…” Hal Sloane to Walt, Jan. 5, 1937 [actually 1938], Sloane, Hal, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1938-1939, Q-T, A1519, WDA.

  “miniature communist society.” Daily Worker, Jan. 15, 1938.

  “Wars are being fought…” Frank Nugent, “One Touch of Disney,” NYT, Jan. 23, 1938, sec. 11.

  Technical achievement. Feild, Art of Disney.

  SEVEN || Parnassus

  Snow White grosses. Picture Income—Current Theatre Returns Folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sweatbox Notes, Seq. 13A-16A, Misc. Files (financial, promotion, etc.), Punch Sheets—French Version, Box 7, A1733, WDA.

  General release figures. Memo, George Morris to Walt, Aug. 1, 1938, Morris, George E., Folder, Walt Disney Corr., InterOffice Corr., 1938-1944, A1629; Summary of Income Statements from Dec. 31, 1934, to Oct. 2, 1943, Morris, George E., Folder, InterOffice Corr., 1938-1944, L-M, A1629, WDA.

  Highest-grossing. NYT, May 2, 1939.

  Seen by more people. Diane Disney Miller, as told to Pete Martin, The Story of Walt Disney (New York: Henry Holt, 1956).

  “They came in their hundreds…” C. A. Lejeune, “Dopey is Adopted by John Bull,” NYT, Sept. 18, 1938, sec. 10.

  Foreign grosses. Cable First-Run Daily Gross Receipts, Paris, Picture Income—Current Theatre Returns Folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sweatbox Notes, Seq. 13A-16A, Misc. Files (financial, promotion, etc.), Punch Sheets—French Version, Box 7, A1733, WDA.

  Dutch boycott. NYT, Feb. 5, 1939, sec. 9.

  Forty-nine countries. Ibid.

  Snow White products. Ibid.

  Commissioned play. Memo, Erwin Verity to Hal Thompson, Re: Audience Reactions Lists, Apr. 7, 1938, Snow White playlet, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sweatbox Notes, Seq. 13A-16A, Misc. Files (financial, promotion, etc.), Punch Sheets—French Version, Box 7, A1733, WDA.

  “if I listen in…” Memo, Walt to Roy, Re: Radio Show, Jan. 10, 1938, Radio Folder, Walt Disney Corr., InterOffice, 1938-1944, R-S, A1631, WDA.

  Selling cels. Richard Holliss and Brian Sibley, Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the Making of the Classic Film (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987).

  NYT editorial. “Topics of the Times,” NYT, May 2, 1938.

  “it is quite within the bounds…” Memo, Gregory Dickson to Walt, Re: Academy Award, Jan. 25, 1938, InterOffice Communications, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, E-L, A1512, WDA.

  Academy Award presentation. Mason Wiley and Damien Bona, Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards (New York: Ballantine Books, 1987). See also Transcript, WDA.

  “Conditions for us…” Elias to Walt, Aug. 25, 1933, D, D.V.’s Letters, 1931-33, Walt Disney Corr., 1930-1934, D-I, A1503, WDA.

  “Roy is very generous…” Elias to Ray Disney, Feb. 21, 1933, Elias Disney Box, WDA.

  DeSoto car. Ruth Disney Beecher quoted in Katherine Greene and Richard Greene, Inside the Dream: The Personal Story of Walt Disney (New York: Roundtable Press, 2001).

  Flora ordered to rest. Flora Disney to Raymond Disney, Jan. 21, 1933, Disney Family: Genealogy, Etc., A2383, WDA.

  Elias’s failing health. “Disney Family Settled in Huron County in 1848,” Goderich Signal Star, Jul. 7, 1999; the article was originally published in 1938.

  “We have a tremendous load…” Letter quoted in Bob Thomas, Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire (New York: Hyperion, 1998).

  “We wish we could sell…” Flora to Irene Campbell, Dec. 10, 1931, Perkins, Mrs. Jessie, Folder, P File, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, M-R, A1564, WDA.

  “I think it’s a great day…” “Disney Family Settled in Huron County.”

  “Severest Critic.” Mrs. Walt Disney as told to Isabella Taves, “I Live With a Genius,” McCall’s, Feb. 1953.

  “I can’t stand the sight” Quoted in Frank Rasky, “80 Million a Year from Fantasy,” Star Weekly (Toronto), Nov. 14, 1964.

  “He demanded a lot…” Mrs. Walt Disney, interview by Richard Hubler, Apr. 16, 1968, Disney, Lillian, WDA.

  Discussed divorce. Marc Eliot, Walt Disney: Hollywood’s Dark Prince (New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1993). Though Eliot did not provide an annotation, he did conduct an interview with William Cottrell, Walt’s longtime employee and by 1938 the husband of Lillian’s sister, Hazel; in a note to the author, Eliot confirmed that Cottrell was the source.

  “He was very close to Lilly…” Dolores Voght, interview by Richard Hubler, RHC, Box 17, Folder 57.

  “Mother was a well contained…” Richard G. Hubler, Walt Disney, unpub. ms., 1968, RHC.

  Sharon Mae. Sharon Brown, interview by Richard Hubler, Jul. 9, 1968, RHC, Box 14, Folder 51.

  Picking up Sharon. Diane Disney Miller, interview by author.

  “I do not care…” Walt to Mike Cowles, Look, Jul. 25 and Jul. 29, 1955, Li Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1955, E-L, A1558, WDA.

  Another adoption. A note in Walt’s Desk Diary for March 8, 1938, indicates a 9:45 a.m. appointment at the Hall of Justice for “Adoption.” It is impossible to say whether this related to Sharon or to another adoption.

  Hair loss treatments. Sidney Skolsky, “Tintypes,” New York Daily Mirror, Jan. 13, 1938.

  Polo injury. Mrs. Walt Disney interview by Hubler.

  Westcott accident. LAT, Oct. 28, 1935, Oct. 30, 1935, Oct. 31, 1935; Hollywood Reporter, Oct. 28, 1935. See also Harry Tytle quoted in Hubler, Disney. Tytle believes that Westcott’s helmet strap snapped his neck, though he died of a skull fracture.

  Roy quitting polo. Memo, Roy to Dolores Voght, Dec. 2, 1935, InterOffice Communications, Walt Disney Corr., 1935, A1509, WDA.

  Quitting polo. Walt to Polo Committee, Riviera Country Club, May 21, 1938; Walt to Mr. L. L. Morrison, May 21, 1938, Misc. Files, WDA.

  Badminton. Walt Disney, interview by Pete Martin, Reels 6 & 7, Reel 7, WDA.

  “[W]hen the Studio began…” Quoted in Amy Boothe Green and Howard E. Green, Remembering Walt: Favorite Memories of Walt Disney (New York: Hyperion, 1999).

  Spencer Tracys. See for example Walt to Spencer Tracy and Louise Tracy, Jun. 24, 1936, T Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, S-Z, A1514, WDA.

  “Walt was a hard guy…” Ward Kimball, “The Wonderful World of Walt Disney,” in You Must Remember This, ed. Walter Wagner (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975).

  “friendly,…” Harry Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys”: An Insider’s Account of Disney’s Golden Years (Royal Oak, Mich.: Airtight Seals Allied Products, 1997).

  “[H]e really didn’t have time…” Mrs. Walt Disney interview by Hubler.

  “little time for actual recreation.” Walt to Mrs. Grace L. Stenderup, Folded Hills Ranch, Feb. 4, 1939, St Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1938-1939, Q-T, A1519, WDA
.

  “might just as well have brought along tables…” Quoted in Eliot, Dark Prince.

  “He didn’t know anything else…” Dave Hand, interview by Michael Barrier, in Didier Ghez, Walt’s People (Xlibris, 2005).

  “I’ve lived with it too much…” Walt Disney interview by Martin, Reel 11.

  Diane asking for autograph. Miller, Story of Disney.

  “I thought that my father…” Walt Disney: An Intimate History of the Man and His Magic, CD-ROM, Pantheon Productions, 1998.

  “They used to love to go…” Walt Disney interview by Martin, Reels 9 & 10.

  Alice in Wonderland. Memo, Gunther Lessing to Walt, Re: Alice in Wonderland, Nov. 26, 1937, InterOffice Communications, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, E-L, A1512, WDA; NYT, May 23, 1938.

  Peter Pan. Roy to Lessing, Apr. 22, 1938, Disney, Roy O.—Trip to Europe, 1938 Folder, Roy O. Disney Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Personal & Trips (1934-41), A2995, WDA; Jim Korkis, “Disney’s Pre-Production Peter Pan,” POV 1, no. 2 (Winter 1992).

  “still wears the look…” NYT, Jun. 12, 1938, sec. 10.

  Snow White costs. Snow White—Cost Statistics [n.d.], Snow White—Animation Cost Analysis, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sweatbox Notes, Seq. 13A-16A, Misc. Files (financial, promotion, etc.), Punch Sheets—French Version, Box 7, A1733, WDA. This document also lists the cost of every employee on the film and the hours he spent on it.

  $2.3 million debt. Memo, Herb Lamb to Walt, Re: Financial Status, Feb. 8, 1941, Lamb Folder, Walt Disney InterOffice Corr., 1938-1944, L-M, A1629, WDA.

  “Roy brought Mr. Giannini…” I. Klein, “Reminiscences,” Cartoonist Profiles, 1, no. 7 (Aug. 1970).

  Revolving fund. Memo, Lessing to Roy, Re: Misc. Goings On, Apr. 27, 1938, Disney, Roy O.—Trip to Europe, 1938 Folder, Roy O. Disney Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Personal & Trips (1934-41), A2995, WDA.

  “We already took the last drop…” Memo, Lessing to Roy, Re: Future Product Distribution, May 4, 1938, ibid.

  Bonuses. Memo, Morris to Roy, May 2, 1938, ibid; New York Post, Jun. 29, 1938.

  “They deserve it.” Ed Sullivan, “Hollywood,” New York Daily News, Aug. 10, 1938.

  Five-day week and Lake Narconian announcement. Memo, Morris to Roy, May 2, 1938.

  Lake Narconian. Dick Huemer, “Thumbnail Sketches,” Funnyworld, Fall 1979; Bob Broughton, interview by author; Leonard Mosley, Disney’s World: A Biography (New York: Stein & Day, 1985).

  “prolonged applause.” NYT, Jun. 23, 1938.

  Music Hall. NYT, Jul. 3, 1938, sec. 9.

  Trophy case. Frank Nugent, “This Disney Whirl,” NYT, Jan. 29, 1939, sec. 9.

  “We have to prove to the public…” Walt to W. G. Van Schmus, May 27, 1938, Misc. File, WDA.

  “he was afraid…” Douglas W. Churchill, “Walt Disney Sighs for More Whirls,” NYT, Jan. 9, 1938, sec. 10.

  “taking literally…” Sweatbox Session, The Autograph Hound, July 8, 1938, Autograph Hound Folder, RM 25, WDA.

  Adding employees. Walt Disney, “Growing Pains,” American Cinematographer, Mar. 1941.

  “horrible deal.” Ham Luske, Notes, ca. 1956, WDA.

  “years of confusion…” Disney, “Growing Pains.”

  “The only way…” Studio Profit Sharing Plan (Minutes), Jan. 30, 1940, Walt Disney Productions, Mar. 31, 1942, Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney Corr., InterOffice, 1938-1944, D, A1627, WDA.

  Changing the company name. Memo, Roy to Walt, Re: Corporate Name, Oct. 20, 1938, Disney, Roy O., Folder, Walt Disney Corr., InterOffice, 1938-1944, D, A1627, WDA. See also LAT, Sept. 30, 1938.

  Decision to build new studio. Memo, Morris to Roy, May 2, 1938, Disney, Roy O.—Trip to Europe, 1938 Folder, Roy O. Disney Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Personal & Trips (1934-1941), A2995, WDA.

  “It looks as though…” Memo, Morris to Roy, May 21, 1938, ibid.

  Lessing urged Roy to return. Memo, Lessing to Roy, Re: Return to Studio, May 21, 1938, ibid.

  Los Angeles Times report. LAT, Jun. 18, 1938.

  “You know how I got…” Studio Profit Sharing Plan (Minutes), Jan. 30, 1940.

  Joe Rosenberg’s response. Memo, George Morris to Walt, May 26, 1938, Morris, George E., Folder, Walt Disney Corr., InterOffice, 1938-1944, A1629, WDA.

  Kem Weber. See David Gebhard and Harriete Von Breton, Kem Weber: The Moderne in Southern California, 1920-1941 (Santa Barbara: University of California Press, 1969).

  “comfort of mind…” “Walt Disney Studios,” California Arts and Architecture, Jan. 1941.

  “Walt planned out very carefully.” Ben Sharpsteen, interview by Richard Hubler, Oct. 29, 1968, WDA.

  “He’d say, ‘How about if…’” Quoted in Thomas, Building a Company.

  Frank Thomas designing animation table. Milt Kahl, interview by Christopher Finch and Linda Rosenkrantz, May 18, 1972, WDA.

  New desks. Bill Justice, Justice for Disney (Dayton, Ohio: Tomart Publications, 1992).

  Humidity and temperature controls. Paul Hollister, Man or Mouse: The Story of Walt Disney, So Far, unpub. ms., 1955, chap. 9, WDA.

  Meeting with Franklin. Sidney Franklin to Walt, Apr. 20, 1935; Walt to Franklin, Sept. 13, 1935, Misc. File, WDA.

  MGM offer. Franklin to Walt, Dec. 10, 1935; Memo, Roy to Walt, Feb. 27, 1936, Franklin, Sidney A., Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, E-L, A1512, WDA.

  Bambi Synopsis. Bianca Majolie, Synopsis, May 13, 1937, BAMBI—Continuities, Dave Hand, Bambi Production Materials—Story Meeting Notes, Sweatbox Notes, Corr., Research, A3267, WDA.

  “The staff looked hopefully to Walt…” Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, Walt Disney’s “Bambi” (New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1990).

  “possibilities with animals.” Story Conference on Bambi, Sept. 11, 1937, Bambi—Story Meetings, 1937-38, Bambi Prod. Materials—Story Meeting Notes, Sweatbox notes, Corr., Research, A3267, WDA.

  Sept. 4 story conference. Story Conference on Bambi, Sept. 4, 1937, ibid.

  Story of hare. Larry [Morey] and Ted [Sears] comments, Summing up the Meeting Held with Sydney [sic] Franklin on Oct. 20, 1937, Bill Cottrell Notes & Drafts, Oct. 1937, ibid.

  “[I]t showed us a new dimension…” Thomas and Johnston, Disney’s “Bambi.”

  Session with Franklin. Story Conference on Bambi, Dec. 15, 1937, Bambi—Story Meetings, 1937-38, Bambi Production Materials—Story Meeting Notes, Sweatbox Notes, Corr., Research, A3267, WDA.

  Announcement postponing film. LAT, Dec. 15, 1937.

  “just busting his guts…” Quoted in Mosley, Disney’s World.

  instructing Lessing. Memo, Walt to Gunther Lessing, Sept. 15, 1937, InterOffice Communications, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, E-L, A1512, WDA.

  “I think the thing to do…” Story Meeting, Dec. 3, 1937, Story Meetings, 1937-1938 Folder, Pinocchio, Story Material, A2961, WDA.

  “‘Crank it out’…” Jack Kinney, Walt Disney and Other Assorted Characters: An Unauthorized Account of the Early Years at Disney’s (New York: Harmony Books, 1988).

  Visiting Roy E. Disney. Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.

  Hurrying the process. Story Meeting, Dec. 11, 1937, Story Meetings 1937-1938 Folder, Pinocchio, Story Material, A2961, WDA; Walt Disney, “Pinocchio—How Now?” NYT, Feb. 4, 1940, sec. 9.

  Peet’s recollection of story sessions. Bill Peet, Bill Peet: An Autobiography (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989).

  Walt at story sessions. See Story Meetings 1937-1938 Folder, Pinocchio, Story Material, A2961, WDA.

  “I want to feel it…” Story Meeting, Seq. 10 (Pinocchio Walks Into Ocean Searching for Geppetto), May 19, 1938, ibid.

  “Pinocchio was a picture…” Thomas and Johnston, Disney’s “Bambi.”

  “[W]e were pretty cocky…” Ward Kimball, interview by Mica Prods., aired Jul. 1, 1984, WDA.

  “In fact, Walt confidently predicted…” Studio Profit Sharing Plan (Minutes), Jan. 30, 1940, WDA.

  Sharpsteen and Pinocchio. Luske, Notes, ca. 1956; Ken Anderson, interview by Bob Thomas, May 15
, 1973, WDA.

  Sharpsteen’s analysis. Ben Sharpsteen, Answers to Questions Submitted by Dave Smith, Sept. 1974, WDA.

  “We’ve tried to take care…” Sweatbox Notes, Bambi, Sept. 1, 1939, Bambi—Story Meetings, 1939, Bambi Prod. Materials—Story Meeting Notes, Sweatbox notes, Corr., Research A3267, WDA.

  “We went through…” Story Meeting Notes, Nov. 29, 1939, ibid.

  “One difficulty…” Story Meeting, Dec. 3, 1937, Story Meetings 1937-1938 Folder, Pinocchio, Story Material, A2961.

  Enlarging role of Blue Fairy. Ibid.

  Pinocchio like Charlie McCarthy and Harpo Marx. Story Meeting, Jan. 6, 1938, Story Meetings 1937-1938 Folder, Pinocchio, Story Material, A2961, WDA.

  Walt was displeased. Christopher Finch, The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdom (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993).

  Ham Luske’s suggestion. Mosley, Disney’s World.

  “[A]fter six or eight months…” Kimball interview by Mica.

  Revised synopsis. Pinocchio Synopsis, June 22, 1938, General Synopsis, Jun. 22, 1928, Folder, Pinocchio, Story Material, A2961, WDA.

  “We said, ‘Here’s…’” Sweatbox Notes, Bambi, Sept. 1, 1939, Bambi—Story Meetings, 1939, Bambi Production Materials—Story Meeting Notes, Sweatbox Notes, Corr., Research, A3267, WDA.

  In a single typical day in February… Feb. 4, 1938, Walt Disney Desk Diaries, 1938, Walt Disney Desk Diaries, 1934-1943, A3084, WDA.

  “sheer fantasy…” Walt Disney, “Mickey Mouse Presents,” in We Make the Movies, ed. Nancy Naumburg (New York: W. W. Norton, 1937).

  Meeting Stokowski at Chasen’s. Abram Chasins, Leopold Stokowski: A Profile (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1979); John Culhane, Walt Disney’s Fantasia (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1983).

  Yen Sid. Steven Watts, The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997).

  “It is the picture…” Story continuity, Nov. 6, 1937, cited in ibid..

  “Of course you know…” “Three Disney Channel Stars Remember Walt,” Disney Channel Magazine, Feb. 1984.

  “plucky, put upon…” Introduction to The Art of Mickey Mouse, ed. Craig Yoe and Janet Morra Yoe, in John Updike, More Matter (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999).