by Neal Gabler
“Walt says in effect,…” Ben Sharpsteen, interview by Dave Smith, Oct. 21, 1974, WDA.
The conundrum. Ben Sharpsteen, interview by Peri, Feb. 6, 1974, WDA.
“There was a general feeling of nervousness…” Richard Fleischer, Just Tell Me When to Cry: A Memoir (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1993).
“with the total respect…” Charles Shows, Walt: Backstage Adventures with Walt Disney (Huntington Beach, Calif.: Windsong Books International, 1979).
“Fear, in fact,…” Joan Scott, “Ordeal by Disney,” Film Comment, Dec. 1987.
“These seem to be…” Memo, Ben Sharpsteen to Walt, Oct. 2, 1956, S Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, K-Secrets, A1643, WDA.
“steel springs inside a silk pillow.” Don Eddy, “The Amazing Secret of Walt Disney,” American Magazine (Aug. 1955).
“[A]ll the dead wood…” Memo, Walt to Lessing, Mar. 13, 1952, Gunther Lessing Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1945-1952, A-L, A1635, WDA.
“I feel he is still on our payroll,…” Memo, Walt to Bill Anderson, Feb. 3, 1956, Anderson, Bill, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, A-Disney, A1641, WDA.
“Because of world market conditions…” To Whom It May Concern, Oct. 12, 1948, J Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1947-1948, I-M, A1538, WDA.
“dead wood.” Harry Tytle, interview by author.
Hal Adelquist. Adelquist to Walt, Jul. 8, 1957, A Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, A-D, A1566, WDA.
Laying off Jack Kinney. Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys.”
“I do not believe we are justified,…” Elly Horvath to Walt, Apr. 19, 1956; Walt to Mrs. E. Horvath, Apr. 23, 1956, Ho Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, G-L, A1563, WDA.
“In the ominous silence,…” Scott, “Ordeal by Disney.”
Walt and Bill Peet. Ward Kimball, interview by Richard Hubler, May 21, 1968, WDA.
“Once you get in Walt’s doghouse,…” Bill Peet, Bill Peet: An Autobiography (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989).
“blasted him up one side…” Fleischer, Just Tell Me When.
“I’m talking….” Quoted in Leonard Mosley, Disney’s World (New York: Stein & Day, 1985).
“You have to have a humble attitude,…” Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys.”
“You were being patted on the head…” Quoted in Lawrence Edward Watkin, Walt Disney, unpub. ms., n.d., WDA.
“As time went on,…” Quoted in Bob Thomas, Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire (New York: Hyperion, 1998).
“because they brought in people…” Eric Larson, interview by Steve Hulett, Apr. 19, 1978, WDA.
“lovable genius.” Louella O. Parsons, “Walt Disney, The Lovable Genius Who Never Grew Up,” Los Angeles Examiner, Pictorial Living Section, Jan. 9, 1955.
“our wonderful life together.” Watts, Magic Kingdom.
“[S]he used to be provoked…” Roy O. Disney, interview by Richard Hubler, Feb. 20, 1968, WDA.
“possessive.” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“Well, it keeps Walt from playing…” Kimball, “Wonderful World.”
Walt and the kid. Quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
“That situation all but caused…” Walt to T. Hee, Jan. 17, 1957, He-Hn Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, E-O, A1567, WDA.
“attached to one of those flying saucers…” Mrs. Walt Disney, as told to Isabella Taves, “I Live With a Genius,” McCall’s, Feb. 1953.
“I’ve always been worried….” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“You listen to your wife, huh?” I. Klein, “Some Close-Up Shots of Walt Disney During the ‘Golden Years,’” Funnyworld, no. 23 (Spring 1983).
“how henpecked he is.” Mrs. Walt Disney, “Genius.”
“Heavens, Mother had quarrels…” Hubler, Disney.
“In fact, she usually…” Hedda Hopper, “Poppins’ Success Depresses Disney,” LAT, Jan. 1, 1965.
“But how would you like…” Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys.”
“She was sort of unconscious…” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“Madam Queen.” Lillian quoted in ibid.
Diane thought Diane Disney Miller, interview by author.
“always had his arm around her.” Ibid.
Rumba or mambo lesions. Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
“Here’s your Christmas present.” Mrs. Lillian Disney Truyens, interview by Bob Thomas, Apr. 19, 1973, Disney, Lillian, WDA.
Box of radios. Lucille Martin (secretary, NFFC Convention), Jul. 21, 2000.
Daily schedule. Dolores Voght in Hubler, Disney.
“He would always touch it…” Quoted in Broggie, Railroad Story.
“ran full tilt into the side of the garage….” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“I was wearing myself out…” Bill Davidson, “The Fantastic Walt Disney,” Saturday Evening Post, Nov. 8, 1964.
“I feel you take them…” Walt Disney interview by Martin, Reel 11.
“He was furious.” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
Duchess’s blanket. Eddy, “Amazing Secret.”
“always on the go.” Walt to Ruth, Dec. 5, 1951, D Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1951-1952, A-Ch, A1544, WDA.
“Heretofore with the association of only girls…” Walt to Jessie Perkins, Oct. 12, 1951, Perkins, Mrs. Jessie, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1951-1952, N-P, A1547, WDA.
Walt suggesting Diane marry Ron Miller. Diane Disney Miller, as told to Pete Martin, “My Dad, Walt Disney,” Saturday Evening Post, Nov. 17, 1956.
“wonderful boy…” Walt to Herb Disney, Apr. 28, 1954, D Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1953-1954, C-F, A1551, WDA. Herbert’s wife Louise had died of cancer, and Herbert himself had gotten remarried just a month before Diane.
Diane’s wedding. LAT, May 10, 1954.
“Diane pulled a name…” Walt to Bob Stevenson, Nov. 28, 1961, S Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1960-1964, N-Tatum, A1651, WDA.
Naming Christopher. Greene and Greene, Man Behind the Magic.
“custodian of his grandson.” Diane quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“it gets a bit hectic…” Walt to Ruth, Dec. 5, 1956, B Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, A-B, A1561, WDA.
“[w]hat with our new granddaughter…” Walt to Mrs. Tom Deane, Tracy Clinic, Tracy, John, Clinic Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, S-Z, A1565, WDA.
“in writing such a story…” Walt to Cameron Shipp, Jun. 7, 1950, Se Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1949-1950, R-Z, A1543, WDA.
Paul Hollister. Ted Weeks (Atlantic Monthly) to Walt, Mar. 30, 1955, The Atlantic Monthly Folder; Paul Hollister to Roy, Jul. 18, 1955, Paul Hollister Folder; Memo, Roy to Walt, Re: Paul Hollister’s Manuscript MAN OR MOUSE, Nov. 10, 1955, Paul Hollister Folder; Paul Hollister to Walt, Apr. 26, 1956, Paul Hollister Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, S-L, A1563, WDA.
“I can’t get any money…” Diane quoted in Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
The Story of Walt Disney. Pete Martin to Diane, Feb. 18, 1957; Walt to Ben Hibbs (editor of Saturday Evening Post), Oct. 2, 1956, Sat. Eve. Post folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, P-Z, A1568, WDA.
“just sails through her classes.” Walt to Ruth, Dec. 8, 1947, B Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1947-1948, A-H, A1537, WDA.
“she’d rather ride horses…” Ibid.
“personality seemed to be hidden…” Walt to Mrs. J. Burton Vasche, Mar. 9, 1954, P Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1953-1954, P-S, A1554, WDA.
“loves” it. Walt to Perce Pearce, Feb. 15, 1955, Perce Pearce Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, M-P, A1639, WDA.
“I really just didn’t like it.” Sharon Brown, interview by Richard Hubler, Jul. 9, 1968, RHC, Box 14, Folder 51.
“after this one stint,…” Walt to Ruth, Dec. 5, 1956, B Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1956, A-B, A1561, WDA.
So hastily arranged Roy did not attend. Memo, Roy to Walt, Apr. 14, 1959, Disney, Roy, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1958-1959, A-Do, A1645, WDA.
“shook like a man w
ith a fever.” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“This isn’t your dance yet….” Quoted in ibid.
Thelma Howard. Duane Noriyuki, “Thelma Howard’s Legacy of Hope,” LAT, Oct. 24, 1994; “Saving Grace,” People, Nov. 21, 1994; Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
Biff’s. Miller, “My Dad, Walt Disney.”
“If it ever comes…” Eddy, “Amazing Secret.”
“He didn’t trust women or cats.” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“great suspicion of women.” Quoted in ibid.
“more at ease with women…” Paul Smith and Hazel George, interview by David Tietyen, Aug. 29, 1978, WDA.
“I love Mickey Mouse…” Ward Kimball, “The Wonderful World of Walt Disney,” in You Must Remember This, ed. Walter Wagner (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975).
“wild time at nights.” Ken Anderson, interview by Bob Thomas, May 15, 1972, WDA.
“He looked at everything.” Quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
“Every time I would take a mouthful…” Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
Lillian and Thelma not laughing loudly enough. Tommie Wilck, interview by Richard Hubler, Aug. 13, 1968, WDA.
Bed time. Bill Davidson, “The Latter Day Aesop,” TV Guide, May 27, 1960; Brown interview by Hubler.
Getting up at night. Mrs. Walt Disney, interview by Richard Hubler, Apr. 16, 1968, RHC, Box 14, Folder 52; Truyens interview by Thomas.
“wouldn’t get off his back.” Bob Broughton, interview by author.
Four Oscars. Patty Disney quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
Rehiring Phyllis Hurrell. Wilck interview by Hubler.
“Goddamn it…” Milt Kahl, interview by Richard Hubler, Feb. 27, 1968, WDA.
“I don’t want any publicity at all.” Walt to Mr. and Mrs. Louis Lighton, Aug. 8, 1957, L Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, E-O, A1567, WDA.
“[w]e were more than glad…” Walt to Ruth, Dec.?, 1957, B Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, A-B, A1566, WDA.
“inviolable rule…” Walt to Alma Taylor, Jan. 19, 1961, T Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1961, M-Z, A1589, WDA.
“has to go on.” Quoted in Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys,” Sept. 17, 1953.
“something to keep…” Quoted in Solomon, Enchanted Drawings.
Storymen importuning. Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys.”
“it didn’t seem possible…” Wilfred Jackson, interviewed by Richard Hubler, Mar. 26, 1968, WDA.
“You had to ask Walt…” Quoted in Solomon, Enchanted Drawings.
“You’re not in any trouble.” Frank Thomas quoted in John Canemaker, Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation (New York: Disney Editions, 2001).
Prodding Walt. Milt Kahl, interview by Christopher Finch and Linda Rosenkrantz, May 18, 1972, WDA.
“farmed-out” Memo: Harry Tytle to Walt, Re: Progress Report, Jan. 11, 1957, Tytle, Harry, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, Sunderland-Z, A1644, WDA.
“[w]hat the hell…” Paul Smith and Hazel George, interview by David Tietyen, Aug. 29, 1978, WDA.
Reissues earned as much as 90 percent… Quoted in Solomon, Enchanted Drawings.
“It was very modern…” Quoted in John D. Ford, “An Interview with John and Faith Hubley,” in The Animated American Cartoon: A Critical Anthology, ed. Gerald Peary and Danny Peary, (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1980).
“revolution.” John Hubley, “Evolution of a Cartoonist,” Sight and Sound, Winter 1961-62.
Formation of Poster Service. John Canemaker, “David Hilberman,” Cartoonist Profiles (Dec. 1980); Solomon, Enchanted Drawings; Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons.
“our camera is closer…” Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons.
“It was simply…” Canemaker, “Hilberman.”
“[O]ur approach was a painterly…” Jules Engel, interview by Lawrence Wechsler and Milton Zolotow, Los Angeles Art Community: Group Portrait, UCLA, 1985.
“They thought they were dead.” Bill Melendez, interview by author.
“Warner Bros. humor.” Bill Scott quoted in Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons.
“wry gimace…” David Fisher, “Two Premieres: Disney and UPA,” in Peary and Peary, Animated Cartoon.
“The big change…” Quoted in Patrick McGilligan and Paul Buhle, Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997).
“may prove as resounding…” Quoted in Solomon, Enchanted Drawings.
“new cult is forming…” Fisher, “Two Premieres.”
“There isn’t enough money…” Walt Disney interview by Martin, Reel 1.
“We had a lot of product…” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“[E]verybody said you’ll never…” Ward Kimball, interview by Christopher Finch and Linda Rosenkrantz, May 10, 1972, WDA.
“In style a clean steal…” Time, Dec. 7, 1953.
Lady and the Tramp history. Story History of Lady, Aug. 12, 1943, Ralph Parker Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1938-1944, N-Q, A1630, WDA.
“distasteful.” Memo, Joe Grant, Dick Huemer to Walt, Re: Comments on the Ward Green [sic] script, Oct. 5, 1943, Greene, Ward, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1953-1954, G-K, A1552, WDA.
“Tramp.” Ward Greene, “Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog, and Miss Patsy, the Beautiful Spaniel,” ibid.
“I should confine my efforts…” Walt to Ward Greene, Jul. 25, 1944, King Features Syndicate Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1951-1952, H-L, A1546, WDA.
Roy encouraging Lady. Memo, Roy to Walt, Re: Lady, May 20, 1952, Disney, Roy, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, D-L, A1638, WDA.
Lady missing date. Memo, Bill Anderson to Walt, Re: Production Status Report, Mar. 1, 1954, Bill Anderson Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, A-C, A1637, WDA.
“tackled the project…” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“our most ambitious cartoon feature, to date.” Walt to Dodie Smith, Dec. 19, 1957, Si Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, P-Z, A1568, WDA.
“Make them [the characters] as real…” Quoted in Leonard Maltin, The Disney Films, 3rd ed. (New York: Hyperion, 1995).
“When I first saw his stuff,…” Quoted in John Canemaker, Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists (New York: Hyperion, 1996).
“I had to fight myself…” Quoted in ibid.
“moving illustration,…” Eric Larson, interview by Thorkil Rasmussen, Feb. 22, 1978, WDA.
Didn’t care how long it took. Eric Larson to Mike Barrier, Oct. 27, 1976, quoted in Canemaker, Nine Old Men.
“overall story board discussion.” Memo, Ken Peterson to Walt, Re: Sleeping Beauty, Feb. 25, 1955, Ken Peterson Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1953-1955, M-P, A1639, WDA.
“He wouldn’t have story meetings.” Milt Kahl, interview by Bob Thomas, May 14, 1973, WDA.
Staff and trainees. Memo, Ken Peterson to Walt, Re: Casting Report, May 23, 1955, ibid.
Half as quickly. Memo, Harry Tytle to Walt, Re: Cartoon Production, Mar. 30, 1956, Tytle, Harry, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, Sunderland-Z, A1644, WDA.
By January 1957… Memo, Ken Peterson to Walt, Re: Sleeping Beauty, Jan. 30, 1957, P Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1957, K-Secrets, A1643, WDA.
Budget of the film had soared. Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys.”
“[Y]ou had to do…” Don Bluth quoted in Canemaker, Nine Old Men.
“a noticeable, marked difference.” Tytle, One of “Walt’s Boys.”
Dick Huemer agreed. Huemer, Recollections.
“ringmaster directing…” Peet, Autobiography.
“They measured the width of the line…” Don Bluth to John Canemaker, Dec. 2, 1998, quoted in Canemaker, Nine Old Men.
Red blotch. Ibid..
“downfall.” Ibid..
“Will be a bonanza…” Memo, Card Walker to Walt, Re: Sleeping Beauty, Non-Critical, Apr. 11, 1957, ARI Reports, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1956-1957, A
-Disney, A1641, WDA.
[I]t got monotonous.” Ben Sharpsteen, interview by Don Peri, Mar. 5, 1975, WDA.
Dick Huemer thought it was Walt’s lack of involvement. Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“how heavy the animation was…” Milt Kahl, interview by Mica Prods., Nov. 3, 1983, WDA, Reel 6.
$900,000 loss. Memo, Roy to Walt, Re: Year-end Closings, Oct. 7, 1960, Disney, Roy, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1960-1964, A-Disney Aircraft, A1648, WDA.
Loyalty oaths. Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons.
Union harassment. Melendez interview.
One producer had a dictum… John Canemaker, Felix: The Twisted Tale of the World’s Most Famous Cat (New York: DaCapo Press, 1996).
“secret weapon.” Joseph Barbera, My Life in ’toons: From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century (Atlanta: Turner Publishing, 1994).
ELEVEN || Slouching Toward Utopia
Earnings per share. Michael Gordon, “Disney’s Land,” Wall Street Journal, Feb. 4, 1958.
“Sales and net profits have enjoyed…” George Adamy (portfolio adviser), “Walt Disney Prods.,” A Folder, Delafield and Delafield, Sept. 1958, Walt Disney Corr., 1958, A-C, A1569, WDA.
“[w]ring every possible profitable squeal…” Gordon, “Disney’s Land.”
Income breakdown. Adamy, “Walt Disney Prods.”
Merging and revamping. Memo, Roy to Walt, Oct. 7, 1960, Walt Disney, 1955-1961 Folder, Roy O. Disney Inter-Office Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Trips to Disneyland (1954-61), A3002, WDA.
$70 million in revenue. Memo, Mel Melton to Walt, Re: Financial Highlights, Dec. 5, 1961, M Folder, Walt Disney Corr., Inter-Office, 1960-1964, Herald-M, A1650, WDA.
“For the first time…” Art Buchwald, “The Banks Owe Disney Now,” New York Herald Tribune, Sept. 17, 1961.
ABC renewals. Contract, Jan. 15, 1957, American Broadcasting Co. Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, A-D, A1566, WDA.
“which will be unequaled…” Tel. Walt to K. G. Manuel, (vice-president of AC Sparkplugs), May 20, 1957, G Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, E-O, A1567, WDA.
“Walt’s finely focused intensity…” Robert B. Sherman and Richard H. Sherman, Walt’s Time: From Before to Beyond, ed. Bruce Gordon, David Mumford, and Jeff Kurtti (Santa Clarita, Calif.: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998).
