THE DHI FESS-TIVAL--Charlie Brown Honors Davy

Click On Image For Clearer Image

TWO POPULAR CULTURE ICONS

I have been saving this for awhile, and thought it would fit nicely with the Fess Parker tribute, and the ever-popular DHI Sunday Funnies (the proverbial two birds with one stone). I was asked last month to write a tribute to Fess Parker for the upcoming Disney's twenty-three magazine (WHAT, you haven't joined D23 yet? You should, go to: The Greatest Disney Enthusiast Club On The Planet!). In doing so, I pulled all my old Davy research from my book The Davy Crockett Craze (which being some fifteen years old, and with the state of my archives, really took some doing). I hoped to find something new and of interest to share in the tribute. What resulted was a wonderful two-day trip down memory lane. It had slipped my mind how pervasive the Crockett craze was, and at the center of it all was the genial Fess Parker.

I also found the above Peanuts comic strip from 1955 (and a few others). The beloved cartoonist Charles Schultz created the strip while living in Minnesota, where it appeared weekly as "Lil Folks" in the St. Paul Pioneer Press from 1947 to 1950. By October 1950, the strip appeared in syndication as Peanuts, and from there it took off and became a real part of American life. At its peak it had a readership of over 350 million in 75 countries, and spawned several popular television specials.

By 1955, Schultz started to add pop culture references to the strip. With the Crockett Craze hitting in 1955, and being one of the biggest American pop cultural events ever, it was only natural that it found its way into several Peanuts strips. In this one, the controversial and ever present argument of Beethoven vs. Davy Crockett is tackled.

Enjoy. And don't forget to click on the cartoon for a high-res and readable image.

DHI Update

Sorry for being away for a bit, real life has required my attention. I am off to Los Angeles for the Walt Disney Archives 40th Celebration, as well as a week of research on Disney and the War. I'll try to post a few items of interest while there. And a few items before I leave. ALSO: Please give me a couple of weeks to catch up on all my correspondence and emails. Thanks.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND-The Artwork of Mary Blair

DHI MARY BLAIR EXHIBIT
CONCEPT ART FOR ALICE IN WONDERLAND
"The March of the Cards"

NEW ITEMS ADDED TO THE DHI BOOK SHOP

Just a quick note to let Institute readers know that I have just added today a number of new items: Vintage Disneyland; Davy Crockett & Fess Parker; Signed Items by Ken Anderson, Marc Davis, Annette Funicello, Fess Parker, Ward Kimball, Spin and Marty, Carl Barks, and more; More Books; Carl Barks Uncle Scrooge Drawing; and much more to the DHI Book Shop. I hope to have more items up over the weekend, including some more Carl Barks items, books, signed items, and Disneyland ephemera, so check back often. The funds are helping to pay off some medical bills and also going towards supporting the Institute and for additional research (primarily interviews). So thank you for your support and feel free to spread the word. You can click the DHI Book Shop link at top anytime to go to the store. Thank you for your patronage of the Disney History Institute. Paul

MATTERHORN MANIA--Walt's Mountain

THE DHI MATTERHORN MANIA
by Paul F. Anderson

DHI got about a jigga-billion hits when I put up the essay Walt And The Admiral Build A Mountain. Beyond the hits, I also received a large number of emails concerning the images and the Matterhorn. Not wanting to be profound and write a great deal for today's essay (that and I have numerous deadlines, Pinocchio yesterday was long, and photos are cooler than my words anyway), I offer the Disney History Institute Matterhorn Mania. A series of rare and never-before-seen images from the building of Walt's mountain. Walt gets credit for many things, and deservedly so, but I think without historical context (sadly lost in today's world) we forget how ground breaking, how creative, and how brilliant he was. With historical context (something I spend an entire lecture on in my first class of "Walt Disney and American Culture," because I feel it is essential to understanding Walt Disney and his creative legacy) we have an insight into Walt and this one idea for Disneyland. Walt's idea to build the Matterhorn was pure genius. Sadly, genius is such an oft bandied about term, that it loses its impact--but not if we put ourselves back into the 1950s.

The fifties was an interesting time, politically, socially, economically, and culturally. The red scare was in full force. TV was consuming America's spare time. The post-war baby boom flooded the nation with kids. We were becoming a suburban society (read: bland), and with the creation of the national highway system, we were mobile. And nary a fake mountain with a "ride" for the pure sake of escapism and spending time with your family existed! Think about how Admiral Fowler felt when Walt came to him and said, "Joe, I want to build a mountain at Disneyland." Okay, bad example, Admiral Fowler probably thought, "That's my boss! I better get started." So take anybody else in America and present this idea: "The man is crazy," would have been the response. Let me add to that, however...the baby boomers that grew up with the Disneyland television show and The Mickey Mouse Club, and were not limited by convential "grown-up" thinking, would have said "We can hardly wait." Walt never lost site of what it was to be a child, with amazement, wonderment, and fantasy. If he had, the Matterhorn would have never been built. Everytime I ride the Matterhorn with my two boys, I thank Walt Disney and the Imagineers for the experience with my family; for the joy of seeing my six year old and eleven year old squeal with delight; and for the experience of bobsledding down a mountain, all because Walt thought it would be fun. And you know, he was right!

So on, with the first installment of Matterhorn Mania. I have more images to put up next week (including a group of original WED research shots when the Alpine Mountain was just in its infancy). I appreciate your emails and comments, with any thoughts, criticisms, or ideas.

FILMING DAY! Okay, I didn't do my research (bad historian), I do
not know who these people are! (Todd will.) I do know they are filming the
Matterhorn experience, most likely for WED reference. I would be appreciative
of anyone who can provide me any information on their identity.

FILMING DAY! A little bit later. Appears the camera will be wet!

FILMING DAY! One second later.



Filming Day, almost the same as before, but one ride one second later.

The first construction shot I posted received quite a few comments,
so here is another image, with the Matterhorn nearing completion.
Note the "Coming Soon" sign for guests at Disneyland.



Disneyland Summer 1959 Guidebook Insert.



Sam McKim was one of my favorite individuals from Disney. I did two
extensive interviews with him, and he was always generous with his
time. And his wife, the very sweet Dorothy, made the best cookies on
the planet (and would always bake me a batch every time I would see them).
One day at their home, after a lengthy interview with Sam, he asked me if
I wanted to see any of his artwork? After I picked myself up off the floor,
we spent two to three hours of him pulling stuff out and explaining to me
about the piece. It is Sam's generosity that you will experience here at DHI,
as he let me photograph each piece! The above concept was done on March 19, 1986
and was for the proposed Switzerland Pavilion at World Showcase, Epcot Center.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR HIGH-RES IMAGE, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER IMAGE AT DHI!

PINOCCHIO PREMIERE--Exploitation and the Center Theater

WALT DISNEY'S PINOCCHIO IN NEW YORK CITY

by Paul F. Anderson

February 1940 Advertisement Cue Magazine

Longtime DHI readers recall with some amusement the story of the naked and drunken Pinocchio midgets (if you missed it, see the last half of: The Eleven Dwarfs). The memorable event in Disney history really gave the term "film exploitation" a new meaning (exploitation was the period terminology for the campaign to promote a film).

Pinocchio premiered on February 7, 1940 at the Center Theater in New York City, and in this essay I have pulled several artifacts from the DHI Archives that showcase additional exploitation done for the film. Moreover, to illustrate the importance of the promotion of the film--not only to the public, but sometimes, and more importantly, to the exhibitors--I have found some of Walt's thoughts in regards to this.

1940s Postcard, The Center Theater

The Center Theater was owned by the Rockefellers and was on the South Block of the Rockefeller Center complex at 6th Avenue and 49th Street. It opened as the RKO Roxy Theatre in 1932, changed to the RKO Center Theater in 1933, and by 1934 was simply the Center Theater. The Art Deco movie palace was sort of the poor stepchild to the much larger and more lavish Radio City Music Hall--also part of the Rockefeller Center. Both theaters shared 1932 as their birth year and in 1933 both premiered King Kong, but other than this one shining moment, the Center could hardly compete with her big sister. The Music Hall had 2500 more seats more than the Center, a more elaborate interior, better location, and almost instant prestige within New York City social circles.

By 1934 the Center Theater was featuring second-run and double film programs, with only limited success. It was once said of the Center that no film really had a chance to succeed there , and RKO was certainly aware of this fact. The theater tried live theatrical shows, but the play did no better than the film, so RKO returned her to duty in the world of cinema. Pinocchio was the most notable film to play the Center after her return to the silver screen, and the little wooden boy became her best bet at a flashy premiere and return to any type of film glory (naked midgets aside). The Disney brothers would have much preferred the Radio City Music Hall, but RKO, noted at this time for its mismanagement, was not cooperative. By comparison, the film RKO chose to run at Radio City instead of Pinocchio was one of its own, the little-remembered Swiss Family Robinson (1942), starring Thomas Mitchell, Edna Best, Freddie Bartholomew, and Tim Holt. The film received mostly negative reviews, and within a few weeks was replaced by RKO's Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1942), starring Raymond Massey and Gene Lockhart, and based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play. At the time, RKO and Disney were at odds and Roy and Walt did not feel that RKO was putting forth a fair effort towards promoting the Disney films, which was true. The correspondence between Walt and Roy from 1940 routinely deals with RKO problems and various ideas to get them to do their work. Of course, at the time RKO was having serious financial problems as well, as the entire film industry was reeling under the loss of the European market due to WWII.

When Pinocchio was first in production in 1938, the money was rolling into the Studio because of receipts from the fairest of them all. But even with the new found wealth, exploitation was still a concern, as illustrated by the following story conference transcript. In this, Walt talks about the importance of the release of the film and the potential “trouble” of how exhibitor’s might view the film based on a proposed scene; and it is due to possible issues with how the film might be perceived, that the idea for the scene is dropped.

I find that Walt’s words give us one of the best ways to get to "know him." When reading story conferences, one gets the picture of how involved Walt was and how almost everything at that Studio went through him–providing it was something he had decided to involve himself with. Because of this, I plan on posting from time to time excerpts from various story conference transcripts. (I have an almost complete run from the 1930s and 1940s, so if you have any requests, please email me.)

STORY MEETING ON “PINOCCHIO” Sequence I

Meeting Held: 9:00 to 12:00 A.M. Thursday, January 6, 1938, in Projection Room #4.

Those Present: Walt, Ben Sharpsteen, Otto Englander, Bill Cottrell, Chas. Philippi, Dick Huemer, Joe Grant, Ted Sears, Homer Brightman, Walt Pfeiffer, Leo Ellis, Earl Hurd, Webb Smith, Herb Lamb, Ham Luske, Bianca, Leo Thiele, Cy Young, T. Hee, Mac Stewart, Frank Thomas, Fred Moore.

From Page 6 and 7:

Walt: We don’t have a winter sequence in it now, do we? I was wondering if we’d want to open on a winter sequence, the kids out on their sleds in the snow–and the next day, when he starts to school, it could be snowing. You have to look for things in there to give it production value. Would it interfere with the following stuff?

Cottrell: It might be winter at the end of the picture.

Walt: I thought if we opened with winter it would be winter at the end too.

Otto: It wouldn’t matter about Boobyland, because that’s a fairy tale country. It can be anything there.

Ham: It could be Christmas if you wanted it, at the start and finish.

Ted: If it were winter you could get a nice scene with the old man looking for him in the snow.

Homer: The kids could roll him up in a big snowball.

Dick: Why couldn’t it be Christmas?

Ham: They wouldn’t be going to school.

Ben: It could be just before Christmas and he’s making toys for the Christmas trade.

Walt: If it were Christmas it would accent the old man’s loneliness...You couldn’t show it in Russia though.

Tee: Wouldn’t you think that if it’s the holiday season, he wouldn’t sent Pinocchio to school the next day?

Walt: It wouldn’t necessarily be the next day. You could dissolve, and Geppetto’s sending him off to school.

Otto: Somebody said it shouldn’t be typed as a season picture, so that it can run all year.

Walt: That’s the trouble–the exhibitors will class it as a Christmas picture and only run it at Christmas time. Well, Heidi had Christmas in it–they had quite a sequence there of Christmas...It doesn’t matter, we were just trying to get something pictorial in here.

Ben: You could bring winter into Boobyland–they have ice cream.

Ted: If you want to use winter in part of it, when he comes home dejected, and goes to the shop and the shop is closed, would be a good time to do it.

Mac: You could handle it almost anyway–Boobyland won’t have to tie in with any other season–it’s pure fantasy–it could be anything.

Walt: One thing about having it Christmas here, it would bring out the old man’s loneliness.

Webb: It could be winter where he comes to the Fairy’s grave; it would look more desolate.

Walt: That’s really the best place, I believe, from a pictorial angle.

Cottrell: If you wanted to make this winter you could have it rainy there, drizzly rain–it would give a swell effect.

Webb: That storm on the ocean–if that was winter, you could get a lot of swell stuff on it.

Walt: Well, regardless of Christmas, what I think you ought to do with this is build some of these sequences a little stronger.

CENTER THEATRE PROGRAM FOR PINOCCHIO FEBRUARY 1940

Note The Use Of Pinocchio To Promote Rockefeller Center Eateries
(Now Called "Cross Promotion")

Tie-In Exploitation: "Original Paintings" On Exhibition The Grand Lounge And
For Sale!! Also Cartier On Fifth Avenue Offers A Charm Bracelet

Exploitation Knows No Bounds: Pinocchio Uses The Rockefeller Center Garage!
(I Do Not Recall Any Automobiles In Geppetto's Peaceful Village? I
Guess We Should Be Thankful That Pinocchio Does Not Use Calvert Whiskey!)

On the inside page of the program is an advertisement for Radio City Music Hall at Rockefeller Center and Robert E. Sherwood's Abe Lincoln In Illinois. Since both movie houses were RKO theaters, the distributor also would exploit the concept of cross promotion. And the idea that there is no bad publicity, actually is very appropriate to the Golden Age of Hollywood. As such, any type of promotion that would get the word out, was welcome. The next DHI artifact is an example of this type of promotion, which today might be called "buzz." It was produced as a "service from Public Relations Department, Fox West Coast Theatres" for Photoplay Appreciation Study Material. It was written by Mr. Vernon Steele, a well-known composer and conductor at the time, and an eminent music critic and acknowledged authority. In this "tract" Steele discusses the musical score to the two dueling films at the Rockefeller Center RKO theaters. Welcome publicity, as music was often a key to getting people to buy tickets to your film.
The advertisement at the top of this essay is from Cue Magazine Manhattan Edition: The Weekly Magazine of New York Life, from February 10, 1940. It is from the last artifact from the Institute's Archives for this essay. The periodical was intended to keep those living in Manhattan informed on entertainment: dining, dancing, concerts, plays, music, films, radio, and so forth. For the February 10th edition, the Disney publicity department managed to get the cover (an important promotional spot for a film--for more information on Disney's use of the magazine, see DHI essays: Disney and the Magazine). The publication includes a positive review on Pinocchio (and a very negative review on Swiss Family Robinson), and a note on the cover: "Starring in 'Pinocchio', Walt Disney's color-fantasy at the Center Theatre, are (left ro right) Jiminy Cricket, and, of course, Pinocchio himself. The reproduction is from a drawing made especially for CUE by the Disney studios."


All of the exploitation work (and this essay only looks at the proverbial "tip of the iceberg") was all for not. The war had consumed the European market, and Pinocchio did not strike the fancy of an American public that was worried with the world situation. The Studio continued to work ardently at promoting Pinocchio, but found little to no help from RKO. Roy and Walt at one point became personally involved with decision making on a scale that normally they would not have even worried about. Before the opening, they were worried about finances, and the decision was made to raise the price of tickets at the two Hollywood Theaters Pinocchio opened at, the Hillstreet Theater and the Pantages. The brothers felt that a premium ticket price would be paid by the public to see a Disney animated feature, so the cost of $1.10 was decided upon (compare this to the "Popular Prices" in the Center Theatre ad heading this essay). A February 14, 1940 memo to Walt, from George Morris (secretary/treasurer), suggested that the price was restrictive, and many patrons that were interviewed changed their minds after seeing the price and chose a cheaper film instead. The price was lowered; but in the end, it didn't matter. The extraneous variables were too out of control, and the film lost a great deal of money--funds that the Studio did not have to lose. This loss, combined with other factors from 1940 and 1941, put the Disney brothers on the brink of bankruptcy. Perhaps, an essay for another day.

WALT AND THE ADMIRAL BUILD A MOUNTAIN

MOUNTAIN OF STEEL-LET GOD BUILD IT!

by Paul F. Anderson

When Walt first approached Joe Fowler about the construction of a mountain at Disneyland, the retired U.S. Navy admiral must have wondered if he would be keeping his "can-do" title. The building of the Matterhorn in 1958-1959 presented challenges in design and construction that had never been encountered in engineering. Most uncommon to the mountain was the steel framework. Each steel girder was of a different length and weight--and in a variety of sizes. In fact, when Disney engineers ordered the steel (each and every piece different) the steel company's salesman was dumbfounded. When it was finished, 2,175 pieces of steel were used to construct the replica of the famous Alpine peak.

In a 1973 interview, the Admiral (seen at right with his customary hat and taking a trip down the mountain in a bobsled with Walt) recalled working with Walt Disney on the Matterhorn:

"I can remember when we built the mountain--the first mountain we built. This was in May. We would open in June. And Walt had come down for his customary Saturday morning eyeball inspection. We would change a few things. We were walking into the Red Wagon and one side of the mountain was pretty well finished. The other side, the bare steel was exposed and what not.

"And Walt said, 'Oh, well, Joe, you know the side toward the hub is finished. That's the side I want to photograph and we can dress the other end.

"And I said to Walt, 'Well, I'll tell you, I think we'll have it finished.' And of course we did. 'But,' I said, 'The next time, Walt, we have to build a mountain, let's let God do it!'

"Six months later we were at the Studio. We had spent the morning down on one of the stages looking at the mountain in Nature's Wonderland which wasn't as high. But we'd been down there an hour and a half and on the way to the animation building--Dick [Irvine], Bill Martin and myself--Walt turned to me and he said 'Well, Joe, do you feel like God today?' Now, it was just a casual remark six months after that."



(Above left photo also showing the "test run" day, with Walt [left of Fowler] and the Admiral [in his hat] having just returned from their ride. As with all DHI photos, click on the image for a much larger and clearer view.)

SPEAKING OF CHARACTERS-Cliff Edwards

SPEAKING OF CHARACTERS - CLIFF EDWARDS
By Paul F. Anderson

Probably no other song can instantly put "Disney" into someone's mind like "When You Wish Upon A Star" from Pinocchio. And certainly no singer can perform that song better than the original--the voice of Jiminy Cricket, Cliff Edwards.

Edwards was the 37th person tested for the role in Pinocchio, but he was well worth the wait. His performance of the Ned Washington-Leigh Harline tune earned the Walt Disney Studio its first Academy Award for Best Song (1940). Beyond the singing, the overall portrayal of the puppet's conscience was so perfect that it practically demanded that the cricket continue to make other appearances.

Cliff Edwards spoke and sang for Jiminy in Fun and Fancy Free (1947), three series of informational cartoons on the original Mickey Mouse Club show ("I'm No Fool," "Encyclopedia," and "You, The Human Animal") and countless television and radio guest spots.

Edwards' first fame was not for this role, however. He was one of America's first big recording stars as "Ukulele Ike," performing not only schmaltzy love ballads but snappy pop tunes and blues. Between live touring vaudeville shows (including the Ziegfeld Follies), Edwards cut over 125 record "sides," and reportedly sold close to 74 million copies between 1923 and 1933.

At the request of George Gershwin, Edwards introduced "Fascinating Rhythm" in the 1924 stage show Lady Be Good. Later, when talking pictures became the rage, Edwards created a sensation by introducing the new hit song "Singin' in the Rain" in MGM's first musical film, The Hollywood Revue of 1929.

With this great success came excess--his problems with drug use, wild living and frequent, short marriages were widely known in the Hollywood community. He had made and lost a fortune by the late 1930s. He managed to stay afloat by singing and/or acting in films, which included his portrayal of a "Reminiscent Soldier" in Gone With the Wind.

Pinocchio was his comeback, and a springboard to more success. Edwards was also the voice of the lead crow in Dumbo in 1941, and his ability to sing the real "down an' dirty" blues without sounding stilted paid off. Disney animator and crow creator Ward Kimball remembers: "We were recording the track for the Black Crows... and we got [the Hall Johnson] choir from the Methodist Church in Los Angeles for it, and Cliff was the only white guy among them--he sounded more black than any of 'em..."

Edwards continued to randomly perform on stage and screen, but found his sagging career brought back again in 1954 when the first ABC Disneyland TV show aired, using Edwards' original "When You Wish Upon A Star" recording as its theme. The Disney Studio reportedly received a landslide of mail wanting to know who the singer was, mostly from children. So, steady cricket work for TV, a few on-camera guest shots on the Mickey Mouse Club, and a lot of children's recordings looked to spell security for Edwards.

It was not to be, because even though Disney press releases portrayed his bachelor life as happy and carefree, Edwards continued to have problems, especially with alcohol.

After Walt Disney's death, both Edwards' continual unreliability and a shift in the content of film and TV production pretty well severed his ties to Disney. His health deteriorated, and he died in Hollywood in 1971 at approximately 75 years of age.

All of the sad reality aside, Cliff Edwards was a tremendous talent, and an individual voice artist who made a great contribution to both film and Disney history. His personal problems never show in his performances as the voice of Jiminy Cricket, and when Disney had him re-record some of the jazz and tin-pan-alley material from his Ukulele Ike days in the late 1950s, the result would make you think it was the Roaring 20s all over again.

The Disney History Institute salutes the talents of Cliff Edwards--the man who brought wishing on stars back into popularity, and who to many is the sound of what Disney magic is all about.

SUNDAY FUNNIES-What Was Walt Reading?

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES

Click On For A Larger & Clearer Image

WHAT WAS WALT READING?

By Paul F. Anderson

Today with the second installment of The Sunday Funnies, I kick off a new facet of this popular series of posts–“The Sunday Funnies–What Was Walt Reading?”

The initial idea for The Sunday Funnies was to show how Disney dominates our culture, through various references, appearances, or allusions in non-Disney comic strips. I thought it might be enlightening to take this a step further, and find out what Funnies Walt might be reading, or what strips may have amused him or provided a spark or idea. On the surface this sounds fascinating, but how does one actually go about discovering this information? As I thought about it, I realized that over the last twenty years of my Disney history career, I had been doing just that, without realizing what I was doing or why?

In many past research trips to the Disney Archives, I would come across “news clippings” files in Walt’s correspondence. Found within are newspaper and magazine articles that were torn (or cut) out by either Walt, his secretaries, friends, or employees. As my motto for research is “Turn Every Page” (sadly not original to me, but the philosophy of Robert Caro), I would go through every piece of paper in these files, in case there was material of interest to that which I was researching. If I found something noteworthy, I would type in the information along with any source material that might be available (and in a few situations, take note of what Walt’s familiar red conte crayon had underlined). I discovered that hundreds of days at the Archives with this particular quirk of recording items I thought might someday be useful, has resulted in quite a list of items from Walt’s clipping files. With that, and the ability recently to do newspaper and magazine research at a much more economical pace via the internet, I began hunting down some of these pieces.

So what about these files? The files are never that big, especially early in Walt’s career. However, they did tend to grow exponentially as the decades wore on. For instance, the 1938-1944 file, has perhaps 225 items in it and is about a half-inch thick (and that is being generous). The files from the mid-1960s (especially when the World’s Fair, Project Florida, and Epcot were underway) are many, many inches thick!

Walt must have been given dozens of clippings each day (NOT including the Clipping Services), so why are these clippings important? Simply put, due to the vast amount of these daily news items he received, it is logical to assume that most of them ended up being filed in the trash can! But not all of them! What Walt thought was interesting, important, historical, relevant, and/or otherwise just amusing, found their way to being preserved in Walt’s correspondence files, in a folder often titled just, “WALT DISNEY (newspaper clippings).”

Simple mathematics (which is saying something for me, as my degrees are in History), can give us a bit of perspective on the importance of these “saved” clippings. In the seven years from 1938 to 1944, there are 2557 days! Walt kept approximately 225 clippings. That is roughly one saved item every two weeks. So for whatever reason, these select few appealed to Walt. Obviously, one can not place vast amounts of importance on this theory, as who knows what errant clipping might have found its way into the files, and of course we will never know why Walt found it intriguing or worth saving. Still, it does give us a different look at Walt, one rarely (if ever) seen or discussed.

So with this essay, I inaugurate a new feature here at the Institute: “The What Was Walt Reading” column. In the future, I plan on posting the news articles with commentary, as well as the cartoon strips. Unfortunately, I did not record a large number of cartoon strips, and I don’t recall that there was a plethora of this kind of material. Typically, if there was a cartoon, it was political in nature. But I will continue to scour my notes from past Archives trips (easily over a thousand pages) in a search for more cartoon references.

Crockett Johnson and his dog.
Time Magazine, September 2, 1946.

The first offering is Barnaby by Crockett Johnson, and from the Hollywood Citizen-News, April 29, 1944. (This paper can be invaluable to someone researching any aspect of Disney history, and a complete run from 1903 to 1970, in all of its incarnations, can be found at the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.)

Crockett Johnson was born in New York City in the year 1906, with the name David Johnson Leisk. Growing up on Long Island, he studied art at Cooper Union and New York University, and after leaving found his way into the business as an art editor for several magazines. He used the name Crockett Johnson for several reasons. “Crockett is my childhood nickname,” he recalled. "My real name is David Johnson Leisk. Leisk was too hard to pronounce, so I am now Crockett Johnson.”

Self Portrait, 1941

Barnaby is arguably his second most famous creation, but little remembered today. However, in mid-century America, Johnson’s characters were much beloved and quite popular. The strip first saw the light of day on April 20, 1942, in the left-leaning PM newspaper (oddly famous for numerous negative reviews of Disney films). The gritty characters appealed to a country immersed in War and shortly the strip became syndicated and appeared in 64 American newspapers, with a combined readership of well over five million. The strip continued on through February 1952, with a brief, but unsuccessful, revival from 1960 to 1962. In many ways, Crockett Johnson was like Walt in the thirties, but on a much smaller scale, as he became sort of a darling of the intellectuals and artists. The habitual acerbic and biting Dorothy Parker stated: “I think, and I’m trying to talk calmly, that Barnaby and his friends and oppressors are the most important additions to American Arts and Letters in Lord knows how many years.”

The strip concerned itself with the daily trials and tribulations of the five-year old Barnaby Baxter, and his cigar-chomping fairy godfather Jackeen J. O’Malley. As the Angel Clarence was to George Bailey, so was O’Malley to young Barnaby; bumbling, incompetent, but with his heart in the right place. Many of the tough issues faced by Barnaby were the result of O’Malley, who was a sworn member of the fraternal organization of Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men’s Chowder & Marching Society (affectionately known as the ELGLMC&MS). Much of the humor resulted in Barnaby sticking up for his pal, while the young man’s parents made repeated attempts to deny the existence of O’Malley, often taking the boy to child psychologists so as to be fixed. Their refusal to accept O’Malley was a running gag, as the little man on several occasions made his existence known to them, and was even elected as their Congressional Representative.

If you are under the age of sixty and are thinking that the name sounds familiar, you have probably heard of his other famous creation: Harold, of Harold and the Purple Crayon fame. This children’s book first appeared in 1955, and was followed by six more books in the next eight years. Stylistically, Harold appears to be a younger, reincarnated Barnaby Baxter, but in this case rather than the diminutive wise-cracking fairy godfather as an accomplice, Harold’s adventures come via his purple crayon. The books are still in print and a favorite among many children. (I am not aware if Walt Disney was familiar with these books, but knowing his interest in literature for children, I would suspect that he was.)

I do not have any readily available answer as to what intrigued Walt about this cartoon. That will, of course, be the charm of future "What Was Walt Reading" essays, if only for the fun of speculating on Walt's interest in an item. For most items, there will be no right or wrong; just mystery and intrigue. My hope is that some snappy dialogue amongst Institute readers might develop in the comments sections. After all, your guess is as good as mine.

But, back to Barnaby Baxter. Had this cartoon appeared a year or two earlier, I would have surmised that the production of Gremlins might have provided inspiration. Within the Gremlins files are many references to fairies, elves, gnomes, and other wee folk, much of which was intended for the Disney artists, because figuring out just exactly what a Gremlin looked like, was of paramount importance. Yet, by the time this Barnaby cartoon appeared, the animated film had been shelved.

The idea and concept does have sort of a Disney-like feel to it, and it is always possible Walt was considering, or reviewing, a similar story–that of adventures with an imaginary friend. This idea is a strong one, as can be witnessed by the success of others using it. The most brilliant use of this archetype was done for one of the best comic strips ever (and my personal favorite), Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. So perhaps, Walt was just thinking along those lines. Or, perhaps, he just liked the comic strip like many other Americans.

I am always interested in hearing comments or ideas you Disney historians and enthusiasts might have about dear Barnaby Barnaby and Mr. Jackeen J. O'Malley. And to close, I’ll make use of the “current” vernacular... “Cushlamochree!”

SUNDAY FUNNIES-Grimmy Goes For A Walk

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES

Mother Goose & Grimm, by Mike Peters, and appeared in newspapers August 11, 1997 (which was also a year when Mary Poppins was released on video in the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection). This brilliant cartoonist must also be a Disney fan (like many comic artists mentioned before in the Sunday Funnies), as he makes plentiful use of the Disney world for his often laugh-out-loud strip that often features Grimmy. The world's greatest conflict, World War II, provided both a birth date for Peters--October 9, 1943--and a mentor--Bill Mauldin.

From an early age he exhibited an interest in cartooning that stayed with him through school. Following his graduation from Washington University he began his art career on the staff of the Chicago Daily News. His first cartooning position came after a two-year stint in Vietnam as part of the U.S. Army, and as a result of Bill Maudlin, who helped him find the position at the Dayton Daily News in 1969. He began as an editorial cartoonist, and by 1972 his strip was syndicated nationally--and still appears today. In 1984 the strip Mother Goose & Grimm was born, and now appears in over 800 newspapers worldwide. Moreover, it routinely places in various Top Ten polls for comic strips.

THE DHI FESS-TIVAL--Life After Davy & Disney

Fess Parker in March 1955. Promotional
Appearance at LaGuardia, New York City.

FESS PARKER...

ON THE STUDIO AFTER CROCKETT

"After I was at the Studio for two years, I still wasn't making very much money. I had a chance meeting with Ray Stark, who was a big agent and I decided that I would let him be my agent. Ray went into the Studio, and raised my salary. From then on the contract was no longer with Walt, but with the Studio, and it was a new seven-year contract.

"I left the Studio two years later because we were in a disagreement. I could never figure out why we couldn't work out our disagreement. And I think I finally understood it, maybe just today, that when I was under contract to Walt he was calling the shots. But when Ray Stark came in and renegotiated the contract, Walt, I think, felt a little less interested in my well-being. It was a distancing of the relationship, I think, in his mind. In my mind, it was a natural progression--you know, if they were willing to pay me this additional money I must be entitled to it.

"They wanted me to do a very small part in Tonka, like five minutes of film and a voice-over, and then give me second billing to a young actor who I had never heard of. And I said I didn't agree with that. I didn't have enough of a part to be co-starred, much less in second billing, and I wasn't comfortable with it. I didn't think it would be good for me career-wise. So, as a result, I left the Studio, and he tore up the contract. And that's the way I left."

ON LEAVING THE STUDIO

"I felt that it was [on] bad terms. I don't think that anybody particularly felt good about it. I think I resented it. I felt that I'd worked very hard. Maybe I wasn't mature enough to understand all the dynamics at the time. But I also felt that I was correct. The public was going to be lured into that film, in part, by the name and I wasn't in it. And it was a part of the disintegration of what I'd hoped to be a career that would go beyond Disney, when in fact what I didn't understand for many years, Paul, was that there I was, a young man that wanted to do action films. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of people that I admired like Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, and Jimmy Stewart. And guess what? They were all available for films. Those guys were my competition in a declining film production schedule. I thought I'd failed. And it took me a long time to figure out, 'Hey, I'm not a failure!' It was the times and conditions."

ON WALT AFTER LEAVING THE STUDIO

"NBC had an affiliate dinner--and of course Disney was still on Sunday nights on NBC. Marcy and I were standing over on one side of the room talking to some people, and I didn't know that Walt and Lilly were in the room at all. I felt somebody tap me on the shoulder, and it was Walt. He came over and he said 'How are you?' He said, 'I just wanted to wish you well on your new television venture.' I said 'Well, thank you very much. Is Mrs. Disney with you?' He said, 'Yes, she's over there,' so we walked over there together and I visited with Mrs. Disney Very pleasant. I really loved the man. I felt so happy that he'd done that. I thought it was a very generous thing for him to do.

"Two years later, he passed on. And that was the last time I talked with him."

HIDDEN TREASURES-Quiet On The Set...Action!

In my post on finding hidden sources of Disney (see: The Last Word), I discussed unknown treasures that can be found in foreign books from the thirties, forties, and fifties. Today I present probably one of my all-time favorite images from this source. When Disney was asked to contribute to this book on cinema, the above image was the result. The book is Movies For The Millions: An Account of Motion Pictures, Principally in America, by Gilbert Seldes (with preface by Charlie Chaplin). Published by B .T. Batsford, Ltd., of London (1937).

DHI UPDATE...Finally

I have finally returned (added three days on to my trip, for a different "Disney" reason). I took material with me to Los Angeles to post, but was swamped each day from 8am until about Midnight (research, interviews, "meetings", and so forth, but only one half-day trip to Disneyland). Sorry to all my faithful readers that watched for something, I just could not find time. However, I am going to start posting twice a day or so, at least for a bit, as my "apology" for anybody that kept checking in. Also have items to add to the book store. Thank you all for your continued support.

SUNDAY FUNNIES-Ziggy

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES

Ziggy by Tom Wilson from November 24, 1997. The old and the new; showing the cultural impact of "Waking Sleeping Beauty."