Recent Thoughts of Walt Disney

I have been away from my blogs for quite awhile now.  Quite contrary to the thought that I have nothing to write, the truth is that there are so many things happening in our world today, that focusing on a particular thought has become quite a challenge for me.  I have still continued to do my research and association with the people that help to spur on my fascination with the amazing individual.  So today I am going to try to concentrate on some thoughts on Walt Disney that have had an impact on my life and how I see it.

Walt Disney has become, truly, an enigmatic figure in our culture. People have studied him and his life for years trying to pinpoint that quality that would best description the man and his life.  It seems that, of late, there has been an approach in the general public to portray his life’s activities in as negative a light as possible by interpreting events of his historical activities though a lens of current day standards.  Most of these conclusions are draw on rather singular events in Walt Disney’s life.  Yes, there are people who have dug up factoids in support of their claims, and I am not going to discuss them here other than to point out some of the fallacies in their claims.  If you want to review any of these claims, they can be found quite easily via Google searches.

 Instead of discussing these spurious claims and the supporting evidence, both pro and con, I am going to discuss what I believe to be the essence of who Walt Disney was and some of why some people try so hard to damage that view.  First the more negative aspect because I, selfishly, want to leave this piece with more positive note of what my many years of research has left me with understanding.

Unlike many research historians, I don’t approach any single topic with a singular focus.  Time and experience has taught me, I believe, that the world we live in is so interconnected that, to truly understand history we have to approach each and every event with a much more open mind of how many multiple, seemingly unconnected, events effect the accurate interpretation of a person.  One of the great challenges with historical interpretation is that we tend to want to view historical events through the prisms of our own lives and experiences, and there are some interpretations that have become so ubiquitous that we apply their principles to our views without much thought.  I won’t discuss what those pieces might be, as I think most people are either aware, or will find offense with the notion.  But, even more in recent years we have found these principles taking hold in our thinking about many things.  I wrote a piece earlier in this blog about the Apotheosis of Walt Disney, and I think that view has spurred others to produce interpretations to counter it.  I don’t necessarily think these people are trying to malicious, but rather, see what they do as a defense of their own God(s) by pointing out their perceived fault of Walt.

True of the matter is that Walt Disney was a man and nothing more.  Talk to anyone who knew him, or has researched his history with an open mind, and that fact will quite often be born out.  I have had the great honor and opportunity to talk with a number of these individuals, and never come away with any thought other than Walt Disney was a man with an incredible thirst for knowledge, and a consummate storyteller, with an almost uncanny ability to understand what his audiences wanted, and the ability to encourage those around him to produce to levels that even they didn’t see in themselves.  Was he always right, no…  but,

I think I have discovered that one word that best describes the man and his legacy, HOPE!

Whether it is his films, animated or live action, his theme park, his dreams of EPCOT, or any of his many other activities that I have had the honor to learn about…  I am, and I think many others who are honest with themselves, left with a feel of hope.

 

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

Answer to a reader

I recently receive the comment below from a reader, I am not going to publish the name here, but if you choose to go digging, you can find the reader’s Name.  I try diligently not to censor comments, except where I find them completely irrelevant to the topic at hand.

Hi, I know you wrote this back in 2011, but I had to comment because I can't understand how you don't see why people say he was a mason. Ok, first of all, have you ever seen Disney's animations? I imagine you have. Every single one of them contain subliminary messages with sexual content, mostly. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube to back me up. The connection I can make between WD and freemasonry without even trying hard is that the last one clearly worships the devil. A man who fills (or allows people to fill) his work with filthy content can't love God. Another thing I believe you've found out by now, since it's one of your hobbies. Believe me, they do not worship God, so you can easily realize who they really worship. Just to be clear, I'm not a conspiracy theory believer, but I do believe you can't deny what's right on your face. Sorry about my poor English. What I want to say to you is, please don't be so naive to think he was just a sweet, brilliant and respectable old man, it's clearly more complicated than that. Maybe not a mason, ok, but he was obviously connected with something bad, which is what really matters here.

To this reader, I don’t see why people continue to say Walt Disney was a Mason.  Having been raise around a few Mason in my youth, I know that, while somewhat secretive about what happens in the lodges regard their craft, I have never found Mason to be deliberately secretive about their association with the craft.  Most Masons that I know freely display the symbolic trappings of their association.  With that said, and my 10+ years of research, I have found only two verifiable Masonic associations.  One is the reference by Roy Disney, in his biography by Bob Thomas, which he states he was a Mason and gave up his membership in order to avoid creating any conflicts with his future Daughter-In-Law’s Catholic views.  The second being a single DeMolay membership card for Walt on display and the Walt Disney Family Museum.  In all the pictures I have seen over the last decade, I have not seen one displaying the symbolic association that I see regularly on display with other Masons I know.  Given all my research and unless someone can present real evidence to the contrary, I will stand by my assessment that Walt Disney was not a Freemason.  I think the whole Masonic association has been created in order to square stories people want to believe about Walt Disney and the rather secretive nature of the Masonic Order make the fabrication easier to sell.  As to whether others in the Walt Disney organization were Masonic members, as that has never been a topic of interest or research to my knowledge.  So I too have not bothered to pursue it.

As for the claim of filthy content, I think this claim, while somewhat accurate, is seriously overblown.  I think many people have made some associations with art work in some releases that is more than is present.  In others there is a frame here and there that may be of a more risqué nature.  However, I think it’s important to note that in the average theatrically released animation feature, there are around 130,000 individually created cells.  If we look at those features release while Walt was alive, that would put the cell count at in excess of 2 million piece of artwork.  I think it is a ludicrous notion to assume that Walt Disney himself reviewed every single cell that went into each of his features.  Now, I know found my research that animation artists can have a rather interesting sense of humor, and have from time to time admitted to sneaking risqué frames into their animations. According to my research, when Walt did discover the inclusion of this risqué content, he made sure it was removed, and I think we do a disservice to history when we try to judge past events based on currently morals and standards.  There are many cases where something that was acceptable behavior long ago, are no longer acceptable by today’s norms.  Also interestingly, most of the more sexually oriented ones have been in features release years after Walt’s passing, and I think unfairly attributed to Walt.

Finally, with regards to what I think of Walt Disney, I do not delude myself into thinking that Walt Disney was a saint.  He was a very creative and talent, forward thinking individual, but he was a man, just a man and fallible like any other man.  I think that we have many individual who have attempted to deify the man, and as such has caused many in the religious community to try to demonize him in defense of their particular God.  Anyone who has really done the research on Walt Disney, I think will tell you that, while he was a very detail oriented individual; he had some many different interests and activities, that he didn’t allow himself to get bogged down in the day to day minutiae of his businesses.

My job as an historian, amateur or not and Disney relate or otherwise, is to present my findings as unbiased as possible.

 

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

 

 

Moose: Chapters From My Life by Robert B. Sherman

Yes, I have been away for awhile.  Some might say that I lost my muse, but, more appropriately… My focus and activity has been necessarily elsewhere.  More about that in another future post…  For now, I am fulfilling a promise made a while back:

Anyone who knows me, know of my interest in and love for all things Disney.  That love and interest lead to a membership in the Walt Disney Family Museum, and a rare opportunity to meet and hear from many Disney Legends and Luminaries.  One such Legend was in the person of Richard Sherman:  One half of the Sherman Brothers team of Disney lore.  Think “It’s A Small World” or maybe you remember a little movie they wrote the music for: “Mary Poppins.” Richard has been most kind and generous with his time and stories to members of the Museum, and served to remind me just how much he and his brother Robert B. Sherman had really influenced my life from a very early age.  Actually, if you have visited a Disney theme park, viewed any number of films or stage plays, you have been influenced in some way by the Sherman Brothers’ magic.    Meeting Richard left me with a great desire to one day meet his brother, Robert.

In the 2002 Robert, with his youngest son Robbie, moved to London after losing his beloved wife Joyce the year earlier.  In March of 2012 we lost Robert and the age of 86, and thus dashed my chances of ever having the privilege of meeting Robert, in this life.  However, shortly after learning of Robert’s passing, I was fortunate to be accepted in to a group on Facebook dedicated as a tribute site to the Sherman Brothers, run by Robert’s youngest son Robbie.  I have been able to learn much more about the Sherman Brothers, and in particular Robert through this site and my interactions, and somewhat to my surprise, I have been able to provide some of my own insights that have been found of value to some.  I am most thankful that Robbie, in particular, has found value in some of my input.  The relationships that I have had the great and rare fortunate chance to grow out of my association what that site are amazing, and would fill a post all by themselves.  All I can say right now is a deep and personal Thank You to Gregg, Jeff and Wendy, Laurie, and very especially to Robbie for the kindness, generosity, and friendship you have all shown me over the last couple of years.  It has meant more than any of you might realize.  Tracy, you are still on my “Still to Meet” list.

Anyway, to the book, it was through my association with the Sherman Brothers page that I learned that Robert had written and autobiography – Moose: Chapters From My Life, and the Robbie, as editor, was working toward getting it published for his Dad, posthumously.  I have two copies of this book in my collection, a working copy that I use for research, and a 2^nd hard bound copy which is part of my treasured signed collection of Disney related books.  As I said earlier, I was never able to meet Bob in person, so his book is most fittingly signed by the person, whose tireless efforts got it published, the editor… Robbie Sherman – Thank You again!

I am not going to reveal many, if any, details from the book, you should read and discover for yourself the truly amazing history of this man and to some degree his Brother and the team we know today as the Sherman Brothers.  This is not what many would consider a traditional biography, auto or otherwise.  It is a personal story, told by a master storyteller; about a life lived in both private and public, sometimes even very publicly, one of the challenges of being a publicly known figure.  This is the story of a man of many lives and many talents, some that not many know much about.  This is the story about a man who was often more charitable of his assessments of others than he was his own person experiences.  Yet, even so, he exposed what he felt were his own flaws with an honesty that is both charitable and understanding tone.  If you want to learn about a man, from the man himself, and more about what made him the incredible individual he was than just all that he did, this is the book for you.  And to the editor ;-), I disagree; I think the last chapter is as important a read as the first.  This is more than just a story about a man we should all want to know more about, it is a story about a man who all man should aspire to emulate.

As you might gather, I highly recommend this book for any Disney fan, or Sherman Brothers fan, and remember, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” 

Finally, for those of you who what to know even more about The Sherman Brothers, you can check out a copy of The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story a documentary about this legendary team, or Walt's Time - From Before to Beyond, a book done in 1998 by Richard and Robert with editorial help another legend – Bruce Gordon.

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

Walt Disney Family Museum has a New Executive Director

Well, not exactly brand new, as Kirsten Komoroske has been the Interim Director since just after the previous CEO left early this year.

September 4th 2013

The Walt Disney Family Museum announced today that Kirsten Komoroske has been named the new Executive Director. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Ms. Komoroske has been serving as interim director since May 2013.

As a practicing lawyer, Ms. Komoroske has specialized in advising nonprofit organizations and corporations on a wide range of strategic, business, and human resources issues throughout her career. Ms. Komoroske has held a number of executive and board positions, including General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources for Tyco Electronics Corporation, Interim Vice President of Human Resources at Groupon, Inc., and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA. She has a background in and lifelong passion for the arts, having grown up studying violin and modern dance. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Italian from UC Berkeley.

“We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Kirsten as the new Executive Director at the museum,” said the Museum’s President and Walt Disney’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller. “We are supportive of and excited by her passion for the museum and my father’s legacy. This, together with her diverse experience across both for-profit and non-profit institutions, helps ensure our future success. We are enthusiastic to have Kirsten as a partner working with our dedicated team.”

“I am thrilled to be working with the Board and staff in driving the museum’s mission,” said Ms. Komoroske. “Just as Walt was a creative and inspiring storyteller, the museum amplifies his ideals with the hope that it will inspire creativity and innovation in our visitors.”

 I am a bit concerned, as I have heard a few other members are as well.  The press release above paints a very nice picture of Ms. Komoroske’s experience, but then the last person to run the Museum had a impressive resume as well.  There also is a question of her experience and knowledge of Walt Disney, something that seem to be a challenge to the overall success of the previous leaders.  This can be somewhat overcome through by having knowledgeable people around you, and listening to them.  But, I will hold back from form any opinion of Ms. Komoroske until I see some action, for it has always been my view that actions speak so much louder words.  One positive I've seen so far is going back to the title of Executive Director from the title of CEO.  I, and many others, never felt the title of CEO was quite right for the position.

In the meantime, I welcome her to the Walt Disney Family Museum, and really do wish her great success in her new endeavors.  I look forward to the opportunity to meet her.

Finally, here is hoping that “Three’s a Charm,” and it should be no secret to anyone that I am still hopeful that the new Executive Director and the Family can find a way to re-engage Jeff Kurtti in some way.

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

 

 

Walt Disney Family Museum Location Discussion

Now that I have placed my endorsement for the next leader of the Walt Disney Family Museum, I’d like to provide a little background for another discussion that is resurfacing as a result of this current situation – the location of the Museum.

There are those in the community of Disney fans who believe that a Walt Disney Museum would be better served if it were located closer to where much of Walt’s legacy was created.  That would be somewhere in the Los Angeles area, and many of the advocates of that location are residents of that area, and they feel there would be a greater attraction to a Walt Disney museum that was located in an area where Walt spent most of his creative life.  There are also some who think that the Museum is something that the company he and his Brother Roy created is somehow responsible of creating.  Now, I will admit I have developed my own bias for the Museum’s locations at The Presidio of San Francisco, as it is just a bit under 50 miles from my front door, and easy for me to visit.  But, I think I understand some of the reasons it is where it is located. 

First and probably foremost, it is called the Walt Disney Family Museum, and not the Walt Disney Museum.  This is because the Museum is Walt’s family’s tribute to his legacy and of their creation.  It has very little to do with what has become the company Walt and Roy created, but, for legal reasons, the Walt Disney Company does have certain controls over what happens and what is displayed at the Museum; they don’t own or operate it.  That is solely under the direction of Walt’s surviving family.  In addition, the vast majority of artifacts on display are the property of Diane Disney Miller or her family, and many of those artifacts were stored in a warehouse on The Presidio grounds for many years.  I have heard stories of Diane taking guests to that warehouse for personal viewings, since she and her husband Ron live in the area.  It makes certain sense that when uses for The Presidio, after it was turned over as National Park Services resource, were being considered, that Walt’s family would look there first, as well as The Presidio Trust approaching the family as being a location for their Museum.

I also mentioned there were legal issues which affected the Museum.  During his lifetime, Walt created a private company, which ultimately became Retlaw (Walter spelled backwards) to protect certain property and copyright claims for his naming rights.  Upon his death, control of Retlaw passed to his wife Lillian.  In 1982 the family sold much of Retlaw to the Walt Disney Company, which consisted of certain rides at Disneyland and control of Walt Disney’s naming rights, which I understand included ownership of Walt Disney’s name, image, and voice materials.  I honestly don’t understand the reasoning behind this sale, but, I do understand there were some internal conflicts developing within Walt Disney Productions, some of which, according to my observations, seems to still exist today.  But, the main outcome is that Walt’s public company gain control of his name, image, and voice.  This has created an environment where the Museum must obtain certain approvals for what is displayed at the Museum.  So, what affect might this have on the location?  It creates a separation – geographically – between Walt the Man and Walt Disney the company, and is less likely  to have the Museum overshadowed by Disneyland or the Studio.  It also keeps the Museum closer to the family in Northern California.

Some have claimed that the Miller’s simply put the Museum at The Presidio because it was convenient for them to have close to them, without giving much thought to any other location.  They claim that Walt carefully researched – through Buzz Price – the location for Disneyland to maximize its potential visitation.  I’d like to point out that his actual first choice was a parcel location adjacent to the Studio, but the dream ended up exceeding the space all too quickly.  With the brilliant analytical skills of Buzz, Walt went on to look for a larger parcel on which to build his dream, and settled on the Anaheim location, not because it was the best place at the moment but because of the future plans in place for the area.  We should also note that the location was still relative close to Walt’s base of operations, making his oversight and development of Disneyland’s progress much easier process.  Even the Walt Disney World location was based on, in part, the local future plans being developed for the area, and not what was currently in place.  Now let’s apply a little of Walt’s thinking to the thought processes of Ron and Diane’s locating the Museum, after all Diane grew up as the daughter of this creative genius, and Ron was groomed by the master to take his place, it would make sense that some of the creative thought process would have been transferred.  First, I understand from a couple of reliable sources that there were a location of locations looked at in southern California.  No reasons given for them being excluded, but, there was some thought given to SoCal.  Next, as I said earlier, many of the artifacts were already being stored on The Presidio. 

But that fact aside, The Presidio Trust has been looking at all the way to preserve the base while making it a valuable resource for the people of the United States, since The Presidio Trust Act was passed in December of 2001. So while I have no evidence to support it, I would not be surprised to learn that it was the Trust the approached to family about creating the Museum at The Presidio.  So, let’s go back to the creation of Disneyland for a moment, because some have made the comparison, while others have dismissed this comparison as being wrong.  We all have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight to make the claim that Walt’s choice of Anaheim was a brilliant decision.  But, let’s remember that none of the access highway that were part of the basis for the decisions were actually in place or even out of the planning stage when the choice was made on Anaheim.  Since it is my belief that Walt Disney’s Family is looking at this Museum as a long term tribute to their amazing Father and Grandfather, it would make sense to be that they would look for a location, like Walt, that had a fair well developed plan for future growth, and someplace where they can more easily maintain oversight of its development and growth.

So there’s my basic synopsis of the location issue, as I understand it.  But, there are people out there who know much more than I, so if they’d like to share.  I’d be more than happy to listen to what they have to say.

So stay tuned as I try to learn more about what’s next for the Walt Disney Family Museum.

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

 

 

News from the Walt Disney Family Museum

I haven’t written much about the Museum lately, as I’ve been spending more time exploring and trying to deal with a few of my own demons.  But, there has been some big news from there in the last couple of days.  The now former CEO of the Walt Disney Family Museum resigned her position early last week.  I know it’s pretty recent because, until just the other day, Gabriella Calicchio was still listed as the CEO on their website.

I have remained pretty mum on the management of the Museum, and in particular, Ms Calicchio’s tenure which I have had some real concern about.  However, those who may have read my reviews of the Destination-D event this last August, will remember that I was none too please with Ms. Calicchio’s presentation at that event.  At the time, I said I was addressing my concerns through other channels, and I did … But, I can say now that there were many Museum members in that audience, and most express their concern and rather hurt feeling that we completely overlooked in amongst her other audience acknowledgements, and were very disappointed to learn of the rather important Snow White exhibition coming to the Museum through the D23 event and not through Museum communications.  One would have thought that the Museum members would be the first to learn of such an event.  After that session, I seemed to become a lightning rod for questions from the members in attendance, wonder WTH that was that we had just witnessed.  I addressed those concerns from the presentation directly to the Co-Founder of the Museum.

Not that I want to pile on, but, now that she is gone I can address all of my concerns more publicly.

First, my very first encounter with the New CEO was after one of the first presentations at the Museum that she introduced.  After the program had concluded and the theater was clearing, Gabriella was down in front at the podium so I went down to introduce myself and welcome her to the Museum.  I felt her curt “Thank you,” and then quick departure was rather cool, but at the time I just chalked it up to be new.  But then, when I did encounter her during other visit, I noticed almost always that she had a cell phone to her ear, or in the company of someone and talking while they walked.  From this and my first encounter, I got the distinct impression that she was cool and unapproachable to the visitors and members.  The former Director – Richard Benefield – always seemed to make time to stop and talk with the Museum’s frequently visitors, and was very approachable.  One of issue which has been on the tongue of many frequent visitors, are the presentation and program offering under Ms. Calicchio’s leadership.  While the program offering have seem to be on the increase, or at least returning to the levels offered during the first year of operations, they seem to be moving away from a Walt Disney centric group of topics.  And finally, there is a serious lack of communications with the Members of the Museum.

One of the things that was always pleased and amazed me about the Museum has been the absolute joy and friendliness of the Museum’s staff and volunteers working the events and galleries.  Again, very approachable, and ready to do whatever they can to make your visit a pleasure.  After a few months on the job for the New CEO, I noticed a difference in the attitudes and personality of most all of the staff and volunteers I encounters.  It was subtle, and probably not visible to all, but the most frequent of visitors.  Then there was the Mad Tea Party event.  Ms. Calicchio had her children in attendance with her at the party, and for the most part, all went well.  However, when her youngest child lost at one of the games that was part of the festivities, and began to sob almost uncontrollably, I saw an expression of tension and fear apparent on the faces of almost all the staff and volunteers present.  There might not be that much to this, but with all that I had already seen in the changes in the staff, this was a bit telling of the CEO’s impact on the organization.  But, probably the most amazing deficit, besides never running a museum, for any person running a Museum dedicated to Walt Disney was the fact that she, until a few months before being appointed CEO, had never visited to one of Walt’s greatest creations – Disneyland.  Now couple, what I consider an epic fail, the Snow White Exhibit presentation panel at the Destination D event, and an almost equally poor public performance during the Snow White Exhibit opening reception for VIP’s and Members at the Museum, and I can say quite publicly that my opinion that Gabriella Calicchio was the wrong person to run the Walt Disney Family Museum, an opinion born out as accurate given her recent abrupt departure.  It should also be noted that the former Director, Richard Benefield, was not very knowledgeable on the subject of Walt Disney, which I believed hampered his effectiveness as the Museum’s leader, even with his strong background in museum development and operations.

To end my review of Ms. Calicchio’s tenure as CEO of the Museum, I’ll close with a few positive notes from her tenure.  During her tenure, the membership roles at the Museum have almost doubled from 1100 to a bit over 2100 members.  An impressive increase, but still lower than I believe they could or should be if a more creative marketing was conducted.  The most impressive improvement is the increased visitors to the Museum’s galleries, given as just over 32,000 visitors in the first quarter of 2013.  A 71% increase over the first quarter in 2012.  These greatly improved numbers are, I think, a result of some changes in policies for those visiting the galleries.  First, the ‘No Photography’ in the galleries has recently been rescinded, and second two benefit visitors with young children, strollers are now allowed in the galleries.  So, I will admit that Ms. Calicchio has had some positive influence during her tenure.

As the search for a new leader of the Walt Disney Family Museum commences, I think it is important for the family to realize that the one issue which created the greatest challenges for its leaders is their lack of knowledge and understanding of legacy and impact of Museum’s primary topic – Walt Disney.  I really hope that the next CEO/Director, or as some of us would prefer – Curator, chosen by the family will be someone with a true understanding and passion for Walt Disney and his legacy.  It would seem to me that a Museum dedicated to Walt Disney needs a leader that can see and promoted a telling of Walt Disney’s life and legacy in a creative way, like the master might have done himself.  Oh all my interactions with the Museum during the last few years, I can think of one person who could fit that bill quite nicely. 

That would the person of Jeff Kurtti, Producer, Director, Author, and noted Disney Authority.  I have had the opportunity to get to know Jeff over the last few years, and have been able to attend most all of Museum programs and panels he has moderated.  I have the pleasure of counting Jeff as a friend today, but would endorse him regardless of that friendship as one of the best qualified to be the Curator of Walt’s legacy.

 

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

 

 

Another Hatchet Job

Every morning there is an email in my inbox that provides me with a list of links to the most recent information to hit the web about anything Disney.  Most mornings it just the last news and rumors about the goings on in the house that Mickey built, but yesterday morning there was something different, and online article at the UK’s Daily Mail site:  Revealed: How the CIA helped Disney conquer Florida and buy super-cheap land that is 'above the law' The article is about a new book “Finding  Florida: The True History Of The Sunshine State” by  investigative journalist Timothy T.D. Allman.  The article provides extract attribution about the book to an article on the Daily Beast.  You can get a feel for the leaning of the article simply by its title, and that of course piqued my interest.  As some will know, at least any of my frequent readers will, I have written about what I called the “Darker side of Walt,” though it should more accurately be call an effort to create a darker side to Walt Disney.  Was Walt a Mason?  Nothing but unsubstantiated claims and innuendo, coupled with a DeMolay membership card from his young adulthood, and a claim in one book that Brother Roy might have been one.  Now know a few Mason in my time, and while they don’t talk about their craft, they also do not hide away the symbolic trappings of their brotherhood.  Illuminati?  Don’t think so!  I don’t think anyone, but the fertile minds of many conspiracy theorists, believes that this group existed, other than a brief period in the late 18^th century.  There’s more, but…

So now we have these new claims from Mr. Allman (my personal opinion withheld) that Walt Disney was in league with, or received help from the CIA in the acquisition of the Disneyworld land in Florida.  The CIA apparently assisted Walt Disney and Company to establish an unconstitutional (Florida and United States) government for the development of the property.  Let’s look at these claims:

Copied from the article:

In Finding Florida he claims that Walt Disney conspired with William 'Wild Bill' Donovan - the so-called 'Father of the CIA' - to establish a state-within-a-state where he could 'control the overall development' of Disney World.

Donovan, founding partner of New York law firm Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine, whose attorneys included future CIA director William Casey, provided lawyers to help Disney distract attention from its plans, says Allman.

These attorneys, it is claimed, provided fake identities for Disney agents, set up a secret communications centre and organised a disinformation campaign to make sure sellers had no idea who was buying their property.

In this way, Disney was from the mid-Sixties able to snap up 40 square miles of land in the Sunshine State for a knockdown price of less than $200 an acre.

This very first claim, that Walt Disney conspired with William “Wild Bill” Donovan to create or establish his own government within the Disney World project would seem to be a dubious claim at best.  You see, William Donovan died in February of 1959, and 1959 was the year the Walt Disney started looking for an east of the Mississippi home for Mickey and his friends.  It seems rather unlikely that Walt and “Wild Bill” would be wasting valuable time conspiring to build this clandestine governmental unit when the location of the site was unknown.  Yes, Walt’s company used several law firms, Donovan’s included, to pursue acquisition of the Florida site very quietly, and yes you could say in a clandestine manner.  This would make perfect sense given Walt’s experience with the development of Disneyland.  Anyone, with more than a casual interest in Disney history, knows that Walt Disney became rather disturbed with how the land around Disneyland was snapped up at highly inflated values, and developed rather haphazardly, to take advantage of the current rendition of “Walt’s Folly” because of its rapid success.  The claim at the end of this except is that Disney got the Florida property at a “knockdown price” of less than $200 an acre, when in reality Disney acquired the property for what I think would be considered a “fair market” value, instead of an overly inflated prices which would have accompanied the knowledge that Disney was the buyer.   Coincidentally, a price which also would have almost assuredly dealt a death knell to the project.   

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Disney and his advisers then sought a way to 'limit the voting power of the private residents' of the area, to control the impact that local democracy might have on the company's plans.

They employed a scheme devised by senior CIA operative Paul Helliwell to establish two phantom cities populated by hand-picked Disney loyalists around which Disney World would be based.

The cities were based around Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, two artificial reservoirs Disney engineers created by obstructing the area's natural water flow.

The company could then 'use these fake governments to control land use and make sure the public monies the theme park generated stayed in Disney's private hands,' Allman writes.

Teams of Disney lawyers working out of Donovan's New York law firm drafted the legislation to establish the two pseudo-cities, which was passed by the Florida legislature in 1967.

Again, a claim of dubious distinction.  As a student of Disney History, I have studied the development of Disney World, later renamed Walt Disney World by Roy O. Disney to honor his decreased Brother.  Yes, there was an effort to limit the bureaucratic influence of a political agenda on the development of the Florida property, but one should be reminded of one of Walt Disney’s primary goal for the Disney World property – EPCOT (Experiment Prototype Community of Tomorrow).  Not the Epcot we know today as a theme park, but rather, Walt’s desire to build an experimental multi-use city using the latest and greatest of new technologies for the benefit of its residents.  I will try to have more on Walt’s EPCOT later, but you can get a feel for his goals in the Walt Disney's Original Plans for Disney World (1966) video on YouTube.  While the entire video is a good view, Walt’s  EPCOT plan starts at about 10:20.   So, I think, contrary to Mr. Allman’s claims, the purpose of the local government entity(s) was to support Walt’s EPCOT goals, by controlling the bureaucratic political influences we see at so many levels of government today in the planning and execution of urban planning today.

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However, in violation of both the U.S. and Florida Constitutions, the carefully drafted laws specified that any elected office holder must own property within the cities.

The law, which states that each candidate for office 'must be the owner, either directly or as a trustee, of real property situated in the City', ensured any local politician would be intimately linked with Disney.

On the day of the magic kingdom's inauguration, Walt Disney, speaking from beyond the grave in a recorded presentation, boasted of creating a new kind of America.

'Of course he was right about creating a new kind of America,' Allman writes. 'By turning the State of Florida and its statutes into their enablers, Disney and his successors pioneered a business model based on public subsidy of private profit coupled with corporate immunity from the laws, regulations, and taxes imposed on actual people that now increasingly characterises the economy of the United States.'

This allegation of constitutional violation at both the state and federal level would seem to me to be false, since there is no supporting case law that I can find support Mr. Allman’s claim.  Surely there would have been some ruling against it, if it were truly unconstitutional.  Mr. Allman’s book seems to be taking some veiled “facts” to draw a direct connection between Walt Disney, the CIA, and some conspiracy.  I don’t see it, but then, I don’t possess the conspiracy theorists’ ability to make blind leaps of faith that anyone with secrets has something malicious to hide. While I have not read Mr. Allman’s book, and probably won’t, it would seem to me that with the Disney inclusion in his book, he has created something sensational in order to spur on sales.

It is unfortunate that Walt Disney did not live long enough to see his dreams for EPCOT become a reality, and yes it was a rather utopian view of the potential for city life.  I don’t even know if he could have pulled it off, but, if anyone could, it would have been Walt Disney.  And… unfortunately, after Roy O’s passing in 1971, more political forces began to take control of the company that these incredible brothers had built.  Sadly I think, at that point, the dream of Walt’s EPCOT expired, as neither brother was there to champion it.  Has the company taken the fullest advantage of the environment created to support Walt’s plans?  Most definitely, but, should Walt’s reputation and accomplished be smeared because of it, and that some people don’t like it?  I don’t think so.  One of the concerns I’ve had, since my Disney History journey began, is the discovery of all the negative content being circulated about Walt Disney.  It seems to me that there are just some people who have to find ways to tear down successful individuals that they don’t understand or dislike for their achievement.  In everything I have read or listened to, regard Walt Disney – the man, I see a man who really did not have an political or social agenda other than to entertainment and help people with the stories and technologies he enjoyed and discovered throughout his life’s journey, and his inquisitive nature.  Is he a perfect human?  No!  Were there people he irritated, for whatever reason? Yes!  But, none the less, he is a man to be admired and celebrated for effort, not berated.

I write this because I know that, neither the Company Walt built nor his family will address these new found accusations, nor should they.  It would only serve to provide more speculative claim about their agendas to hide the truth.  However, I have no such agendas, I seek the truth, and I am not claiming T.D. Allman’s claim a false.  What I am saying is that, in my experience, claim such as these need documented evidence supporting them, not claims that would not be considered even good circumstantial corroboration.  In my opinion, Mr. Allman’s little treatise is nothing more than another attempt to diminish a great human being.

Next time, as time is available, I’ll try to do a better job of exploring Walt’s EPCOT and what he was thinking about, but in the meantime, the video link is a good start, as are two books on the subject:  WALT and the Promise of Progress City by Sam Gennawey and Project Future by Chad Emerson.  Much more objective journalistic presentations in my opinion

 

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

Creating a Classic Exhibit - Reception and Preview

I was lucky to attend Tuesday night’s opening reception and preview of the new Special Exhibition at the Walt Disney Family Museum, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic.  It might be better stated, Creation of ‘The’ Classic, for had Walt Disney not had the vision and determination, we wouldn’t be celebrating the 75^th anniversary of Snow White or animation as a feature film storytelling medium.  One could claim that someone would have eventually thought of it, and that is probably true.  Up until the 1970’s Walt Disney Productions was just about the only studio in America producing feature length animated films.  To date, Disney has produced 52 animated features, with 19 being done under Walt Disney’s personal direction.  So, one could genuinely ask, “what classic and which anniversary would we be celebrating this night?” 

The evening started with our normal run up the peninsula from San Jose to San Francisco, only this time it was during the evening commute.  Luckily, I had my lovely wife with me, so through use of the commute lane, our journey was greatly expedited.  So, our arrival at the Museum was about 40 minutes earlier than I expected.  As we walked up to the Museum, people were already lining up at the front door.   I know that Disney fans tend to be early for events, given the day and time of the event, I was a bit surprised until I learned from one of my favorite volunteers (Trish) explained that the people in line now were other VIPs going in earlier than the others who had RSVP’d.  I was surprised because after providing my RSVP, there was no further communications regarding this event or its associated activities, even after being informed that such communications was forthcoming.  

One of my grievances, since the new CEO has taken charge, over the last few months has been a quantity and quality of member communications coming from the Museum.  Ms. Calicchio, this really needs to be address, as I am not the only one concerned about this issue.

The reception:  Shortly after the VIP’s were ushered into the event, Membership Coordinator – Pam Spedus (a woman of inestimable value to the Museum staff) came out to usher the half dozen or so Founding/Friends Member who had arrived early.

While I always look forward to seeing all the friends I have made through the Walt Disney Family Museum, there was one person, I knew she would be present, who I was anxious to see, as I had promised her a great big hug the next time I saw her.  So, while I may have appeared somewhat distant to many others, I walked through the crowd, scanning for Sheri.  You see, she is the person responsible for my recent visit to Club 33 (post for that coming soon), and I will never be able to thank her enough for her generosity.  After a few minutes of scanning the rooms, and a query of one of the volunteers, I spotted her, and that great big hug was delivered.  Note to self:  self don’t wait soon long to say thank you in the future.  My night could have been considered complete at this point, with the exception of visiting the Special Exhibition building and Snow White, but, it got even better.  While working the room (actually I wasn’t, but it probably looked that way to some) and visiting with other people I’ve met of the last few years, I came upon Disney Legend and recent Window on Main Street recipient, Alice Davis having a conversation with another person.  I’d seen her enter the building early, but did not get a chance to say Hi, and tell her what a fan I was of hers and Marc’s work.  I’ve been a big fan of Alice’s, and her husband, Disney Legend Marc Davis, for a number of years.  Her husband Marc brought my favorite crush to life – one Ms. Tinker Bell.  Alice created, with Mary Blair, the costumes for “It’s A Small World” and later “Pirates of the Caribbean.”  I’m not the type to interrupt someone while they are talking, so, I figured I hang in the group around her for a moment to see if I could get a chance to just say hello.  While I was standing there, I noticed a gentleman over my shoulder, who I’ve been trying to meet for three years, and one of the Co-founders of the Museum, Walt Elias Disney Miller – Walt Disney’s Grandson.  He too, was talking to someone else, so there I was waiting between two people I admire waiting to the chance to say hi to either, when from behind me Diane Disney Miller comes into view.  So, I said hi to her!  Just about then some nice gentleman behind me shepherded me before Alice, telling her that he thought I was waiting to speak with her.  Thank you kind stranger, whoever you were…  I not only got to say hi, but we talked for about 5 minutes.  As I was reaching to shake her hand before moving on she said, “Come here.  You need a hug.”  Then proceeded to give me one wonderful hug!  What a sweet woman!  Next, I was able to get a few minutes with Walter.  I also got to see Ron Miller and daughters, Tammy and Joanna again as well.  So, I haven’t even made to the Exhibit that this night was all about, and evening is a completely awesome day in my life.

It’s now time to head over to the Special Exhibition Building and the ”Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic” exhibit.  Low and behold, as we are walking down the sidewalk, who is coming up the sidewalk toward us?  None other than John Lasseter!  Wow… aren’t I clever, “Hey you’re John Lasseter!”  But, he stopped and shook my hand anyway.  On to the exhibit… If you get to do one thing in San Francisco between now and April 14^th, this exhibit is it!  There are two floors of concept art, film cells, live action modeling, and other production documents, paintings and information related to the making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, broken out into about 10 mini galleries.  This exhibition is a small but spectacular compilation of the effort, art, and talent that went into creating this animation classic. To add even more joy to this experience, I met and talked with animator, artist, and future Disney Legend Andreas Deja, a key contributor to the animated features of Disney’s second golden age of animation.   If you are even a passing Disney fan, you will enjoy this experience.  You may remember my recent piece about my experience at Disney’s Animation Research Library in Glendale, and my comment to one of the managers there, about my emotional response to my visit.  I was overcome with similar emotions during my tour of this exhibit.  Which should really be much of a surprise, as the ARL was a key partner with the Museum staff in bringing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic to life.

Because of my emotional reaction, any real descriptive attempt would pail in comparison.  But, since I have my own young artist in my house, I will be making other visits to this exhibit over the next few months.  So, I will attempt a more effusive piece in the near future.  But, for now, that was my Tuesday night, and a marvelous night it was…

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

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