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

 

 

A Developing Thought on Walt Disney

A child’s journey from experience to experience is without expectation, and full of wonder and amazement.  Each a new adventure to be fulfilled with learning and the yearning for more, until that disastrous moment…  His obligation to grow up realized!!!  Rare is the individual who successfully navigates through life with a true childlike inquisitiveness and wonder intact.    

Yes, I know!  I promised a piece on animation…  But, one of the joys of journeys of discovery is that you never know where the path is going to lead you.  My path has recently been enlightened in a way that I never ever expected.  Thank you Sam Gennawey!  I’ve already recommended WALT AND THE PROMISE OF Progress City in my last post, but now I am going to recommend it as a re-read.  It has given my journey new direction.

Last September, toward the end of the Our Grandpa session at the Walt Disney Family Museum, Walt Disney’s granddaughter Joanna asked the audience a question:  “What do you all find so interesting about my Grandpa?”  I posted a response here.  At the time I thought my response was pretty complete, but, now I am not so sure.

One could single out Walt’s various achievements and awards in entertainment.  But there’s more…  One could single out his development of technologies and their practical applications.  But there is more…  One could single out his ability to take almost any subject and create a story around and about it.  Any of these and many more could be used as an easy justification for interest.  But there is, at least for me, something else that draws me to this man, as I think is the case with many Disney fans, but most particularly the true Walt Disney fan.  I consider myself one of those true Walt Disney fans, and have, until now, been frustrated with my inability to adequately articulate my feelings about him.

It was while reading Sam Gennawey's, WALT AND THE PROMISE OF Progress City, that my understanding of my draw to Walt Disney began crystallize into a comprehensible form.  I don’t know if the thoughts to follow had occurred to Sam as he researched and wrote his book, but, I am looking forward to asking him in about a week.  As I have traveled on my journey of discovery over the last several years, I have found that the Disney interest is as vast and varied as there are people interested…  simple put… like so many things in life, the Disney experience is really an individually personal event for each person.  Like in other areas of our lives, seldom do we endeavor to truly comprehend or illuminate an experience, rather choosing to just let our life’s proceedings transpire around us without thought. 

Before I begin to tie all of my sprawling thoughts into what I hope to be a articulate concept, I think we need to acknowledge a couple of facts; Walt Disney was not formally trained in any of the disciplines at which he excelled, but he was adept at applying what he had learned in one arena, to other developing interests.  An interest in art led to his involvement in animation, where he was able to create and develop processes which elevated animation to a new art form and greatly enhanced the audience experience.  Walt’s successes in animation led him into the field of live action movies, where again he create and developed processes which elevated and enhanced the audience experience.  From live action, Walt moved on to the amusement part.  Apply what he learned in art, animation, and live action films; he created an entertainment venue like none other in the world at the time.  Each endeavor enhanced, or plussed, by the accomplishments that preceded it.  Walt’s last desire, to build a prototype city of the future, while never realized, was informed by all the came before it.  The Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow – EPCOT – would have been a site to behold, if Walt had lived to see the project to completion.  Many may think that the Epcot that exists, at Walt Disney World , today is the EPCOT of Walt Disney’s dreams.  While there are components of Walt’s design in place today, Epcot is nothing of the designs that Walt had drawn up before his death.  If you are interested in learning about the EPCOT of Walt’s dream, well then Sam Gennawey's, WALT AND THE PROMISE OF Progress City is the book to read.

Next, I think Walt had an innate appreciation for the difference between educations and learning.  As an example, his concepts for the CalArts – California Institute of the Arts was more than just an institute where a student could come to study his or her craft… it was a place where students of one discipline could have their studies positively influenced by others of different disciplines.  Even earlier in his life, Walt understood the need for continuing study.  During the productions of Bambi, Walt brought in forest animals for his artists and animators to study.  This was done to allow these artists to interject more realism into the finished product.  And before that, he teamed with Nelbert Chouinard and the Chouinard Art Institute – later to become part of CalArts – to help develop and expand his artists’ talents.  You might know that animators today as Walt’s Nine Old Men, truly legendary figures in the world of animation.  In today’s world, it is my opinion that we place to much emphasis on higher education, simply for the sake of educations.  This is pure conjecture, but I think the evidence would point to; Walt’s opinion that education comes after interests are piqued.

Regardless, I think it was the complexity of Walt Disney that led to some much of legend surrounding him.  I’ll get into how I am going to tie my ideas together from some of the content from WALT AND THE PROMISE OF Progress City in a future post, but for my next post you can expect me to finish my animation thoughts that I have been working on for some time now.

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

A Special Walt Disney Family Museum Event

I have been in rapt anticipation for the last month awaiting the arrival of September 17^th.  So much so, I would gladly trade a week at Disneyland for the few hours I was about to spend at the Walt Disney Family Museum.  So, it was up early, over to the gas station to fill up the car for the 50 mile trek to San Francisco, and then on the road to the Museum.  Several times during the trip up, and at the Museum waiting for the event, Pam told, “You can stop grinning any time now.”  No I couldn’t, the grin was the only way I could control my racing heart and anticipation!   J

Maybe I should back up a bit.  Tickets first went on sale for this event on August 1^st.  There was a call in number, but I thought they would also be sold online as usual.  I was wrong, and by the time I realized I was wrong… POOF, all the tickets were gone!  Fortunately, the Museum withheld a few tickets to be sold online on August 11^th.  On that Thursday morning, I started to stalk the Museum website, even though tickets were not scheduled to go on sale until noon.  Logged into the ticket sales site, I would click on the calendar button, at about 10 minute intervals, to see if the calendar had gone active.  This activity culminated with a continuous loop of checking the calendar starting at about 5 minutes before the announced sales time.  When the calendar came up, I POUNCED!!!  Luckily, I got two tickets for the event.  I say luckily because I was told later that the online tickets were gone in 30 seconds.  I tell you all this only to stress just how much I wanted to attend this particular event, and that I was not alone in my desires.

So what kind of an event at the Museum could cause so much buzz and expectation?  None other than a one of kind event, really never experienced before by Disney fans; “Our Grandpa – Walt Disney.”

Yes, for the first time ever, 5 of Walt Disney’s grandchildren (Ron and Diane Miller’s children) gathered at the Museum to talk about their Grandpa and their memories of him with a public audience.  To some this may not be seen to be a big deal, but when you understand that the Miller family, as a whole, is a group of individuals who would rather keep their lives private, and with the exception of Walter Elias Disney Miller, most people probably never even realize there was relationship connection.  These are not people (that goes for their parents as well) who have searched out fame or notoriety because of their iconic relative.  They have not trade on the Disney name for their own gain.  They have stay in the background while the Museum, created truly to showcase the legacy of Walt Disney, is gaining in popularity.  So why now, after all these years, are they coming forward?  First, by doing this through the Museum that bears their Grandfather’s name, they could be relatively assured that they would be in front of an audience of true Walt Disney fans, who can understand their desires to remain private people, while still wanting to share these memories.  Second, as I have written in my research, there is still far too much mean spirits misinformation and myth perpetuated about Walt Disney.  This was a chance to experience and understand Walt in some of his most intimate moments with his grandkids.

The day start with our arrival at the Museum at about 11:30, and being met at the door by Trish, one the many volunteers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting over the last couple of years.  We stood and talked about the recent D23 Expo, as she had not been able to attend, and we expressed our excitement for today’s event.  Spent a few minutes at the front desk in the lobby, talking with a couple others Museum people, and got to do a bit of a good deed for the day.  At my Museum membership level, I get several free guest passes for the gallery each year.  This year I still had a few passes that were going to expire in a couple of weeks, so I left me at the desk to be given out to the next few guests coming to the Museum today.  I do enjoy sharing my Disney passion with others.  Next, it was into the Gift Shop to look for new things.  Pam had fun shopping!  J

I then met up with my Museum buddy Leo, who had arranged a meet up for the Friends of the Walt Disney Family Museum Facebook members.  I was helping him with handing out a small keepsake he had made up for the occasion, for those Facebook members who had confirmed their attendance, along with a some of Museum staffers.  It is a nice button with Walt’s picture on it, the name of the event, along with the date and location.  After the first few got handed out, and people were wearing them, many others started querying where they could get one.  We hung out in the lobby, across the way from the case that houses some of Walt’s Oscar awards, until about 2 o’clock and I got to say Hi! to old friends and meet some new one. Leo, you already know this, but the buttons were a big hit.  Thanks you for your thoughtfulness and letting me help out.  A little after 2 I head out to find Pam and head down stair to the theater lobby.  When I didn’t see Pam where I had left her, I assumed she had gone ahead and went downstairs on her own.  I love my wife!!!  When I walked into the lobby, there she was smiling at me, at the front of the line.  She’d managed to beat Heather to the front, something we rarely do.  J  As we waited for the theater to open the lobby filled to capacity with the line eventually out the door again, but it was still, as always, fun visiting and catching up with the guests, staff, and volunteers I’ve met through the Museum.  A little before 3 the doors opened and we were ushered into the theater.  As first in, we had our choice of just about any seat in the room, yup… front row just about center.

At a little after 3, Donna came down front to welcome us, do her house keeping spiel and remember to introduce herself as she’d forgotten in all her excitement, and introduce the moderator for this afternoon event – Jeff Kurtti.  Jeff probably didn’t need an introduction to anyone in room today; he has down several other sessions at the Museum, and was closely involved with the Museum’s design and content.  As well as being a Disney Historian and prolific author on the Disney story with over 30 books published.  Jeff welcomed to the Museum for and a small explanation of Grandparents’ Day, which really occurred the week before, but was sorely though understandably overshadowed by the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, and a very most appropriate acknowledgement given this day’s event.  Jeff introduced each of the of his guests on the dais today with a childhood photo on the screen behind him and the reading of a excerpt from one of Walt’s letters to his Aunt Jessie or his sister Ruth announcing the arrival of his most recent grandchild, first Chris, born in 1954, next Joanna – 1956, then Tamara – 1957, now Jennifer – 1960, and finally Walter – 1961.  The Miller’s two other children, Ron Jr. – 1963 and Patrick – 1967, were not with us today.  Given their births proximity to Walt’s passing, they probably have little or no memory of their Grandpa.  The one thing I notice when each one walked out was that slight apprehension in their eyes and step as they took their seats, the one of being a shy and a little scared about what they were about reveal, and giving up just a little bit of their private lives.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I found it endearing and a testament to the unrehearsed reality of which we were about to partake.

While I’m will touch on what I feel were comment that had some importance to me, I am not going provide a litany of the questions asked and answers given, but more a feelings and emotions these responses invoked in me.  While I enjoy and learn something at each of the events at the Museum, I have found that one of the side benefits, particularly at events that touch more on Walt’s personal life, is that they invoke fond memories of my childhood.

One of the early questions was about their perception of Walt personality as seen by the public and what they witnessed in Grandpa at home.  As children, they say the Grandpa they saw in public wasn’t any different than the Grandpa at home or in other private settings, he was always Grandpa.  Joanna remembered the kids going up to the TV and giving Grandpa a kiss when they saw him; though Chris didn’t recall them ever do that while Grandpa was actually sitting in the room with them.   Joanna even recalled friends of her saying that they did the same thing which she thought was a little strange since he wasn’t their Grandpa.  I am in the same age range of Walt’s earliest grandchildren, so I can relate, though I don’t recall kissing Walt on the screen myself, but in that moment I was overcome by the same warm feeling that I felt as a child, lying on the carpet of Grandparents’ living room watching “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.”  To this day, hearing the opening music for or seeing the opening sequence, is one of the things that transports me back to that time of cherished memories of my Grandpa (the man whose name I bear and also a Walter) and Nana.

In recalling their memories of their Grandpa as children, I was not surprised to learn that all the grandchildren felt loved and cherished by the Grandparents and always felt that Walt was present and enjoying them being there, even he was working on things that he brought home from the studio.  Even at Disneyland, while he was very approachable to his guests, he wanted his grandkids to have fun too.  We’ve all heard, well at least I have, the stories about Walt not signing his autograph for guests because he couldn’t do the way it appeared on TV.  It didn’t surprise me to learn from the grandkids that he would stuff his pocket with signed piece of paper, in particular when they were there with him, and that would sign a few autographs for guests, and then start handing out the ones he had in his pocket, so that he could get along and let his grandkids have their fun.  It was also telling to me when Joanna recalled Grandpa talking casually with the young kid running the Monorail, and the conversations being warm and friendly.  Again, the Walt we saw publicly was very much the same Grandpa they saw privately.

One thing I applaud in Jeff approach was how deftly he acknowledged some of the darker claims and public myths about Walt Disney, with sensitivity and not dwelling on them.  Like the hurtful questions to grieving children asking if their Grandpa was really frozen.  5 year old Walter’s retort was absolutely precious when ask if his Grandpa was frozen, “Is your Grandpa frozen?”  A brilliant answer, he you want my opinion.  Joanna did touched on how our media today treats living celebrities, so it not really surprising how Walt Disney is treated, even if it is hurtful.  I too, will not dwell long in this arena, I have written on before in this Blog.  I will only say, if you read something negative about Walt Disney, or anyone for that matter, please check the facts careful.  It has been my experience in fact checking my Walt Disney research that there are few in any facts that support the negative claims, and the few facts there don’t really support any of the atrocious claims being made.  And so, now moving on.

As the session went along, I was constantly struck how normal and down to earth these children of celebrity are today.  On this day we could see a bit of, as Joanna proclaimed, their shyness.  I could clearly see the humility and caring of their upbringing by their parents and grandparents.   Here they sat, sharing with us some of their most intimate memory, and you could see the little hesitations as they each decides how much of their privacy they were willing to sacrifice to share a thought.  Because, after all, that is what they were doing, forfeiting a little bit of privacy and laying themselves a bit more vulnerable with each memory shared.  Joanna shared with us a little chamber pot decorated with Disney character which she received when her son was born, as, a few left at the studio when he was born.  But years earlier, these were not gifts for select individuals, but rather, a gift Walt gave to each of his employees upon the birth of a child.  Joanna also share a moment in her life when she was feeling a bit spoiled by all the wonderful gifts she received at the holidays from Grandpa, until attending a holiday event at the studio and witnessed all of the children of studio personnel receiving a similar treasure trove of gift from her Grandpa.  This was then that she started to understand and appreciate her Grandpa’s true generosity.

When the conversation turned to other celebrities the grandkids were star struck by, the name Dick Van Dyke immediately came to almost everyone’s’ lips.  Walter said how he is to this day tongue-tied when he is around Dick.  Jeff took a moment to comment on how Dick Van Dyke, with all his success before Disney, held out his greatness praise and admiration for the chances he felt Walt was taking on him, and his true appreciation of the man.  Throughout the session, the Vancouver vacation was a recurring theme in the all everyone’s memory.  They didn’t know it then, but this was the last family vacation before Walt passed away in 1966.  As Chris recounts, this was probably the only true family vacation that he remembers.  There was no movie or project going on nearby that Grandpa was monitoring, and Dad (Ron Miller) was not working.  Jeff then talking about all the great home movies that can be seen in the Museum, announced a treat prepared for us by The Walt Disney Family Foundation’s Film Archivist and Preservationist – Scott Zone.  Down go the lights, and the screen comes alive with images of the grandchildren.  Photographs of each one of them, as we had seen at the beginning of the presentation, and then clips from the many home movies.  This viewing culminated with clips from the Vancouver cruise, and there in the dark, a tear came to my eye.  Everyone on the dais had turned to watch the video as well, and when they turned around as the light came back up at the finish, it was clear to see five damp set of eyes in front of us.  More than 40 years after the fact, and memories and emotions for their Grandpa are still very much present in their lives.

During the Q&A period, there was one question that stood out for me and not because of the answers for the Grandkids, but rather, Joanna turned it around on the audience by wanting to know what we all, “found so interesting about her Grandpa?”  Since it came at the end of the program, of course, we did not have time to answer.  But, the question has been posted on the Friends of the Walt Disney Family Museum Facebook page, if you are interested in answering that question.  In thinking about it, I have found the question has a deeper meaning to me, and does not have a simple short answer, so I’ll be working a piece for this blog which will hopefully be finished and posted in a few days.

But, this event is, and should be, a reminder, as Jeff pointed out, that Walt Disney was a real man, with real thought, emotions, strengths, and fault, and foremost, a real family who loved him.

In closing, this session left me a little disappointed.  Not in the content, or the Grandkids, or even Jeff, but rather, that it ended so soon.  I could have sat for hours mesmerized in the stories and memories.  For me, this was more like a family visit then a presentation.  Thank you Jeff for your sensitive approach as an interviewer, your affection for Walt Disney and his family was obvious throughout.  And finally, Chris, Joanna, Tamara, Jennifer, and Walter; Thank You All for taking this time to share your Grandpa with us, in a way that no one else could, and a memory I will cherish forever!  Again THANK YOU!!!

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

The Disney Fan Community

In just a few short days the 2^nd D23 Expo will take place, again at the Anaheim Convention Center.  The D23 Expo is a Disney event for the Disney Fan, so I thought it might be fitting to have a little discussion of the Disney Fan community.  The Disney fan community is much like any other special interest community, a microcosm of society in general.  It just seems to be more vocal than most.  

This fan community is populated by a vast array of individuals, from the casual to the fanatic.  Interestingly, fan is a shortened variant of fanatic…  You’ll find those who know a little about Disney, and those who are very knowledgeable. You’ll even find a few sycophants and conspiracy theorists thrown in for good measure.

As part of my research, I spend a part of my day perusing some of the Fan sites looking for tidbits of information or ideas to pursue.  In doing so, I do find those occasional little tidbits of gold to mine, but, I also see a lot of comments, often based on false or inaccurate information.  Like IRL (in real life), opinions are all too often formed regardless any real consideration of facts, or in the absence of facts.  Also like IRL, we often think our opinion is the only one that is correct or important, regardless of any facts presented.  The Disney fan community is no exception to these rules that guide society, but, the Disney fans do take their experience of the magic very personally.  There is one thing I have discovered; for the most part Disney fans are very friendly and not afraid to share their views.

An unsolicited (well, I am usually in my Disney regalia when it happens) question I get frequently is where Walt Disney was a Mason?  If you look out on the internet, you’ll find many claims that Walt was a Master Mason and an “illuminatus.”  Of course, these are what I consider conspiracy theory sites that take a fact or two to skew a story to the ridiculous.  I’ve written some of this in previous postings.  The other myth that keeps resurfacing is whether Walt was cryogenically frozen after his death. I heard that the question was even asked at a recent presentation at the Walt Disney Family Museum.  No one has ever presented on iota of evidence to support this claim, yet it continues to flourish, most because some people will believe anything told to them.  But one of my absolute favorites was a conversation I had with a “fan” at our local Costco.  Pass down one isle, I passed a gentleman sporting his Disney regalia, we acknowledged each other and move on.  As we approached each other again a few isles later, we stopped and talked for a bit.  I started looking for an exit as soon as he informed me that he had actually met Walt Disney as a kid in 1965 as he was sitting next to the Partners Statue in the Hub.  I was polite and didn’t exclaim it out loud, but in my mind, I was screaming, WTF!!!  The Partners Statue was not installed in the Hub until 1993.  There is no way this guy met Walt sitting next to that Statue.  But, instead of created a confrontation, I simply thanked him and said I really had to go.  Always interesting to hear the stories - really or imagined - that Disney fans have to share.

There are some fans who are more informed than others, and I think it behoove anyone with an interest to do a little more research before just accepting someone view as fact.  To that end, I have recently had the please and honor to begin to develop friendships with a special group within the Disney Fan community; The Disney Historians and Authorities.  Walt Disney is truly such a global Icon, and created an organization that inspired so many other talented individuals, that he has, in turn, created a cottage industry of individuals exploring the various impacts of his life and talents.  No matter what your interest in Walt is, you can find someone, somewhere, who has or is researching it, and is willing to share his or her efforts.  One other great bonus, I’ve yet to me one of these individuals who isn’t one of the nicest people you’d want to meet.  The Walt Disney Family Museum has been one the greatest sources for expanding my Disney knowledge, and meeting some of these Disney authorities.  And, of course, the Museum’s staff and volunteers are the greatest.

One of my new favorite places to hit every couple of days is the Disney History Institute.  The site is run by Paul F. Anderson and Todd J. Pierce.  I got the chance to see Paul present at the D23 Destination D: Disneyland 55 last September, and more recent at the Walt Disney Family Museum (without his spear).  Paul is a very funny guy, but more importantly, very knowledgeable and a great speaker.  Todd, I have not met yet, but, hopefully some day soon.  Another very helpful blog the Walt Disney Family Museum’s storyboard.  They publish interesting articles that coincide with the current months activities and presentations.  Some of the other blog sites that I check regular are; 2719 Hyperion, Disney Dean’s, The Disney Blog, MiceChat Blogs, http://www.laughingplace.com/Page-LP-Blogs.asp, and to keep up on what’s happening currently at the parks The Disney Parks Blog.  There are so many more, but, these are some of my favorites.  There are many other sources for the Disney aficionado, in books, videos, and especially on the internet.  Just be careful on those site the claim truth to some of the more absurd myths and legends, remember I did say there are a few fans out there that fall into the conspiracy theory realm.  J

So, no matter what your Disney interest might be, there’s a source of information out there for you.

If you happen to be in the San Francisco area, definitely take the opportunity to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum, I have yet to meet a fan there that I would not want to include in my circle of friend, and have actually added a few.  As for the rest of Disney related venues, I have rarely met a fan that I did not enjoy meeting and talking Disney.

So if you’re a fan and you want to learn more about the Disney magic, find a reliable source or sources of information, there are plenty out there...  It’ll make your Disney journey a much more enjoyable experience.

And, I’ll be publishing my thought about the D23 Expo in a couple of weeks.  In the mean while, have a Disney-rific day!  J

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

Laying Siege to the Castle, Part II

Laying Siege to the Castle, Part II – July 18, 2011

When last we met, I am sure to some, even many Disney fan, I committed blasphemy!  To most, I laid responsibility for the attempted hostile takeover at the feet of Disney Legend Card Walker.  Even more blasphemous, I intimated that even Walt and Roy’s management style were somehow to blame, or that Ron Miller is somehow faultless in these activities.  Nothing could be further from the truth…  While all of this contributed to the ultimate come of 1984, none it is directly responsible.  It was the culmination of many factors that led to the hostile takeover attempt of Walt Disney Productions, as well as many other corporation of that time.  The following is a synoptic generalization, these are topics that can, have and will continue to fill volumes, and here it is just a primer to build a foundation it is in no way conclusive.

I am continually amazed at the number of people who believe that any corporate board is a collection of logical, unemotional, and egoless individuals with absolutely nothing more than the best interested of the company at heart.  So, so, so wrong a perception.  I have worked with executive management teams and a few corporate boards throughout my career.  I have seen as many illogical, emotional, ego-driven decisions enacted in these executive offices and board rooms, as in life in general.   Anyone with any experience will tell you that the corporate board room is nothing more than a microcosm of life in general.  Also in as a general rule, most shareholders in corporation have no real emotional attachment to the company or management.  It’s about making money.  Where in nature the motto is “Survival of the fittest,” a concept many believe applies to business, the axiom there would be “Survival of the Smartest,” or maybe “Survival of the Quickest.”

While trading in corporate securities had been going on for many decades, centuries even… it was generally an activity reserved for the wealthiest in society.  After America successfully emerge from the Great Depression and World War II, a revitalization of the American middle class began to take hold, and a relatively untapped resource for the capitalization of American business presented itself.  As this new resource began to be exploited, vehicles such as mutual funds, first popularized in the 20’s, resurfaced as an investment opportunity for the smaller, and normally less informed, investors – generally the middle class investor looking build a nest egg for the future.  These smaller investors put their faith in the mutual fund institutions to monitor and protect their nest eggs; they had no tangible attachment to the companies being held in the fund.  The Wall Street analyst, and financial performance, became the unemotional arbiter of corporate success.  Starting in the 60s, as the public’s changing desires for entertainment choices, business was undergoing a change as well.  The focus was changing from long term growth, to short term profits to judge executive management effectiveness.

So what does all this have to do with our beloved Disney?  Well, the board and management of Walt Disney Productions failed to recognize and address the changing environment in which they were operating.  Disney’s management, like so many of us – individually, being resistant to change, chose rather to hold fast to what they believed represented the value that had allowed their co-founders such success.  Instead of embracing creativity and the change it requires, they tried desperately to imitate Walt’s creativity.  A laudable idea, but, a truly impossible effort to accomplish, there is and has only been, or will ever be one Walt Disney at the The Walt Disney Company.  Success is only going to continue by understand the man and his creative process and philosophies, and find ways to embraces those philosophies and continue that creative process in the changing world we live in.  That is in fact what Roy and Walt did to build The Disney Brothers Studio, and then Walt Disney Productions.

Now let’s explore some of the more current events of the period that contributed to the Siege.

The two individuals who remain somewhat enigmatic adversaries in all this are Ron Miller and Roy E. Disney.  Since Roy is no longer with us, unless his family allows someone access to his personal archives, we will never know what he was thinking as all this was transpiring.  Likewise, unless someone can get Ron to sit down and talk about this period in Disney’s history, we are not likely to hear his thoughts on the matter.  As I have observed, in my rather limited interact with Ron, it’s going to take much encouragement to get him to open up.  While I would love to be involved in either endeavor, there are certainly more qualified individuals out there, and I hope they are successful.  I will look to seeing the results of their efforts.  But, to accomplish my efforts to understand this wonderful and sometime strange history that is The Walt Disney Company, I must delve into an examination of these gentlemen with the information I was available to me now.

I don’t know exactly how tall Ron Miller is, but from my perspective at 5’9”, he is at least 6’4”, and at first look has what can be expressed as an intimating appearance.  Not surprising he played football professionally.  But, he never completed college, so the impression by some at the studio was that he was there, because he married into the family.  Include the professional football, and a somewhat menacing presence, could easily foster the notion that he was nothing more than a “jock.”  A characterization that he acknowledged bothered him.  Having met him, I have no problem imagining a younger Ron Miller, developing into a shy and reserved person to compensate for the intimidation some would feel from his size.  I have seen more than a few of my taller friends develop similar traits.  By all reports I’ve seen, Ron is always described precisely as a I conclude, a gentle, shy, and quiet man.  I have even heard the Walt Disney himself would get frustrate when his protégé and son-in-law would fail to speak up for himself in meetings. 

In an earlier time Ron Miller might have made an excellent corporate leader, he was, after all, mentored by a creative genius.  But, in the shark infested waters of 1980’s corporate leadership and investors, his lack of business experience place him at a serious disadvantage.  This situation was further exacerbated when he was promoted to CEO.  While I am sure he felt he could do the job, it could not have helped his confidence when Card Walker, himself concerned about Ron’s experience, approached Raymond Watson about becoming an “interim” Chairman of the Board act pro forma CEO, while Ron obtained some additional experience.  The top leadership position of a major U.S. corporation is not an appropriate environment for on-the-job training.  I am sure that Card had the best of intentions, and was trying to be loyal to the family of his mentor, but his appointment of Ron to the top management positions in the manner he did it, further weaken Disney in the eyes of the stockholders and Wall Street.  Given time Ray and Ron could have very easily become as effective a management team as Walt and Roy O, but, there was already blood in the waters, and the sharks were circling.  There was no time to be had.  Even though Ron’s tenure at the helm was short, he still demonstrated an understanding of the changing movie business and the need for the studio to reassert itself.  As I said in my last article, the creation of Touchstone Pictures and the first Silver Screen Partners under Ron’s leadership demonstrated the need for the Disney Studio to change, and laid significant groundwork for his successors’ early achievement.  But it was not to be, for Ron – with only a few allies on the Board, and even fewer among the larger minority interest shareholders… including his cousin-in-law Roy E. Disney, the clock had run out almost as soon as it had started.

Sitting across the board room table from Ron and Ray was Roy E. Disney – the son of co-founder Roy O. Disney.  Roy E.  Remember the Card Walker claim of Walt’s view of his nephew?  Well, I betting Roy as well and many of the board members were aware of Card’s claim, as well.  Apparently, from the details I’ve culled, Roy, much like his cousin-in-law – Ron, had a somewhat timid personality.  While he was active on the board, and often made strategic management recommendation, his input was apparently never considered.  Where Card’s focus as Chief Executive appeared to be on the park operations and expansion, Ron seemed more focused on the studio’s live action products, and Roy’s focus on animation.  All three, laudable points, but with all vying for attention and resources, and with the Disney movie offering not doing well at the box office, the studio operations began to take a back seat to other operations.  Roy showed concerned about losing one of the company’s founding cornerstones, didn’t seem to have the pulled or personality to push his point as hard as the others.   He wound up choosing to leave the board, and pursue changes in other way.

If Ron and Roy had been able to get in a room and discuss the situation without the perception baggage they both seemed to be carrying, I think they would have found that they had more with which ally themselves then their apparently adversarial relationship would seem to allow.  Regardless of how they were family, the two as allies would have made a formidable pair, as the founders’ family.  But, that was not to be, as much as people would like to think that running a company the size of Disney would be mechanical and unemotional, it is never that easy.

In Part III of “Laying Siege to the Castle,” we’ll explore the actions and activities that led to the arrival of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells.

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

The Mouse under Attack revisited

First off, thank you, thank you, thank you, to my buddy and Museum Volunteer – Joseph!!!  “Storming the Magic Kingdom” is a marvelous account of the attempted hostile takeover of Disney in 1984.  So again Joseph, THANK YOU!!! 

Side Note:

After some travails with one of Amazon’s affiliate sellers, they came through on the second attempt to acquire to the book.  For those who use Amazon’s affiliate sellers frequently, I’d be cautious buying anything from Charleston Wholesale.  While they have a good rating on Amazon, I find the seller to be unreliable, temperamental, with somewhat questionable ethics, and an extreme dislike of the Postal Service.  Buy from them at your own risk.

                                                                                                                                                          

I have been asked by a few people if studying the history of The Walt Disney Company from the management angle destroys the magic for me?  It doesn’t, in fact it actually enhances it.  At least for me, when you learn of the dysfunctional executive management throughout its history, I am in reality more impressed by the “magic” that the company manages to create.  I seem to be someone who has been able to separate the appreciation and enjoyment of fantasy with the need for, and understanding of, reality.  When I’m seeing a Disney movie, or am in one of the theme parks, I don’t give a second thought to how the companies are run, or the personalities of the individuals involved.  If they can allow me, even for a few moments, to escape the bonds of reality and experience enjoyment, I am great with that idea.  But, that doesn’t discount the amazing story of how Disney to where it is today, or how it almost didn’t…  I find that part of the magic very interesting as well.

“Storming the Magic Kingdom” by John Taylor is an account of the individuals who attempted and in some cases succeeded in exploiting the effects of dysfunctional executive management of a company, and management’s efforts to thwart hostile takeover.  Any account of the many hostile takeovers, that have occurred, would be the same.  Some of you may be thinking that I’m being overly negative when I assert the claim of dysfunctionality, it’s not intended to be negative, but rather matter of fact.  Whether it be family, friends, non-profit or for-profit business, any where there are parties great than one involved in control, ego and personal agenda becomes involved.  Dominant egos tend to take or try to take control of the situation.  Supported by “Storming the Magic Kingdom” and several other tomes (check the side bar links for these resources) I have read about Disney management the following is my conjecture:

So what led to this attempted siege of Magic Kingdom’s castle?

The groundwork of this siege was actually laid when the company was started.  With the co-founders being brothers there was, at its inception, a dynamic to the company operation not found in most business.  Add to that, the personalities of the two brother being so diametrically opposed.  Walt Disney, the very gregarious, effusive, and the creative part of the relationship.  Roy Disney, the quiet, reserved, behind the scene, financial mastermind of the business.  To paraphrase Walt, he was a little bee, flying from garden to meadow pollinating the flower (the company’s creative project).  What hasn’t been clearing communicated was Roy’s position of rather quietly following behind Walt, creating and managing the financial requirement needed to allow these flowers (projects) to blossom.  This worked, and worked quite well, as the company began to experience success and grow, but the company grew to the point where this relationship began to create strains on the brothers’ relationship.  Had the brothers been just friends instead of family, we can speculate that the friends would just part ways, and what we have come to know as The Walt Disney Company would have most likely ceased to exist.  But, instead, the brothers soldiered on; Walt building and mentoring his cadre of creative people, and Roy doing the same for his operations people. 

Any hard core Disney fan has heard the company classifications of Walt’s Boys and Roy’s Boys.  Unless someone produces some, as yet unknown to me, recordings or personal notes between Walt and Roy, we will only have the recollections of the people around Walt and Roy to rely on.  I’m not knocking any of these people, but ask any attorney; some of the most unreliable evidence in a court case is eyewitness testimony.  You may see or hear something, but have no idea of the context of the situation.  With that in mind, one simple little comment may have been the catalyst which ultimately became the event and theatrics of 1984.  It is well publicized that Card Walker claimed that Walt once referred to Roy E. Disney as his “idiot nephew.”  Was Walt making a little joke at his nephew’s expense, was he taking a jab at his brother during one of their squabbles, did he really believe his nephew was an idiot.  If he were still with us today, I relatively sure that Card would say he knew Walt well enough to know his intent, but did he, really?  I don’t know of any of Walt’s other boys who have made similar claims to have heard Walt make comments like this about Roy E.  What I have learned about Walt from my research is that he was not a person to filter his feeling that much.  As far as I can tell, if Walt did make reference to his nephew’s intelligence to any of his other boys, they had the discretion not to repeat it to anyone else, a short coming, in my opinion, in Card’s character.

One of the key points I took from “Storming the Magic Kingdom” was Ray Watson acknowledging that Disney had no acknowledged corporate plan in place when he became the Chairman of the Board.  Not surprising, given what I’ve address in the previous paragraph, and Walt’s Boys and Roy’s Boy trying continue management as they’d been mentored by their respective co-founder.  What I don’t think was understood was that Walt and Roy, as brothers, had (my conjecture) an unspoken and therefore un-communicated plan under which they operated.  Even as the rife open and grew between them, this unacknowledged plan allowed the company to continue to flourish.  Unfortunately for the boys, this is something that can’t really be mentored.  Once Roy passed away, after the opening of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, the unique dynamic of the Disney Brothers intuitive relationship at the helm was completely lost.

Don Tatum as CEO and Card Walker as COO, lacking the co-founding brothers relationship and without any real plan, where handicapped from the start.  By all accounts, Card became the dominant force in Disney leadership, and with the oft heard mantra, “What would Walt Do?”  …established himself as the protector of Walt Disney’s legacy.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, in protecting his mentor’s legacy, he lost touch with Walt’s forward looking philosophy.  While Walt had, in effect, move on from the studio, to the development of his theme park in the early 50’s, even though the studio was in capable hands he continued to monitor and inject his creative input when needed.  If you look at the movies produced by the studio in 50’s and 60’s, under Walt’s guidance, I see offering, that while rather formulaic and holding to his family entertainment values, were in fact evolving as the audiences began to change.  A look at movies produced after Walt’s death in 1966, and you find a listing of offering that, while holding true to Walt’s legacy and the Disney brand, failed to evolve with changing family entertainment demands, resulting in declining revenues and hence reductions in offerings, and ultimately the perceived importance of the studio to the overall success of the company.

As much as I don’t like to do it, and find it hard to fault the man, in the noble effort to protect and preserve Walt Disney’s legacy, Card Walker almost destroyed it.

When next we meet, I’ll be revealing how I still think Ron Miller is someone how deserves much more recognition for his contributions to The Walt Disney Company then he has received, and how two rather introverted family members played roles important roles in the outcome of the siege on the Magic Kingdom.

In-between now and then watch for a couple of trip reports for upcoming events.

Have a Disney-rific Day!!!

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