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Spotlight on:

Walt's Lead-ins

Prior to 1955, when the Disneyland television show went on the air, Walt Disney's name was known throughout the world. But only after the show aired -- with Walt as its master of ceremonies -- was his image equally famous. From that point to the end of his life in 1966, Walt was a welcome weekly guest in homes from coast to coast. He often posed with animals (monkeys, tigers -- you name it), and his natural style and easy homespun manner became almost as much a highlight of the show as the programs themselves.

Walt with two tigers on desk for a TV lead-in
Walt with two tigers on desk for a TV lead-in

According to Bill Cotter, author of "The Wonderful World of Disney Television," Walt didn't want to host the show at first. As Cotter tells the story, "They had a lot of studies that went on, looking at other people. One of the serious contenders for the role was Jack Lemmon. Walt was very concerned about what he felt was a very nasal twang in his own voice and didn't think that it would come across well on television. But when they would trot out actors and they'd talk about the show and they'd look at the screen test, there was always that spark that was missing." Finally, Walt agreed to do the job himself.

Walt with various space craft for television show
Walt with various spacecraft for television show

Says Cotter, "When he was talking about the product he was not a paid pitch man. It was him talking about what he had created. He was not being paid to talk about something; he was talking about something he well and truly loved."

Even though the lead-ins were carefully written, Walt would add touches of his own. Recalls Walt's favorite lead-in writer, Jack Speirs, "I had given him a lead-in for "Stormy the Thoroughbred," which ended with the line, 'I want you all to sit back and you guys enjoy the show, and meanwhile, I'll keep busy some way.' And he was to reach over and pick up a broom. But then he said, 'Let's do that again,' and told the cameraman not to stop until he told him to. And he said, 'All right, folks, why don't you sit down and enjoy the show and meanwhile, I'll keep busy some way.' Then he added, 'Some things never would get done around here if I didn't do them.' Those were his words, and they really broke the whole crowd up."

Walt pitching hay for television lead-in
Walt pitching hay for television lead-in

Of course, the shooting of the lead-ins wasn't always the easiest thing in the world. For one thing, Walt's son-in-law, Ron Miller, who directed many lead-ins, recalls, "After a while his voice would get dry so you'd just pour water down it; you'd keep pouring water, clearing his voice."

And then there were the words he had trouble pronouncing. For example, he had particular problems getting "aluminum" to roll smoothly off his tongue. You wouldn't think this would come up very often, but one of the program's sponsors was Alcoa -- an aluminum company. And so Speirs tried to write around it.

Walt loved animals and his TV lead-ins frequently featured co-stars like these
Walt loved animals and his TV lead-ins frequently featured costars like these

Walt's nephew, Roy E. Disney, recalled one name that presented problems for Walt: "I'd written that this movie was made by a friend of his in Hungary, which was stretching the truth but not by too much. The fellow's first name was Estvan. And Walt, as my dad did, had this Middle-Western tongue that could not wrap itself around any kind of foreign language. I got this call from the stage and someone said,

"'Get down here right away. Walt needs you.'

"So I go running down. And he's sitting there and he says, 'What's this?'

"And I pronounce the name for him, and still it doesn't work.

"Finally Walt says, 'Estvan, Estvan. What does that mean?'

"'Well, it's Steven in Hungarian.'

"'Steve! Oh, that's easy.' He says, 'My friend Steve!' And it was over. He did it in one take."

Ultimately, Walt's television persona was of tremendous value to the company's success. "Most people would have never had a chance to meet Walt in person," says Cotter. "You wouldn't have known if he was a good person, bad person, happy or sad. All you saw was what you saw for the hour each week on the TV series. And when you see someone who is so enthusiastic, so happy, and so positive about what he's doing, and then when you like the results of that, it kind of carries over into other efforts. So if you've seen Walt on TV and you've enjoyed the last hour watching the show and at the end of it he mentions there's a great new movie coming out, I think the glow, the warmth you have had for the last hour naturally transfers over to the movie. And you kind of run out to see it out of loyalty to the man who has just shared so much with you."

 

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