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Spotlight on:

Bill Cotter is the author of "The Wonderful World of Disney Television," (Hyperion) the first book to chronicle this important part of the Disney legacy (see the Gift Shop). He has also written more than 200 magazine and newspaper articles on the history of movies and television. He worked at Disney from 1976 until 1982, where his official position was in financial management. His unofficial position was as a "Disney Fanatic."

The Wonderful World of Disney Television

While at Disney, he formed an Employees Film Club, in connection with which he screened the company's older films and TV shows. Cotter researched the history of many of these shows to prepare notes for the screenings, including interviews with many of Disney's creative team.

After leaving Disney, he became a vice president at Warner Brothers, and is now a computer consultant. Additionally, he still works on a number of entertainment projects for Disney and other firms.

He was the co-curator of Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications special exhibit "The Genius of Disney: The Television Years," which featured a complete retrospective on the history of Disney broadcasting. He has also worked on projects involving Disney's television history for Disneyland, and was heavily involved in the creation of "The Wonderful World of Disney: 40 Years of Television Magic," a 2-hour special for ABC saluting the Studio's television history. He currently assists on a number of projects for Disney Channel.

Cotter lives in Granada Hills, California, with his wife, Carol, whom he met while they both worked at Disney, and their two children, Margot and Neal.


Summary
Full Essay


The Television Worlds of Disney - Summary

When Walt Disney hosted his first television series in 1950, the show was duly noted as a major entertainment event. No one, though, not even Walt, could have predicted the amazing successes that were to follow.

By 1954, Walt was one of the major television producers, with a weekly series that quickly became a family institution. The success of the weekly anthology series, including such popular episodes as the Davy Crockett stories, provided Walt with the funding he had so long sought to build his Disneyland theme park. Other successes, including "the Mickey Mouse Club" and "Zorro," further solidified his position in Hollywood.

More importantly, perhaps, these shows also made Walt an honorary member of families across the country. Each week, millions of viewers stopped everything they were doing so they could tune in and see what treasure Walt had in store for them. Decades later, when many of the actual shows themselves are all but forgotten, people still fondly remember their weekly time with Walt, the host. Now, in a world full of entertainment choices that were undreamed of back in 1950, Walt's contributions to our television heritage remain among the proudest of the industry.

Of course, the creation of this television heritage was not without obstacles. He faced resistance within the industry and even his own company. His personal beliefs and commitment were so strong, though, that not only did he wear down his opponents, he helped shape the industry as we know it today. Along the way, he introduced new concepts, including the mini-series, helped foster interest in color television, and created a library of shows and characters that continue to entertain audiences around the world, today.


The Television Worlds of Disney - Essay

by Bill Cotter

At the first signing event for my book on Disney's television series, a woman appeared clutching a copy of the book. Excitedly, she told me "My whole life is in this book." When I asked her what she meant, she told me that one of her fondest memories of her childhood was of the family gathering together each Sunday to watch Walt introduce the weekly television series.

I've found that her close identification with Walt and television is far from unique. In fact, a major impetus for my book was my own fond memories of my family watching the shows. I have also found that many Disney fans, while they enjoy their trips to the theme parks and shopping at the Disney Stores, find the real tug on their emotional heartstrings is from their memories of the TV series.

Unfortunately, it has been more than 30 years since Walt last hosted an episode of "The Wonderful World of Color." Why, then, are these memories so lasting, and so positive? One large reason is the entertainment value of the shows themselves, of course. Programs like "Davy Crockett," "Zorro," and "The Mickey Mouse Club" are well received by modern audiences, but what most people mention to me is Walt himself. Many can't remember specific episodes but still speak glowingly about Walt's introductions and those episodes in which he was the central figure.

How Walt became such an American institution is only partly known by even the most ardent Disney fans. Much has been written about how Walt financed the construction of Disneyland by striking a deal with the ABC television network. His need for funds was certainly a major factor behind that deal, but little has been said as to the other driving reasons behind that decision. The real story began in the final days of World War II.

While much of American industry had been heavily focused on supporting the war effort, by 1944 it appeared that victory was assured and work could begin on plans for the post-war economic boom that many felt was sure to follow. This optimism led to an important collaboration between RCA and Walt Disney that would greatly shape Walt's future, not only in television but in all aspects of the company.

At that point in time, the television industry was very much in the "chicken or the egg" stage. Which would come first: programs to attract audiences, or audiences to attract the advertisers who paid for the programs? Television sets were rare commodities, and many potential owners were turned off by both the high cost of sets and a lack of programming. RCA executives decided to "educate" the public about the benefits of buying television sets with a film that would be screened in movie theaters between movies. For what would now be called an infommercial, they turned to Walt, knowing that his name would be a valuable draw.

RCA's interest in Walt wasn't based only on his success as a film producer, which had been somewhat limited far, at least in feature films. They turned to him in part because he was one of the few Hollywood executives who was not strongly opposed to television. While most of his peers feared that the new medium would cannibalize their profitable film business, Walt had begun thinking about television as a way to promote interest in his films. True to his reputation as an innovator, Walt had first become interested in television when the technology was still in its infancy. In the 1930s, he had agreed to let the British Broadcasting Corporation air a number of his cartoons to test the technical results, as well as audience reactions. When the BBC stopped television broadcasts at the start of World War II, it was in the middle of a Mickey Mouse cartoon; in a bit of whimsy, when broadcasting resumed near the war's end, it continued at the same place in the same cartoon.

The early tests had proved that the crude television sets of the time could be used to show animated films successfully. Now Walt had an opportunity to join forces with the leading proponent of television in America, and he met that challenge with all the enthusiasm that was typical of the man. He assembled a team of his top aides, and by early 1945, they had scripted and storyboarded the new film. Titled "The World in Your Living Room," the story traced mankind's attempts to communicate through the years, beginning with cave drawings and ending with the marvels of television.

Walt's plans were well received by RCA, but for reasons that are not entirely clear, he had second thoughts about the project and abruptly ended the deal later that year. Although there is no doubt that Walt could have helped RCA sell more television sets (and in fact would do so years later), he apparently realized that RCA would benefit from the association far more than Disney would. The project was shelved, but Walt continued to express interest in television as an advertising vehicle. There's no doubt that the research conducted for this project helped solidify his earlier thoughts that television would someday be a major factor in the entertainment marketplace.

After several more years of research and thought, Walt and Roy Disney finally agreed in 1950 that the time had come to test the waters. Walt's first television effort, "One Hour in Wonderland," aired on Christmas Day to critical acclaim and huge ratings. Little more than a commercial for "Alice in Wonderland," the show proved Walt's theory that television could be used to sell films. It also set the precedent for Walt hosting his programs, a role that made Walt decidedly uncomfortable. Walt had tried his best to find a way out of the job, suggesting other hosts such as Jack Lemmon and Basil Rathbone, but luckily his research staff finally convinced him that he was the best man for the job.

In his letter to the stockholders in the 1950 Annual Report, Walt commented on the success of his first show:

"I regard television as one of our most important channels for the development of a new motion picture audience. Millions of televiewers never go to a picture theatre, and countless others infrequently.

"You cannot stop progress. Video is reaching its level as entertainment but we firmly believe that motion pictures are still your best entertainment.

"As a promotion medium, however, television has gained maturity as most top sales executives in the nation have recognized. We all can remember when the prophets of doom predicted radio would ruin the film industry. Instead it turned into one of our greatest selling forces."

After another successful Christmas special the next year, no new shows would air for several years. Although Walt still saw potential in television, by this time he was heavily involved in the early plans for his new project, the theme park. His only real broadcasting activity was purchasing the rights to the "Zorro" stories, for which he used his own money. Roy had refused to let the company spend any more on the highly risky park project, so Walt set up a team to produce a "Zorro" series independent of the Studio, planning to use the profits to finance Disneyland. However, as the scope of the park project grew, it became apparent that one series alone could not finance Walt's dream. Thus, he was forced to turn to the networks for financing.

Each of the three major networks had long been interested in having Walt create a series especially for them, but Walt had long memories of his disastrous affair with Oswald the Rabbit. The loss of his prized creation to a business partner left him justifiably leery of future partnerships, so much so that in 1950 he had turned down an offer of $8.5 million to air his older films on television -- at a time when the entire company revenues for the year were only $7.3 million.

The business model of television in the 1950s only strengthened Walt's concerns about control over his destiny. At that point, series were generally owned by advertisers, not the studios, and Walt did not want to share ownership with any outside company. A meeting with one potential advertiser, General Foods, ended disastrously when its chairman asked Walt to produce a pilot episode. Visibly upset, Walt turned, exclaimed, "We don't do samples," and stormed from the room. His distrust in the existing system, where networks and advertisers controlled what went on the air, had proven to be all too well-founded.

Luckily, the networks were so interested in signing Walt that they agreed to his ownership of the series, but only ABC would also advance him the money needed to build Disneyland. Donn Tatum, later the Chairman of Walt Disney Productions, was an ABC executive at the time. He recalled how Walt had begun trying to interest ABC in Disneyland back in 1951 when they had asked him to create a series for them:

"He disposed of the television part of our mission in a very short time. In effect, he said 'Thank you very much for the interest but I really don't know what I want to do about it.' But he immediately started to talk about Disneyland. It was the first time I'd ever heard about it and he talked for a good hour and a half about Disneyland, his ideas for it and his ambitions for it. Now that I can finally look back at the arrangement that he finally made, I can see that he was baiting Mr. Goldenson and Mr. Kintner. He was trying to spark their interest in Disneyland because he probably was at least fondling the thought in his mind that he could somehow use his desirability as a new television producer as a means of getting help in developing this idea of his for an amusement park."

Those seeds planted years ago had worked, but while Walt may have had a deal with ABC, he had not yet developed a theme for the new series. He knew he wanted to use it to promote his films and theme park, but he was astute enough to know that this promotion must be presented as entertainment. Various proposals were studied and scrapped, including a weekly cartoon series and a possible children's series to be called "The Mickey Mouse Club." At the 11th hour, he announced that the new show would be a weekly anthology series.

In a masterful stroke of cross promotion, the series was named after Disneyland, the park, and centered around the park's themed lands. This would provide instant name recognition for both projects, and perhaps more importantly, a way to promote the park on the television show without drawing undue attention to what was at times basically an advertising vehicle. A show about the American Wild West could be aired as a Frontierland segment, a cartoon compilation under the Fantasyland banner. For every episode, no matter how tenuous the connection, the show provided at least a means of mentioning the park. Over time, these constant references worked their magic and made an indelible mark upon the audience.

With the format finally in place, Walt turned his attention to the job of finding a host. Although his first two appearances on the Christmas specials had been well received, he still didn't feel comfortable in the role. He considered a number of other actors for the job, but the thought of someone else representing his pet projects wasn't appealing. Finally, after rejecting the idea of using a narrator instead of an on-screen host, Walt announced his decision to his staff:

"I don't consider myself an actor or anything, but in trying to get hold of these things, I can introduce them, get them going. I'm myself, good or bad, I'm still myself; that will be the gimmick. It's the safest bet to get under way; then later we can develop ways and other people can take over. If we over-use me, I'll be the first to recognize it; I know my limitations. If it's right for me to be talking about it, if it's my business I can talk about it; if it's what we do here at the studio, the group, the individuals, and the staff -- it would be no problem to do that.

"I stumped myself, worrying about being in too much of it. I haven't got a good voice to carry narration, got a nasal twang, I know. I'm not being immodest, just being practical. But I just think it's the way to get this thing off. We've been avoiding it, but I think I have got to do it until we've established other personalities that mean something to the audience. Got to be an M.C. to get it going. It ties in with the whole thing. We've been selling the name and the personality."

This reluctant decision was one of the best Walt ever made. From the very first episode, "The Disneyland Story," his friendly demeanor and enthusiasm for his work overshadowed any shortcomings he may have had as a performer. Walt's initial unease at being on camera, which led to him appearing somewhat nervous and uncomfortable on some of the earliest episodes, actually worked to his advantage. Instead of being viewed as a slick corporate spokesperson who was only there because he was being paid for it, Walt became "Uncle Walt," a kindly relative who was bursting with pride as he showed off his latest creation and secrets. He wasn't pushing products; he was sharing the fun. These moments on the air became, for many, the most important part of the show. Even if you didn't care much for a particular episode, you would sit through it just to see what Walt had in store for you next week. Besides, who could change the channel or turn off the set when Uncle Walt had gone to this much trouble to share things with you?

Walt eventually became more comfortable with his new-found fame, but only after he hired a writer to write the introductions in a style Walt felt more comfortable with. Banished were phrases or words that Walt couldn't handle or didn't like. For example, he had found it impossible to properly pronounce the word "aluminum," which was quite a problem with Reynolds Aluminum as a major sponsor, so his introductions were cleverly crafted to mask this. The script girls on the set soon learned not to stop Walt during his introductions if he made minor mistakes, for he had a hard time hearing the difference between his version of the word and how everyone else was trying to explain it to him. Thus, sharp-eared viewers can still catch Walt mispronouncing some words, a trait that just made him seem all the more approachable to audiences.

If Walt's introductions were a major part of the show's success, his selections of the episodes themselves were brilliant. For years the public had been interested in learning the secrets of Hollywood, but for the most part, the studios kept their gates firmly barred and refused to explain the magic behind the movies. Walt not only showed how films were made, but he did it in such an entertaining manner that one of these episodes, "Operation Undersea," a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," won the company its first Emmy® Award.

Another programming breakthrough came with Walt's creation of what is now acknowledged to be the first television mini-series. In his quest for something to fill the Frontierland segment of the series, Walt decided to film a number of stories about Davy Crockett. As is well known, the three Crockett episodes became one of the biggest hits on television and unleashed a Crockett craze across the country that had millions of youngsters clamoring for coonskin caps and other Crockett merchandise. The shows were so popular that when they were rerun, the ratings actually increased, a vary rare event indeed. Then Walt astonished his critics and thrilled audiences by editing the episodes together and releasing them as a theatrical film, the first time this had ever been done. People who had watched Davy for free on television lined up by the thousands to see Davy in the theaters, for now they could see him in color.

The fact that Davy was in color is another example of Walt's foresight. Color television was still very much an experimental technology, and ABC, unable to broadcast in color, refused to pay for the extra expense. Walt was convinced that color was the wave of the future, and even though his shows would first be aired in black and white, he knew they would be more valuable later if they were produced in color. He also had plans to show some of the episodes as featurettes overseas and color was essential for that. So, taking another of the financial risks he was famous for, Walt decided to film all of his shows in 35mm color, even though most shows at that time were shot on far cheaper 16mm film. The three Crockett shows cost Walt $700,000 to film, and ABC only paid $100,000, but the merchandising and theatrical version more than justified Walt's decision; the film took in more than $2.5 million at the box office during the first of several theatrical releases.

The hoopla of the Crockett craze was wonderful, except for one not-so-small problem. "We had no idea what was going to happen on Crockett," Walt explained. "Why, by the time the first show finally got on the air, we were already shooting the third one and calmly killing Davy off at the Alamo. It became one of the biggest overnight hits in TV history, and there we were with just three films and a dead hero!" Despite Davy's valiant death at the Alamo, the public clamored for more Crockett stories, so Walt did a little rewriting of history and produced two more episodes for the next season. These were huge hits and would also be released as a theatrical film.

By the end of the 1954-55 season, "Disneyland" stood 6th in the ratings. This leap to prominence was even more remarkable given that ABC had far fewer stations than the other networks, and thus fewer potential viewers. Further acknowledging Disney's triumphant entry into series television, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded "Disneyland" the Emmy Award for "Best Variety Series."

Flushed with success, ABC asked Walt if he would produce an additional series for them, and luckily, he was interested. Walt wanted to expand his fledgling theme park, so in a virtual repeat of the prior year, he agreed to produce a series in exchange for additional loans from ABC. Walt had long been interested in creating a daily children's show, and the result was "The Mickey Mouse Club," which debuted on October 3, 1955. It was a busy year for Walt, who now had six hours of programming on the air in addition to a full slate of theatrical product and expansion of the theme park. Surprisingly, however, even more was soon to come. The 1955-56 season saw "Disneyland" climb to no. 4 for the year, the highest ratings ever enjoyed by the anthology series. In what had by now become a pattern, Walt agreed to produce yet another series to secure additional loans for Disneyland from ABC.

For his newest creation, Walt revived his dormant "Zorro" project and announced that it would be his next series. After many of Hollywood's leading men tested for the role, Walt surprised industry observers by announcing that the coveted role of the swashbuckling avenger would go to Guy Williams, a relatively unknown actor and former male model. Just as Walt had picked the perfect actor for Davy Crockett, his instincts about Guy proved to be uncannily accurate, and audiences loved the new series. "Zorro" quickly became one of the biggest hits of the year, drawing more than 35 million viewers each week. Soon, "Zorro" merchandise was everywhere, and Guy Williams toured the country in a seemingly never-ending series of promotional appearances.

Then, after years of success, a shadow fell across Walt's once-happy partnership with ABC. By this time, many of the highest-rated series were westerns, a fact not lost on ABC executives. They kept pressuring Walt to add more westerns to the schedule, but Walt argued that his show needed to be different; anyone could make westerns. However, ABC was relentless, and finally, as one Studio executive recalled, Walt called a meeting with the network executives and made them wait in a conference room until he was ready for his grand entrance. He strode into the room dressed in Western garb, threw his pistols on the table and said, "Okay, you want Westerns, you're gonna have Westerns!"

Thus, audiences were soon treated to the exploits of frontier trapper Andy Burnett, gunman-turned-lawman Elfego Baca, lawman-turned-rancher Texas John Slaughter, Daniel Boone, and Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. Many of these episodes were well received, but by then Walt's heart simply wasn't in the series anymore, for he had grown tired of ABC's interference in his plans.

Finally, Walt and Roy decided to take bold action to resolve the problem. In 1959 Walt Disney Productions filed suit against ABC to break the contracts between them, and much to everyone's surprise, Disney canceled the highly rated "Zorro." The legal wrangling lasted for several years, during which "The Mickey Mouse Club" was also canceled, but when it was finally over, Walt was free to sell his series to CBS or NBC.

Always an innovator, Walt had been following the efforts of both of these networks in color broadcasting. He had long been frustrated by ABC's lack of color capabilities, for he was convinced that color was the future for television. With NBC far ahead of CBS in this regard, Walt set his sights accordingly and started a very strong push to convince NBC to buy the anthology series. During one of a series of trips to New York to meet with NBC he summed up his feelings when he told two top Disney executives, "Fellas, I want this deal. If necessary I'll stand on my head in Macy's window."

Happily for Walt, he never needed to go on display, for it turned out that NBC was just as interested in him. NBC was owned by RCA, which was looking for a way to promote a new line of color television sets. The network saw a partnership with Walt as a way to draw instant attention to color programming, and thus "The Wonderful World of Color" was added to the NBC schedule as a cornerstone of the 1961-62 season.

Freed of ABC's insistence on westerns, Walt unveiled an ambitious slate of programs for the year. Launched by "An Adventure in Color," an episode designed to extol the virtues of color television and hosted by the newly created character Ludwig von Drake, the year included a mix of theatrical releases, promotional shows about the theme park, animated compilations, and, for the first time, episodes filmed on location in Europe. The extra expense was underwritten in large part by RCA, which was so excited about the new series that it agreed to sponsor half of the costs for the year. RCA's faith in Walt was quickly rewarded when the company reported a record increase in color television sales.

This first season of "The Wonderful World of Color" established a tradition that continues to this day, for this was when the anthology series moved to Sunday night. Interestingly, although the original episodes on ABC had been hugely successful, most people's recollections of the series begin with the NBC years. That's not really very surprising, however, when one considers that the series aired in that timeslot for an unequaled 20-year run!

Happy with the success of the series, NBC followed ABC's example and asked Walt to produce additional series. For a time it looked as though he might, for he started work on two new projects. "Jimmy Dale, Alias the Grey Seal" would have featured a private eye who was a master of disguise, but the network felt the concept was too far afield from what the public expected of Disney and the project was dropped. The second series was to have been based on John Steinbeck's book "Travels with Charlie," which featured a man and his dog who traveled and became involved with the people they met. Disney executive Donn Tatum recalled, "NBC, of course, its hair was standing on end at the thought of putting Steinbeck and Disney together. And they actively promoted it and Walt and Steinbeck did have a discussion. It was very cursory. I think it became apparent to both of them that it wasn't going to work, and that was the end of it."

Afterwards, Walt turned a deaf ear to future inquiries from the networks and concentrated instead on "The Wonderful World of Color." He continued to use the same mix of programming that had proven so successful in the first year, and as time passed, the series received early renewal from NBC for future seasons. This unprecedented expression of support enabled Walt to plan his seasons well in advance, and to produce a greater number of episodes on location.

This advance planning had an unexpected benefit, for when Walt died on December 15, 1966, he had already approved the majority of the shows for the next several seasons. Thus, his input would still be felt for years to come. However, his introductions would be sorely missed, and without Walt to host each week, the series lost a great deal of its luster. As the years went on, the show turned more and more to older theatrical product, and audiences tuned in more out of habit than out of excitement.

Happily for all, Disney Channel has provided a chance to turn back the clock to the glory days of Walt's years as a television innovator. "The Mickey Mouse Club" was the first program aired on the Channel, and most of the anthology episodes have been screened over the years. Thus, although it has been more than 30 years since Walt last hosted an episode, his position as a leader in television remains assured for all time.


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