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."

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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