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Magic MirrorThe Mickey Mouse Club

Other movie producers regarded television as a threat to their own continued success. Walt saw things differently. His first small-screen effort was "One Hour in Wonderland" which aired on Christmas Day in 1950. It wasn't much more than an elongated commercial for his animated feature "Alice in Wonderland." But it was a big hit and proved to Walt that television could be used to help his film business. He was the host of that program and a similar one the next year. Soon, when he was looking for ways to fund his Disneyland theme park, Walt turned to television in a grand fashion, with the Disneyland television series that began on ABC on October 27, 1954. He was still uncertain of himself as master of ceremonies when he began work on the show. Finally, he decided to cast doubts away and do the job. "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." Gimmick or not, it certainly worked. Walt's comfortable presence drew viewers into the show every week.

The Wonderful World of Disney Color

The success of the first show led ABC to request that Walt create another show for them. That was the "Mickey Mouse Club," which first aired on October 3, 1955. A large part of its enormous success was Walt's philosophy: "I won't play down to children, and I won't patronize them." Of course the heart of the show was entertainment -- millions of American children looked forward to daily visits with Annette, Cubby, Sharon, Tommy, and their adult leaders, Jimmy Dodd and Roy Williams. But Walt had other uses for the show as well: "It is our intention to make these shows instructive and educational as well as entertaining," he said. "They are planned to stimulate the minds of children." Soon after the "Mickey Mouse Club" began, Walt announced that "Zorro" would be his next series. It, too, quickly drew a huge audience. As the '50s came a close, Walt's relationship with ABC soured. During this time, both the "Mickey Moue Club" and "Zorro" were canceled. Walt brought his weekly series to NBC -- a move that permitted him to introduce color when "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" was added to the NBC schedule in the 1961-1962 season.

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