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Lloyd Shearer, who wrote for "Parade Magazine," went to interview
Walt at the Studio and brought his daughter along. To keep the child
busy, while the interview was going on, Walt arranged to have somebody
take her on a tour of the back lot.
Along the way, she ran across a pair of little Sardinian donkeys
that Walt had discovered while touring Europe. Walt had decided
they were the cutest things he ever saw and brought them back for
Disneyland. So the little girl was petting a donkey when one of
them promptly bit her on the hand and drew blood. She was raced
to first aid, bandaged up, and taken to see Walt.
She was still in tears and Walt said, "Oh, honey. Those are
the sweetest little animals you ever saw. I can't believe they'd
hurt you. Now, come on, let's go down and see them together."
So he took her back and said, "See honey
" and the
donkey promptly bit him on the hand. Before anybody could blink,
the donkeys were gone. I mean they were gone right away
Charlie Ridgway
Theme park publicist
We were plugging "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and I said, "Walt,
we can't take a whole hour to plug the picture!"
He said, "Yeah, we can." And we did. In the end, he was
right. By then, I was thinking, "Walt's in touch with something
from outer space!"
Bill Walsh
Producer
During "Poppins," I got some kind of a viral infection and was in
bed and off work. I remember Walt coming to the house on Coldwater
Canyon to see if I was okay. In retrospect, I didn't really appreciate
it. I mean, it was great to see him, but I didn't know what a sacrifice
it was for him to take the effort to come and say "hello."
I expected it of him because I loved him so much.
Karen Dotrice
Disney child star
Once he gave me a book about ants. I thought, "My
heavens, that's the oddest thing
" I didn't care two figs
about ants and gave it away. Then a few years later he called and
asked if he could borrow the book.
Dorothy Puder
Niece
Sometimes I think Walt's greatest achievement was
getting us [artists] all to work together without killing each other.
Marc Davis
Animator
My brother Bob and I were writing "The Ugly Bug
Ball" song for "Summer Magic" and Walt didn't like the world
"ugly." He didn't think anybody was ugly
Richard Sherman
Songwriter
For "Nikki, Wild Dog of the North," there was a scene
where the dog was trying to survive in the Arctic wilderness and
having a heck of a time of it. I wrote the narration and recorded
it very seriously, as a survival problem.
Walt said, "Hib, that's depressing. An animal
trying to survive doesn't have to be a great tragedy. The guy misses
everything he goes after. He misses the rabbit. He tries to take
on an elk that charges him. Finally, he winds up chasing a mouse
that escapes in the snow. It's pretty funny, so tell it in a lighter
vein."
Winston Hibler
Producer
Before they really started clearing the orange groves,
one morning, Walt asked me to come down to the [Disneyland] site.
Walt drove. I had been brooding over something and now I had Walt
alone, so I asked him, "Walt, I've been doing some renderings
of the two restaurants on the Hub [called Red Wagon and Pavilion]
for two weeks. I don't have anything good and I'm feeling guilty.
What should I do?"
Walt's reply, "Well, Herb, I'll tell you. I've
been broke four times in my life and once more is not going to hurt."
What he meant was - go ahead - play! This was the basic heart and
mind of the man.
Herb Ryman
Artist
We went down to Palm Springs to stay with Walt and
Lilly at Smoke Tree. I had heard Americans loved gadgets and as
I walked into their home, I remember Walt being so proud of a lever
on the side of his bed, which would raise the mattress when he wanted
to read.
Pauline Annakin
Artist
Walt was always experimenting and never for commercial
reasons
Frank Thomas
Animator
Walt had a habit of talking about the same project
or idea with several people so he could compare their responses
and round out the concept. One day he stopped by my office to talk
about the title sequence for "Zorro." I suggested we enliven the "Z"
with animated fire and use a sound effect, "whit-whit-whit,"
the sound of a narrow sword whipping through the air for each stroke
forming the "Z." Walt thought this was a great idea and
decided to have a pick-up shot with Guys Williams wielding the sword
as a test.
I wandered back to the sound stage where Guy was acting
the title sequence, but he wasn't doing what I'd expected. He was
supposed to make a large "Z" movement with his sword and
we'd add that "whit" sound effect later. Instead, he kept
making a little "z" and saying "ha-ha-ha" with
each jab of the sword, which lacked drama.
"That's all wrong!" I said. Immediately,
the director stopped the scene and said, "Just what's wrong?"
I explained and he called the script girl and asked me to read the
page aloud. The script called for "dialogue" and was written
"ha-ha-ha." I insisted it was a mistake.
The director, who was enjoying himself by this time,
sent for the scriptwriter, Bill Walsh, who arrived in a cloud of
cigar smoke. I explained to Bill that a sword whipping through the
air doesn't sound like "ha-ha-ha." Anyhow, it was a sound
effect, not dialogue.
Bill said, "Well, Walt's been going from office
to office using a yardstick as a sword and challenging everyone
to a duel - all I've been hearing for the past few days from Walt
is 'ha-ha-ha' as he makes that little 'Z' shape."
Two groups seemed to form over the controversy - the
"ha-ha-ha's" and the "whit-whit-whits." We even
made buttons that we wore around Walt - "ha-ha-ha" and
"whit-whit-whit" buttons.
Walt looked at my "whit-whit-whit" button
and said, "I never said 'ha-ha-ha!'"
John Hench
Artist
Walt outlined what he wanted in a Mickey Mouse short. He played
all the parts himself. He described the mouse and did all the posing.
There was no doubt in my mind what he wanted. All I had to do was
go back to the board and animate what I had just seen.
Walt saw the scene and was very upset with me. "You've
got the tail all wrong. Look, Mickey's mad all over. His tail is
tense, not a limp thing hanging there. What's the matter, Jack?
Didn't we talk this over?"
Wilfred Jackson
Animator
There was a beanery on Hyperion Boulevard where a
group of animators lunched regularly. Walt would eat with us frequently
and chit-chat.
One time we were all having wedges of watermelon.
Walt pointed out that each one of us attacked the wedge in a different
way from holding it directly to the mouth and chawing away to a
more refined variation with knife and fork. He said we revealed
our characters in these small actions.
Izzy Klein
Artist
He took his failures in stride. He wasn't proud of
them, but he didn't brood about them. He just kept trying to do
better.
Diane Disney Miller
Daughter
Walt complained that he was often taken too literally.
"Don't do everything I say," he'd tell me. But in a conference
or a sweat box, he'd make a passing remark about something and I'd
forget about it. Later, when we'd look at the material in a sweat
box, he'd complain, "Why wasn't that in? We discussed it, didn't
we?"
The big part of my job was to decide when Walt meant
it and when he didn't mean it. He was always thinking ahead and
sometimes it was hard to get him pinned down to the present.
Wilfred Jackson
Animator
He was so full of ideas that there wasn't a lot of
room for conversation. So if he asked your opinion, you gave it.
A shorthand answer was best. I learned to get to the point with
him very quickly and the quickest point you could usually make was
by drawing. When we were working on the idea of "Lady and the Tramp,"
Walt could pick out such great possibilities from the least sketch.
Joe Grant
Story artist
Walt had been up late the night before and was pretty
grouchy when he came into a story meeting. He apparently wasn't
listening to the presentation and when it was all over, whoever
it was that was presenting was very disenchanted and worried. Walt
looked at him and said, "Don't worry
it's me. I'm the
one who has to worry. I've got to stay up all night thinking about
things for you guys to do."
T. Hee
Animator
He'd raise his voice, but he'd do that with everybody.
He was just keeping people on their toes, that's all. You never
felt it was personal with him. It was strictly business and besides,
he was usually right about what he was raising hell about.
Norman "Stormy" Palmer
Film editor
What impressed me about Walt was he was never interested
in what anybody had done before. He was only interested in what
they were going to do. Walt was always willing to give young people,
and anybody with ideas, an opportunity.
Marty Sklar
Imagineering executive
On Fridays, the executives would typically start their
weekends early, usually leaving after lunch. Walt would stay until
the end of the work day because to him, every day was the same.
He'd ask me to get so-and-so on the line.
So I'd call that office and say, "Walt, they've
left for the day." He'd ask me to try another executive.
"They've left too, Walt." We'd keep striking
out and he'd say, "That's all right. They're working all the
time. Creative people work all the time." He never got angry
with them.
Lucille Martin
Walt's secretary
When it was necessary to cut down expenses to get
a picture out, Walt would go for several weeks without taking a
paycheck. He was very erratic about paying himself.
Frank Thomas
Animator
Walt did not have "yes" men hanging around.
He liked what he called "enthusiasm." He, however, certainly
preferred men who would not argue with him once he made up his mind
what he wanted.
Peter Ellenshaw
Special effects artist
Anything Walt got enthused about, everyone had to
do it. Once, he had a problem with being too nervous or something
and his doctor told him to drink a can of sauerkraut juice every
morning. So Walt would say, "We're all in the same boat, you
guys! Everybody's got to drink sauerkraut juice in the morning!"
If you didn't, he'd look at you like you're the guy who won't drink
the sauerkraut juice!
Frank Thomas
Animator
He could be surprisingly rough. He had a muleskinner's
vocabulary and he used it with verve and originality. But always
under circumstances that were socially acceptable.
Jack Spiers
Writer
When I was designing and building the ship Columbia,
I was about to tell Walt that in the old days they put a coin under
the mast of the ship for good luck. I'd already procured a silver
dollar when Walt said, "Have you got a coin to put under the
mast? We want this to be a lucky ship!" I hadn't told him about
this. There wasn't anything he didn't know.
Joe Fowler
Disneyland executive
You couldn't be in awe of him because he was down
to earth. In fact, when he returned from a trip to Atlanta, he rolled
up his pant legs and showed us his chigger bites. He had good ankles,
very good ankles, but that was how informal he was.
Harriet Burns
Artist
Walt wasn't a Congregationalist; he wasn't a Presbyterian;
he wasn't a Catholic in church membership, but there was a spirituality
that emanated from his life. Walt acted with faith and by spirit.
He wasn't perfect, but who is? I think his spiritual qualities shine
in everything he did. Walt had a good moral compass and held the
same regard for everybody who named the name of God. Let's just
say, Walt didn't "talk the talk," but he sure "walked
the walk."
Rev. Glenn D. Puder, D.D.
Nephew
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