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Page 8 of 25 Early Exploits: Laugh-O-grams

Walt at Kansas City Film Ad

At Kansas City Film Ad, Walt was 
introduced to the inner workings of 
animation for the first time

Around Christmas, with business slacking off, Louis Pesmen laid Walt off, and he went to work for the post office for a while. Shortly thereafter, Ubbe and Walt got together. Ubbe, too, had been laid off. Unlike Walt, he was supporting his mother and had to start making money -- quickly. When Walt suggested they go into business together, Ubbe jumped at the chance. They called the firm Iwwerks-Disney, because the other way around it sounded like an eyeglass store. The business was never terribly successful, and when Walt had a chance to leave for a job with Kansas City Slide Company (soon renamed Kansas City Film Ad Company) he did so. Ubbe joined him there weeks later.
       It was at Kansas City Film Ad that Walt got his indoctrination in early cartoon making. He learned still more with a borrowed camera at home, and soon enough had begun his first real cartoon studio, Laugh-O-grams. His home life while he was at Kansas City Film Ad was -- to put it mildly -- crowded. In the summer of 1920, after O'Zell's bankruptcy, Flora, Elias and Ruth moved back to their Kansas City house. Roy had come back after the war was over. Herbert and Louise couldn't afford their own home on the pay he got as a mail carrier in those days. So, along with little Dorothy, they shared the house as well. Never a big house to begin with, eight people was too many. Only brother Ray was now away from home -- traveling and working in Canada. 
But despite the cramped conditions, it was a happy home. "There was always a lot of kidding going on," said Ruth, who  carried memories of this period with her for the rest of her life. "I remember the first date I had," she said. "I had the phonograph going. Then when the doorbell rang, my three brothers were all in the room, and suddenly they went creeping out of there with grins on their faces. After a bit Walt came in and sat down. He said, 'I'd like to see what kind of fella my sister is going out with.'" Working on his career, and surrounded by family, it must have come as a shock to Walt when both seemed to fall apart. In 1921, Herbert moved to Portland Oregon, with Louise and Dorothy, for a new post office job. Then, doctors found that Roy had tuberculosis. "He lost so much weight you wouldn't know him," said Ruth. "Everyone was very alarmed. It was very hard to cure it at that time." Roy was sent to a government hospital in Arizona to recover. As if that wasn't enough, Flora and Elias decided that they would join Herbert in Oregon. After all, this was where their only married child and granddaughter lived. They packed their bags and brought young Ruth with them to Portland.
The Young Entrepreneurs

The Young Entrepreneurs:
Ub, Walt and fellow animator Fred Harman

Laugh-O-grams Studio

The Laugh-O-grams Studio in
Kansas City

Said Ruth, "When Walt took us to the train. . .I never knew Walt's emotions much, but he suddenly couldn't keep his face straight. He suddenly turned and left. He was upset. Very upset. He realized, I know, that he was going to be alone then." Walt rented a small room, and threw himself into his work. But though Laugh-O-grams was an incredible learning experience, it was never a money-maker. After a while Walt couldn't pay himself; so he moved into his office. He slept on a bunch of old canvas on the floor, and ate at the coffee shop downstairs, until finally the shop's generous owner cut off his credit. Then, he was reduced to eating beans from a can, and leftover bread..
Typically, Walt didn't complain to his family. Also typically, Roy came to the rescue. When he hadn't heard from his younger brother for a while, he figured he had troubles. "Kid, I haven't heard from you, but I just have a suspicion that you could use a little money," he wrote. "I am enclosing a check. Fill it out for any amount up to thirty dollars." Naturally, Walt took $30. Though there were some successful moments at Laugh-O-grams, even Walt soon had to give up.  So, in July 1923 he sold his movie camera. Bearing a frayed cardboard suitcase and a print of an unfinished film called Alice's Wonderland, he headed for California. "I was just free and happy," he said. "I was 21 years old going on 22."
Walt in Kansas City's Swope Park

Walt in Kansas City's Swope Park

 
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