by Neal Gabler
“numerous delays and backsets.” Walt to Paul H. Cromelin, June 18, 1923, ibid.
“We twice had to move…” Quoted in Michael Harris, “Original Disney Cartoon Gang Remembers Laugh-O-Grams” [no source], May 25, 1978, Laugh-O-Gram Film Co., A2378, WDA.
“We didn’t ever have three square meals…” Ibid.
Forest Inn Caf. Nadine Missakian Note, Missakian; Walt Disney interview by Martin, Reels 6 & 7.
“When my credit ran out…” Walt Disney interview by Martin, Disc 5, CD.
Mrs. Gertrude McBride. Gertrude McBride to Walt, Mar. 24, 1932, M, D.V.’s letters, 1930-1933 File, Walt Disney Corr., 1930-1934, J-O, A1504, WDA.
Moving into the office. Walt Disney interview by Martin, Disc 5, CD; Jack Kloepper, transcription of tape.
Sure he had tuberculosis. Walt Disney interview by Martin, Disc 6, CD.
Kansas City Post newsreel. Lowell Lawrance, “Mickey Mouse—Inspiration from Mouse in K.C. Studio.”
Uncle Robert’s advice. Walt Disney interview by Martin, Disc 6, CD.
“get out of there.” Quoted in Thomas, Building a Company.
“[A]t no time did anybody enter a claim…” Nadine Missakian, Notes.
“gotten mired down with crooks.” Roy Disney interview by Hubler, June 18, 1968, RHC, Box 14, Folder 52.
“Our ideas were great…” Quoted in “The Mouse That Won a Nation,” Kansas City Times, Nov. 11, 1978.
“I never once heard Walt…” Kloepper, transcription of tape.
“Most people filing for bankruptcy…” Quoted in “The Mouse That Won a Nation.”
“I have no recollection…” Walt Disney interview by Martin, Reel 4.
“crushed and heartbroken.” Walt Disney, Autobiography, 1939, 3rd installment.
Inured to failure. Walt Disney interview by Martin, Disc 6, CD.
“stand there with tears…” Ibid.
Martha. Ibid., Reels 6 & 7.
Baby pictures. Walt Disney, Autobiography, 1934; Walt Disney interview by Martin, Disc 6, CD; Garrett D. Byrnes, “Looking at Hollywood,” Evening Bulletin, Dec. 27, 1935, Mickey #1, M-16, 3182, WDA.
Gave belongings to Harmans. Walt to Jerry Raggos, Mar. 4, 1935, Misc. File, WDA.
Laugh-O-Gram equipment. In the Matter of Laugh-O-Gram Films.
The other creditors. Miller, Story of Disney.
Dinner with Edna Francis. Thomas, Building a Company.
Meals for the train and clothes. William Rast to Donn Tatum, Sept. 18, 1979, William Rast Folder, Disney Family: Genealogy, Etc., A2382, WDA.
Suitcase and shoes. Walt Disney interview by Martin, Disc 6, CD.
“I took Walt Disney…” William Rast to Walt, Jan. 9, 1959, Awards Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1959, A-Ca, A1573, WDA.
Filming his departure. J. B. Kaufman, “Rudy Ising,” in Walt’s People, ed. Didier Ghez (Xlibris, 2005).
“what it meant to shift for myself…” Walt to Floyd C. Shoemaker (secretary of the State Historical Society of Missouri), May 4, 1945, S Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1945-1946, R-Z, A1536, WDA.
“It was a big day…” Walt Disney interview by Martin, Reels 6 & 7.
“as if he were lit up inside…” Miller, Story of Disney.
THREE || Wonderland
“most flourishing factory…” Alistair Cooke, Alistair Cooke’s America (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1973).
“always wanted the best way.” Lillian Disney quoted in Amy Boothe Green and Howard E. Green, Remembering Walt: Favorite Memories of Walt Disney (New York: Hyperion, 1999).
“He looked like the devil.” Roy Disney quoted in Richard Hubler, Walt Disney, unpub. ms., RHC.
He was not hopeful. Walt Disney, interview by Tony Thomas, Jan. 1959 (excerpt), WDA.
“I had put my drawing board away.” Quoted in “The World of Walt Disney,” Newsweek, Dec. 31, 1962.
“one of the big thrills…” Walt Disney, interview by Pete Martin, Reels 6 & 7, A2361, WDA.
Toured Vitagraph. Alice Disney Allen, interview by David Smith, Oct. 5, 1972, Allen, Alice Disney, Folder, WDA.
Visiting Paramount. Walt Disney interview by Martin, Disc 6, CD.
“Tomorrow was always going to be…” Roy Disney, interview by Richard Hubler, Jun. 18, 1968, RHC, Box 14, Folder 51.
Convince someone to hire him. “The Ups and Downs of Walt Disney,” Film Daily, Oct. 4, 1966.
Approaching producers for advice. Walt Disney, “The Best Advice I Ever Had,” Walt Disney Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1962, Committees-H (Misc.), A1591, WDA. Walt had talked to Bryan Foy of the Seven Little Foys, who told him “you’re trying to be too original. Don’t be afraid to try a gag just because it has been used before.”
Sending print to Alicoate. Roy Disney, interview by Richard Hubler, Nov. 17, 1967, WDA; Diane Disney Miller, as told to Pete Martin, “The Coming of the Mouse,” Saturday Evening Post, Dec. 1, 1956.
“Mr. George’s Wife.” Richard G. Hubler, Walt Disney, unpub. ms., RHC.
“Cameras affected him…” Diane Disney Miller, as told to Pete Martin, The Story of Walt Disney (New York: Holt, 1956).
Secondhand motor. Walt Disney, “Growing Pains,” American Cinematographer, Mar. 1941.
“special little joke reel…” Walt Disney, Autobiography, 1934, WDA.
Animating a sample for Pantages. Garrett D. Byrnes, “Looking at Hollywood,” Evening Bulletin, Dec. 27, 1935, Mickey #1, M-16, 3182, WDA.
Margaret Winkler’s temperament. William Mintz, interview by author.
Signing Felix the Cat. John Canemaker, Felix: The Twisted Tale of the World’s Most Popular Cat (1991; repr., New York: DaCapo Press, 1996).
“I think the industry is full…” Exhibitor’s Herald, Dec. 30, 1922.
Dispute with Sullivan. Canemaker, Felix.
“very pleased.” Margaret Winkler to Walt, May 16, 1923, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
“[i]f you can spare…” Winkler to Walt, Sept. 7, 1923, ibid.
“BELIEVE SERIES CAN BE PUT OVER” Winkler to Walt, Oct. 15, 1923, ibid.
Contracts. Oct. 16, 1923, ibid.
Photographs of Alice. Winkler to Walt, Oct. 16, 1923, ibid.
“has done very well.” Harry Warner to Walt, Oct. 23, 1923, ibid.
Alice’s Day at the Sea. Walt to Winkler, Oct. 24, 1923, ibid.
“I see no reason…” Winkler to Walt, Oct. 30, 1923, ibid.
Awakening Roy in Sawtelle. Roy Disney, interview by Richard Hubler, Jun. 18, 1968, RHC.
Letter to Virginia Davis’s mother. Walt to Mrs. T. J. Davis, Oct. 16, 1923, Alice Comedies, Oswald Box, A2357, WDA.
Virginia’s summer trip to Hollywood. Mrs. T. J. Davis to Walt, Aug. 6, 1923, Davis, Virginia, Folder, Laugh-O-Gram Film Co., A2378, WDA.
Virginia Davis terms. Walt to Mrs. T. J. Davis, Oct. 20, 1923, ibid.
The Davises deciding for California. “The Virginia Davis Interview,” Hogan’s Alley, no. 2 (Summer 1995).
Roy was struck. Hubler, Disney.
Uncle Robert’s courtship. Ruth Disney, interview by David Smith, Nov. 4, 1974, WDA.
“He demanded a lot of respect…” Miller, Story of Disney.
Debt to Ray. Ibid..
Uncle Robert’s loans. Studio Accounting Books, 1923-1930, A2384, WDA.
Loans. Ibid.
“I was just helping him…” Roy Disney interview by Hubler, Nov. 17, 1967.
Taken advantage of. Roy Disney interview by Hubler, Jun. 18, 1968.
“love of Walt.” Lawrence Edward Watkin, Walt Disney, unpub. ms., WDA.
Moving out of Uncle Robert’s. Louis Sobol, “Voice of Broadway,” New York Journal-American, Feb. 5, 1938.
Renting 4651 Kingswell. Check Stub no. 1, Studio Accounting Books, 1923-1930, A2384, WDA.
Single take. Virginia Davis quoted in Katherine Greene and Richard Greene, Inside the Dream: The Personal Story of Walt Disney (New York: Roundtable Press, 2001).
“It was very informal.” “Virginia Davis Interview.”
Police
man in Griffith Park. Walt Disney, speech at Milestone Awards Banquet, Producers Guild, Feb. 17, 1957, Screen Producers Guild Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1959, P-Sm, A1578, WDA.
Making Alices. Luncheon Meeting on Production F-1, Snow White, Feb. 18, 1937, Story Meetings, Feb.-Mar. 1937 Folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
Animating by himself. Disney, Autobiography, 1934.
“satisfactory.” Margaret Winker to Walt, Dec. 26, 1923, Winkler Film Corp. folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
“inject as much humor…” Winkler to Walt, Jan. 9, 1924, ibid.
Alice Hunting in Africa. Walt to Winkler, Jan. 21, 1924; Winkler to Walt, Jan. 31, 1924, ibid.
Hiring. See Ledger, 1923-1924, Studio Accounting Books, 1923-1930, A2384, WDA. It is difficult to determine exactly how many employees Disney Bros. had in these early months because some were doing only daywork and were not fully employed.
“best you have turned out.” Winkler to Walt, Mar. 4, 1924, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
“little different…” Walt to Winkler, Feb. 26, 1924, ibid.
“if none of the future ones…” Tel. Winkler to Walt, Apr. 7, 1924, ibid.
Winkler visiting Disney Bros. Walt to Ubbe Iwwerks, Jun. 10, 1924, ibid.
“Boy, you will never regret it…” Walt to Iwwerks, Jun. 1, 1924, ibid.
Iwwerks’s trip. Walt to Dr. Thomas B. McCrum, Aug. 4, 1924, ibid.
“Where two words would barely suffice…” Shamus Culhane, Talking Animals and Other People (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986).
“I never made a drawing…” Clipping, Mobile Press Register, Me-Mz Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1957, E-O, A1567, WDA.
Emphasis on animation. Walt to Winkler, Aug. 29, 1924, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA; also Michael Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).
“girl stand out…” Walt to Winkler, Aug. 29, 1924, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
“Walt’s concept of the photography…” Culhane, Talking Animals.
Driving to Hill Street Theater. Hubler, Disney.
“I was ambitious…” Disney, “Growing Pains.”
“for a twenty dollar joke…” Walt quoted in Miller, Story of Disney.
“Gags and Situations.” Alice in the Wooly West, Alice Comedies Folder, Oswald Box, A2357, WDA.
Irritating Sullivan. Russell Merritt and J. B. Kaufman, Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993).
Copyright problems. Canemaker, Felix.
Charles Mintz. William Mintz, interview by author; Friz Freleng, Reflections of Friz Freleng, unpub. ms., 1969, Special Collections, Young Research Library, UCLA; NYT, Dec. 31, 1939.
“a grim-faced man…” Culhane, Talking Animals.
Police badges. Mintz interview.
“very tight place.” Walt to Mintz, Aug. 15, 1924, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
Promissory note. Ledger 1924-1927, Studio Accounting Books, 1923-1930, A2384, WDA.
“We need money.” Walt to Winkler, Aug. 29, 1924; Mintz to Walt, Oct. 6, 1924, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
Salary. Ledger 1924-1927, Studio Accounting Books, 1923-1930, WDA.
“while things are not 100% rosy…” George Winkler to Walt, Dec. 8, 1924, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
Contract terms. George Winkler to Walt, Jan. 8, 1925, ibid.
Improvements. Walt to Winkler, Sept. 29, 1924; Walt to Mintz, Dec. 2, 1924, ibid.
“You have’nt…” Walt to Hugh Harman, Feb. 27, 1925, Walt Disney Corr., 1925, Walt Disney Early Corr., A3381, WDA.
“things that can only be learned…” Walt to Rudy Ising, Mar. 30, 1925, ibid.
“Walt wanted to shave it off…” Lillian Disney, interview by Richard Hubler, Apr. 16, 1968, Disney, Lillian, Folder, WDA.
Growing mustache. Ising to Walt, Apr. 8, 1924, Walt Disney Corr., 1925, Walt Disney Early Corr., A3381, WDA.
“Well here I am…” Red Cross Photos, WDA.
“[H]e did have a complex…” Roy Disney interview by Hubler, Jun. 18, 1968.
“[H]e was a little different…” Walt Pfeiffer, interview by Bob Thomas, Apr. 26, 1973, WDA.
“I was normal…” Quoted in “Father Goose,” Time, Dec. 27, 1954.
Dorothy Wendt. John Cowles, Jr., interview by author.
Peterson. David Iwerks, interview by author.
twenty-five years old and had saved $10,000. Miller, Story of Disney.
Roy’s proposal and wedding. Roy Disney interview by Hubler, Feb. 20, 1968; Mrs. Edna Disney, interview by Richard Hubler, Aug. 20, 1968, RHC, Box 14, Folder 52.
Lillian joining Disney Bros. Lillian Disney Truyens, interview by Bob Thomas, Apr. 19, 1973, Disney, Lillian, Folder, WDA; Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
The first time she saw him… Hubler, Disney.
Lillian’s grandfather. An Illustrated History of North Idaho Embracing Nez Perce, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties (Western History Publishing, 1903).
Driving “hack” wagon. Clipping, Disney Family General Folder, Disney Family: Genealogy, Etc., A2383, WDA.
Lapwai. Clara Glasby, “Old Spalding Class Has Just One Left,” Lewiston Morning Tribune, Aug. 18, 1972; Carol Wilson, “Lapwai Became Village 60 Years Ago Today,” Lewiston Morning Tribune, Jan. 30, 1971.
“They never knew if there was…” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
Driving home. Lillian Disney, interviewed by Richard Hubler, RHC, Apr. 16, 1968.
“I began to look at him…” Quoted in Green and Green, Remembering Walt.
Asking Lillian for a date. Lillian Disney interview by Hubler; Bob Thomas, Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire (New York: Hyperion, 1999).
“I didn’t have any other dates…” Hubler, Disney.
“All of a sudden…” Quoted in Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
Tucking in Marjorie. Katherine Greene and Richard Greene, The Man Behind the Magic: The Story of Walt Disney (New York: Viking, 1991).
Dates. Lillian Disney Truyens interview by Thomas; Hubler, Disney.
“He never thought of anything…” Edna Disney, interview by Richard Hubler, Aug. 20, 1968.
“How do you know…” Ibid..
“Walt was a dominating person.” Quoted in Thomas, Building a Company.
“good listener…” Miller, Story of Disney.
Managing the business office. Clipping [n.d.], Alice Comedies Folder, Oswald, A2357, WDA. The clipping reads: “Miss Lillian Bounds is manager of the business office.”
Taking dictation. Thomas, Building a Company.
“It looked like a locomotive headlight…” Miller, Story of Disney.
“Walt didn’t like to be alone.” Lillian Disney interview by Hubler.
Steamer to Seattle. Walt to Carl Stalling, Sept. 16, 1925, Disney, Walt, Corr., 1925, Walt Disney Early Corr., A3381, WDA. Roy said that Walt had driven up in his Moon roadster, but this seems improbable. See Roy Disney interview by Hubler, Feb. 20, 1968.
Walt had taken $150. Ledger, 1924-1927, Studio Accounting Books, 1923-1930, A2384. See Jul. 13, 1925.
Lillian giggling. Greene and Greene, Man Behind the Magic.
Honeymoon. Walt to Carl Stalling, Sept. 16, 1925.
Wedding night. Miller, Story of Disney.
Trade paper reviews. Promotional flyer, Alice Comedies, [1925], Alice Comedies Folder, Oswald, A2357, WDA.
Virginia Davis appearances. Merritt and Kaufman, Walt in Wonderland.
Book tie-in. Walt to George Winkler, Aug. 17, 1925, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
Deposit on studio. David R. Smith, “Disney Before Burbank: The Kingswell and Hyperion Studios,” Funnyworld, no. 20 (Summer 1979).
Disputes with Mintz. Mintz to Walt, Sept. 26, 1925; Walt to Mintz, Oct. 2, 1925; Mintz to Walt, Oct. 6, 1925; Walt to Mintz, Oct. 15, 1925, Disney, Walt, Corr., 1925, Walt Disney Early Corr., A3381, WDA.
Distribution terms. Tel. Mintz to Walt, Nov. 11, 1925, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
“I intend to make your product…” Mintz to Walt, Nov. 24, 1925, Disney, Walt, Corr., 1925, Walt Disney Early Corr.
“all matters regarding making of comedies…” Walt to George Winkler, Jan. 9, 1926, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents.
Mintz rejecting demand. Mintz to George Winkler, Jan. 14, 1926; Tel.: Walt to Mintz, Jan. 17, 1926, ibid.
Davises erupted. Mintz to Mrs. Margaret J. Davis, Oct. 1, 1925, Christie’s brochure, April 18, 1994, Alice Comedies Folder, Oswald, A2357, WDA. See also Jeff and Margaret Davis to Walt, Jan. 7, 1925, Davis, Virginia, Folder, Laugh-O-Gram Film Co., A2378, for an example of tensions between the Davises and Walt.
“Virginia Davis had had something…” Christopher Finch, The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms (1973; repr., New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993).
“Margie was cute…” “Virginia Davis Interview.”
Size of a grocery store. Ben Sharpsteen, interview by Don Peri, Feb. 6, 1974, WDA.
“little green and white structure…” Disney, Autobiography, 1939, 3rd installment.
“One evening when Walt…” Jack Kinney, Walt Disney and Other Animated Characters: An Unauthorized Account of the Early Years at Disney’s (New York: Harmony Books, 1988). The associate to whom Roy told the story was Jack Cutting. Others, however, including Dave Smith, say that Roy told them it was his idea to name the studio after Walt because the public could better identify with a single individual.
“extremely disappointed.” Mintz to Walt, Jan. 28, 1926, Winkler Film Corp. Folder, Early Corporate Documents, WDA.
Walt’s new terms. Tel. Walt to Mintz, Feb. 8, 1926, ibid.
“I want you to understand…” Walt to Mintz, Mar. 1, 1926, ibid.
McCrum and Stalling. Walt to McCrum, Aug. 20, 1924, Walt Disney Corr., 1924, Walt Disney Early Corr., A3381, WDA; Walt to Stalling, Sept. 16, 1925, Disney, Walt Corr., 1925, Walt Disney Early Corr., A3381, WDA.
Subcontracted. Merritt and Kaufman, Walt in Wonderland.
“Walt’s office looks…” Rudy Ising to family, Apr. 13, 1926, quoted in Michael Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons.