Working with Disney (22 page)

DP:
One of the things that has always fascinated me about Walt was how he could meet people and judge their talents sometimes better than they could.

LD:
Look at Les Clark. He could draw Mickey Mouse a little bit [in the beginning], and then he developed that super animation on
The Band Concert
that will live forever. Les did such great work! But let's face it, he didn't come out of New York, having worked for [Max] Fleischer or somebody, like some of these guys who later came in. Al Eugster, Jimmy Culhane, Dick Huemer had already established themselves as pillars of animation, But they all had to tighten up their belt and go to art school. Then young guys like Freddy Moore were coming along that they couldn't hold a candle to—Bill Tytla, a truly great pillar of the industry in the contributions he made. You see, it breaks down to many people. I mean, Walt was the guy that said, “Let's do this or let's not do this,” but it had to be done and it took people like Ben Sharpsteen. Ben and I worked together [during] the latter stages of the war when Walt thought he might like to get into doing commercial-type, institutional-type things. So by golly, the studio gets the Firestone Company's
Building a Tire,
and Ben is the producer. Then we worked on another for Autolite Spark Plugs. But then Walt said, “Wait a minute, let's do it our way. Why should we build a storyboard that looks like it'll work and then you take it back and they want something different.” We had to change it; they're spending the money. Walt said, “Let's get out of it.” But Ben had great leadership in
doing all of the True-Life Adventures. All the way across the board. What a man.

DP:
Just to jump back to an earlier comment, when you were working on
The Mickey Mouse Club,
was this after it had already started?

LD:
Yes. There was a fellow that had my job as the associate producer by the name of Hal Adelquist. I was still up in Utah on a picture called
Perri
while that [program] started. That was just a bitch. Can you imagine five days a week? Sure, we used cartoons, and they had a serial and had different units. Hal did a good job—I cannot be critical of him—getting this thing [going] along and pulling all the ends together. I thought the guy was going to go on and on forever with it, which was fine, because, I mean, I had something else that I undoubtedly would have gone on to. Then Walt called us both in, Hal and myself, and told Hal in front of me, “You're no longer on it. Whitey's taking over. We're going to improve it and improve the breed.” Hal had his problems—God, everybody has some problems—but it wasn't long that he was gone. [In an interview with a local television station,] I said in effect [that
The Mickey Mouse Club]
was great while it lasted, but it was complete trivia and nothing significant, I remember saying, was accomplished, except we filled up a hundred hours and then we repeated them.

DP:
Well, I think for my generation, since we grew up with it, it is very nostalgic. When I walked in today, I was thinking that every time I walk by the corner of Mickey Avenue and Dopey Drive, all I see is a photo of Annette standing by the pole from my copy of
The Mickey Mouse Club Annual.
Those are such strong memories.

LD:
For you, it would have stronger memories, but I think that age span is very narrow. I think some of the younger kids couldn't remember, and a year or two older—your older brother probably doesn't have the same attachment that you do today.

DP:
I think it's fun to look back at it. Many people my age had different reactions to Jimmie Dodd. Some liked him and some didn't. I always
bought everything he said. I thought he was great. I especially loved it when he would come out at the end and talk to us. Those always meant a lot.

LD:
Yes. Do something good, and if you can't say something nice, don't say anything. Jimmie wrote most of those or adapted them to the show. Jimmie was a real kind guy. I have to admit, I got embarrassed when he'd say, “Why? Because we
like
you.” But Jimmie was a good tennis player and a likable guy. You didn't know how old he was; [he had] a certain youthfulness. Roy [Williams] was himself, big old Roy. Then there was Bobby Amsberry, who was killed in an automobile accident.

DP:
I don't remember him, but I have read about him.

LD:
You would see him, for instance, on Circus Day. He would be the guy in the opening of the song who would be at the ticket booth selling tickets. Bobby also wrote a lot of the material and some of the songs. He was on the first year all the time, and then we'd see him if we had a Malt Shop hop or something in the Sweet Shop. He was part of our little stock company.

DP:
When I was at Disneyland yesterday, I saw a scene from one of the first
Disneyland
television programs, where Walt is talking about building Disneyland, and you just look at him, and he is so believable. He came across so well.

LD:
I'll tell you, he had that magic. I'd like to think [this interview] might be just a little bit unique, because I didn't come here as an artist or a musician but as a guy that wanted to do something for [Disney].

DP:
That's probably the best quality to have.

LD:
And with the enthusiasm that I told you about in the beginning. That's my ace. Nobody impresses me—Donn Tatum, Card [Walker], or Ron [Miller], because I've met the great man in my lifetime.

DP:
How did you happen to go to work at Disneyland?

JB:
A neighbor of mine had read in the paper where Disneyland was taking part-time workers, and we were both housewives. She said, “Gee, that sounds great.” She had to sort of talk me into it. But we came down and we put our application in. I got the job, and she didn't. And I thought, “Well, I can do it for a couple of months. It's been thirty years!

DP:
Was this prior to the park opening?

JB:
Yes, a week and a half, ten days prior to the park opening.

DP:
Where did you begin working?

JB:
I began working at the Mark Twain [Riverboat].

DP:
Were you working there on opening day?

JB:
Well, on the main opening day, yes. I always think of opening day as the first day, when there wasn't really any ticket selling or anything like that going on. All the rides and everything were free.

DP:
That was for the people who had worked on the park and friends of the studio?

JB:
Well, and the celebrities, too.

DP:
This was the one that was on television?

JB:
Yeah.

DP:
Do you have any particular memories of opening day?

JB:
I always remember that I was out there the night before. It was really a mess, you know. There was paint all over, and tools, and drop cloths. The windows were still covered with paint. Everybody was running around. And there were knives and hammers. The ticket booth for the Mark Twain wasn't even half finished. And we thought, “My gosh! How are they going to be able to open it to the press and all the celebrities and everybody who's going to be here the following day?” So we came back the next morning, and it just sparkled. Everything was clean and beautiful, and it looked just simply great.

DP:
They must have had an army in there during the night.

JB:
They did. They worked all night up until, I guess, eight o'clock the next morning. But they got results. It looked great.

DP:
While working at the park, did you ever have a chance to meet Walt Disney?

JB:
Oh, yes.

DP:
What were your impressions?

JB:
Oh, I thought he was just great because he was such an easy person to talk to. He loved Disneyland a great deal. A couple of times when we were talking to him, I thought, “Here is a man that is one of the most honored men in the world, and you would never know it.” And he really did have this childlike quality about him that came through. And of course, the children, they simply adored him. I mean, he was like the Pied Piper. He always treated them so nicely.

DP:
How have you managed to keep your excitement and retain the Disney spirit over all that time?

JB:
That's a funny question, but it's really been sort of easy for me, because I guess I believed in the place so much. I'm proud of the place in the first place, because it's always had such high standards. Secondly, I've seen so many people come through with such high hopes and such expectancy, and I know that they're going to enjoy it. So I'm happy about that, because I know they're going to like it. And then the next day, they often come to me and they say, “Gee, we had a great time yesterday.” It's wonderful for families to come to, to enjoy together. I'll see a family perhaps with four generations in it, and there aren't that many places where this happens. Just the other day, I had a lady eighty-four years old come out. It's wonderful to see that. You know, we were speaking about Walt Disney a while ago. I saw him one time at the Golden Horseshoe. He was sitting in the box opposite me. And he had seen that show dozens of times. And yet looking at him, you'd have thought it was the first time, because he seemed to enjoy it so much.

DP:
What are you doing currently?

JB:
Right now, I'm working at the hotel monorail. I like that, because I get to talk to people every day from all over the world. On that first day that I was here, when the celebrities and everybody was here, I remember sitting next to Ronald Reagan at Carnation [Plaza] on Main Street. And looking back on that, it's funny to think that here he was going to be a future president of the United States.

DP:
Do you see any key or main ingredient to Disneyland's success over the years?

JB:
I think part of it is the Disney name, but you can't go on your name forever. I think it's sticking to high standards. I really do, because people feel free to leave their children here for the day and know that everything is going to be fine. I think part of it is the high standards.

DP:
Looking back over these thirty years, are there any outstanding memories that come to mind?

JB:
Oh, yes, there are a lot of wonderful outstanding ones, but one of them concerns Walt Disney. I was working down by the Matterhorn, and he was going around all by himself. He'd stop, and he'd look at each on the rides. He'd look it over and look it over from the outside. Then he'd turn, and he'd look at another one and so on and so forth. And it was the next day he went to the hospital. And so I felt that he was just saying good-bye, that he really loved the park.

DP:
How do you feel about the future of Disneyland? I know there are lots of things coming up, the new Star Wars attractions and that kind of thing. Does it feel pretty solid to you?

JB:
Oh, yeah. I just hope that they don't stray too far from Disneyland—you know, what it basically stands for. It's been a wonderful place to work. I love it. I still like people after all these years.

DP:
I understand that when you first worked at Disneyland, you had the privilege of being the Spaceman in Tomorrowland.

JC:
Yes.

DP:
That must have been quite an experience.

JC:
It was.

DP:
Was it pretty hot in that costume?

JC:
Oh, yes. I'd stay in there about twenty-five or thirty minutes, depending on the heat. That thing weighed sixty-six pounds. It was made by Kaiser Aluminum. It was a Kaiser suit. I used to average about thirteen thousand pictures a day with children and adults.

DP:
That's really something! I imagine you were really a celebrity to kids at that time.

JC:
I was. It was quite an achievement for those kids to take a picture with a spaceman. Of course, today it doesn't sound like much.

DP:
I was there in 1956, so I remember what it was like before all the space adventures. How did you happen to go to work for Disneyland?

JC:
Well, I heard that they were taking applications, and I came down here in March of 1955 to put in an application. I was working in Long Beach at the time. I had been working as an assistant manager and head lifeguard of a swimming pool back east. So they called me up and I went down for an interview. After the interview, I accepted their job.