It was 50 years ago today that Walt Disney died, leaving behind a legacy that has touched lives and livelihoods of millions around the world.
On the day of his death, Thom Barley, a reporter from the then-Santa Ana Register, visited Disneyland to get reaction:
Carol Paul, 21, trying hard to maintain her composure as she welcomed visitors to a Frontierland saloon. “He was a marvelous man, a good and kind man,” Paul, of Anaheim, said. “We were all on a first-name basis with him and he wouldn’t have it any other way. This has been the biggest shock of my life and I have an idea that I haven’t really accepted the news yet.”
“He loved what he did, when you look back and see how one thing led to another and another and throughout, his insistence that things were done as well as he possibly could,” said Diane Disney Miller, his daughter in a 2011 interview with the Orange County Register.
Disney was a pioneer in the world of film in these ways:
– By making animation more than just simple figures moving on a screen. He wanted better animation, lifelike at times.
– Adding sound to cartoons, making them even more watchable.
– Making cartoons in color, even though expensive. Disney felt it would add value to his growing empire.
– Creating animated feature films, another first, with the premiere and huge success of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
His animated films led to another industry: merchandise, toys and more tied to movies. It was something other movie studios didn’t do at the time.
How many people had a fluffy toy of a Disney character when they were young? How many people own Mickey Mouse ears? Now it’s standard for a movie or TV show to look for ways to cash in on unique merchandise.
Later, Disney turned his attention to making live-action films. But those weren’t always just live-action dramas or comedies.
Walt Disney liked to do things differently, and it showed in the Academy Award-winning “Mary Poppins,” which had animated penguins dancing with the character of Burt, played by Dick Van Dyke.
Now films of all kinds combine live action, animation and special effects, much of it based on the groundbreaking technology used in that film.
Disney was the first Hollywood producer to embrace television, with one of the first mini-series, which was based on the life of Davy Crockett. It was also an innovative way to finance his next dream.
As a frustrated father, he decided to create a new type of entertainment – a theme park known as Disneyland. The empire bearing his name that has since grown to 12 theme parks around the world.
But Disney didn’t just sit on his laurels when Disneyland became a success, he kept pushing for bigger, more – such as using new technology to create attractions with moving human and animal figures, the culmination of which was “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
At the end, on Dec. 15, 1966, he was still dreaming bigger dreams, one that re-imagined how people live and work at a place he called EPCOT, which stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Elements of that idea were used in the creation of Epcot at Walt Disney World in 1982, and in the creation of the town of “Celebration” there, too.
After Walt Disney died, his brother Roy, who was going to retire, stayed on to get Walt Disney World built and opened. He passed away less than three months after it opened Oct. 1, 1971.
But even after Walt Disney’s death, his legacy lives on and keeps giving to the film, theme park and other pursuits. He funded Cal Arts, a school to train future artists and storytellers. Its graduates – which include John Lasseter and Tim Burton, among others – are some of the leading filmmakers of today.
The company he started to design Disneyland – WED Enterprises, now known as Walt Disney Imagineering, had instilled in its culture by Disney the drive to use technology in new ways in its theme parks, which is evidenced by the new rides and shows its Imagineers still create. From that company, an industry of designers and engineers was spawned that build even more theme parks for companies like Universal Studios and new ways to design museums around the world.
Disney impacted music, not just with his use of memorable music and songs in movies, television and at the theme parks, but by having his estate lay the financial foundation for the Walt Disney Concert Hall, where renowned musicians and singers now play in Los Angeles.
But Walt Disney also spread his optimism and enthusiasm to always do well – whether in telling stories on film or television, designing new shows and theme parks, or by how we could treasure the past even while always looking forward to a brighter tomorrow.
Reporter Mark Eades worked for the Walt Disney Company for 21 years from 1972 to 1993.
Contact the writer: meades@scng.com or follow on twitter @markaeades
