Renie began working as a photographer for Disneyland in 1959 and remained for 40 years. He became the chief photographer for the park, and in addition to shooting countless celebrities and dignitaries that would visit Disneyland, such as Emperor Hirohito of Japan, Prime Minister Nehru of India, and a number of US Presidents, Renie also photographed some of the most well-known photos of Walt Disney. He captured all the shows, parades, attractions and special events at Disneyland during his time there. Renie also took some of the most well-known photos of Walt Disney himself. Perhaps his best known photograph is of Walt, walking alone through the castle, an image that has later been dubbed “Footsteps,” and in a fire truck in front of the castle, which turned out to be Walt’s last visit to Disneyland.

AUDIO INDEX

2:06 Charlie Nichols, Disneyland’s first chief photographer; Renie’s start at Disneyland; He began summers only, and then began working full time

4:35 Walt Disney; A story of Walt at the Hills Bros. Coffee shop in Disneyland; “It’s not Mr. Disney, it’s Walt”; Renie first met Walt at the opening of the Pack Mules attraction at Disneyland; Walt’s philosophy on the Disneyland Guest; Everybody in the photography department took pictures as a team, they did not get credit

10:38 Renie watched Walt buy popcorn for the ducks; Renie photographed Walt under the castle, the photo now known as “Footsteps”

13:40 Renie never visited Disneyland before working there; The photography department at Disneyland, which was located above Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln; His first photoshoot was the grand opening of the Disneyland Monorail in 1959

15:40 The camera equipment, flash bulbs and film, and the photographing process; Missing shots

17:48  Some of the people that Renie photographed include Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Buck Owens; James Garner, Johnny Cash

20:38 Renie took over 10,000 photos in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle; Maintenance assignments included photographing pigeon poop on the castle; Photographing inside attractions and the Main Street Electrical Parade; Daily duties, a fish bowl filled with things to photograph; Uses of the photos included advertising, newspapers, magazines, etc.; Photographing fireworks

31:31 Walt Disney’s last photo in Disneyland, Walt and Mickey in the fire truck in front of the castle; Walt told Renie, “If you don’t have the shot in the can, you don’t have it.”

Dave Smith founded the Walt Disney Archives in 1970, and continually developed the system for preserving Disney’s history and making it easily accessible.  Dave was a recognizable face and household name to Disney fans through his personal appearances at fan events, and his appearances on television programs and documentaries. He effectively gave the public access to the Archives through his priceless books, such as the Disney Encyclopedia A-Z, and his “Ask Dave” columns first in print magazines and later online.

As usual, I apologize for the quality as I never intended these to be heard. I originally was just posting text transcriptions of interviews.

AUDIO INDEX
2:57 Enjoying Disney when growing up; Before Disney he was a librarian and an intern at the Library of Congress

5:11 How he ended up working for Disney and forming the Walt Disney Archives; While at UCLA, Dave worked with the Disney Studios to create a Disney bibliography; Took a two-month leave of absence from UCLA to see what was available at Disney for the formation of an Archives

8:22 Dave began working as the Archivist in the 3H wing of the Animation Building; How he gathered materials; The purpose of the Archives and how it has grown; Collecting materials of Disney’s acquisitions; The types of materials the Archives keeps

14:02 The things Dave gets excited about finding; What Dave enjoys about the job; About The Disney Encyclopedia A-Z; How Dave gets the new facts about Disney

18:08 From the beginning, Dave hoped to make a career as the Disney Archivist; How Disney fans have changed since 1970; There was no organized Disney fan base yet; Favorite aspects of his job, meeting some of the Disney Legends; Inspiring others and mentoring those with a big interest in Disney

20:53 Favorite memories of working for Disney; Roy O. Disney hired Dave to compile the Disney genealogy and sent him around the country for it; Dave describes Roy; Roy told Dave that it was Roy’s idea, not Walt’s, to change the Disney Bros. Studio name to Walt Disney Productions

Miriam Nelson was a legendary dancer/choreographer, working on numerous classic movies and television shows. She worked in Hollywood, Las Vegas, and on Broadway, and her work, and even choreographed a number for the Academy Awards. Miriam choreographed various shows for Disneyland over the years, including many of the dances on the televised opening day of Disneyland.

AUDIO INDEX

2:07 Enjoyed working with Ingrid Berman in “The Cactus Flower”; Taught Bette Davis the Can-Can; Worked on Art Linkletter’s Hollywood Talent Scouts; Choreographing “The Jolson Story” and doubling for Evelyn Keyes in the movie

8:08 Miriam was involved in the development of the traveling arena show Disney on Parade

12:17 Choreographing the live televised opening day of Disneyland; Producer Sherman Marks asked Miriam to choreograph a cast of hundreds; Choreographed the Davy Crockett number in Frontierland; Had to run from land to land for the opening; The same dancers were used in the various lands;

15:17 Dancers once got lost backstage during the Disneyland opening day event; Surprised when an unexpected number of kids entered Fantasyland; A small boy dancer was supposed to dance and was nowhere to be found; In Frontierland, Miriam was surprised when the ground was not paved as it was supposed to be

19:41 Miriam choreographed a lot of shows in Tomorrowland in following years; A note from Walt Disney; Directors were very frustrated and threatened to walk out; Was put up in a motel the night before the live broadcast
 

Walt Disney considered Marc Davis, one of his core animation team of “nine old men”!  Not only an animator, Marc designed many  characters such as Cruella De Vil and Tinker Bell, before moving on to WED, now known as Walt Disney Imagineering, where he designed many of the scenes for classic Disneyland attractions such as it’s a small world, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise.

AUDIO INDEX

4:46 After 101 Dalmatians, Marc was working on a concept for a film on Chanticleer, and in a strange meeting was told he couldn’t do that; After Chanticleer Walt asked Marc to work for WED and he started on the Mine Train attraction; Marc added some humor; He placed a fox shaking his head left and right next to a fox nodding his head up and down so they were looking at each other; Marc didn’t like the seat placement in the trains, feeling that people were looking at each other in the attraction rather that at the scenes, it was more important for people to see what was ahead, not what was behind you; Created a scene in the Mine Train which would be an earthquake, rocking the cars, but after some earthquakes he realized it would just scare people, the job wasn’t to scare people, but to entertain people

13:32 Adding humor to the Jungle Cruise including the elephant pool, the African veldt, later added the safari camp that the gorillas took over; Marc designed the trapped safari chased up the pole by the rhino because Walt wanted Marc to do things for the attractions that could be seen by the Disneyland Railroad, the safari was so good Walt wanted it in the ride; Walt was going to see a new elephant scene in the Jungle Cruise, a scene which didn’t work well for long; Tommy Walker was in charge of entertainment at the park and dressed in an elegant suit and played a practical joke on Walt in the elephant scene – Marc never saw Walt laugh like that

18:35 When Alice met Walt Disney at the Tam O’Shanter restaurant, and he told her he was going to hire her; The first job Alice did for Disney was making the costume live action costume for Briar Rose reference for Sleeping Beauty, she later worked on Toby Tyler, and then she was asked by request of Mary Blair to do the costumes for it’s a small world; designed the scenes for the attraction and met with the United Nations

23:28 Walt did not want a storyline in the Haunted Mansion; some artists were working on a storyline about a bride who was stood up at her wedding, but Walt didn’t want that; the appearance of Haunted Mansion exterior and Walt’s decision to keep “everything on the outside of these buildings should look neat and clean.” Bringing humor into Disneyland, and the trapped safari in the Jungle Cruise.

26:03 Marc Davis learned that Walt Disney wanted to do a Pirates of the Caribbean walk-through attraction; Alice Davis talks about creating the costumes for Pirates of the Caribbean; How realistic to be with pirates, and that the truth is that most died of venereal disease than in battles in bawdy houses. No characters were caricatures of Walt Disney, the staff or anybody except one who was a janitor.

34:20 Talking about the last show Marc worked on, America Sings

Tim Conway is not only a Hollywood Legend, but a comic genius. His work ranges from starring in the classic television series’ “McHale’s Navy,” and “The Carol Burnett Show” to playing the voice of Barnacle Boy on the animated series “Spongebob Squarepants.” He also appeared in a number of Disney films including, “The World’s Greatest Athlete,” “The Apple Dumpling Gang,” “The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again,” “Gus,” and “The Shaggy D.A.”

AUDIO INDEX
2:32 Tim’s start in comedy; He was interested in horse racing and wanted to be a jockey; Went to Bowling Green State University; Went into the army; Worked at a radio station and took over for performer Jack Riley, who had been writing promos; Tim got into acting in promotions and then directing television; Directed a morning show with host Ernie Anderson; Rose Marie discovered Tim’s work and brought it to Steve Allen; Tim worked on the Steve Allen show; Was offered the role of Ensign Parker on McHale’s Navy and ultimately took the role; Tim voices the role of Barnacle Boy with Ernest Borgnine of Spongebob Squarepants; Worked with Don Knotts a lot including some Disney movies

9:02 The Carol Burnett Show; Carol didn’t believe in incorporating political or religious humor so it always had wide appeal; Harvey Korman; Tim was a writer on the show and then performed something other than what he wrote

10:56 Working for Disney, starting with “The World’s Greatest Athlete,” and “The Shaggy D.A.”; Working on the Disney backlot; Getting pies in the face

13:20 Tim talks about Don Knotts and some of his comedy heroes; The Steve Allen show; Tim describes himself and reflects on his career

I’m so excited to share this interview with you, despite it’s poor quality. A 1997 conversation with the amazing Marc Davis, one of Walt Disney’s “nine old men”! Walt was so fond of Marc, whose work includes everything from designing characters such as Cruella De Vil and Tinker Bell to designing story and character concepts for such Disneyland attractions as it’s a small world, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise, Marc was a major part of Walt Disney’s success.

AUDIO INDEX

3:11 Marc taught life drawing at Chouinard Art Institute for 17 years; Alice Davis was one of Marc’s students in the class and started going out together

4:33 Started working for Disney on December 2, 1935, due to his knowledge of animals and anatomy; Began working as an assistant animator for Grim Natwick on the character of Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; With his knowledge of animals and anatomy, Marc became part of the story team on Bambi; Moved from studio on Hyperion to a studio on Seward St. in Hollywood; Marc was part of the first creative group to move to the new Burbank Disney Studios; Walt was so intrigued with Marc’s drawings of the Bambi character that Walt said he wants Marc to animate; Story director Perce Pearce would say “Man is in the Forest” to indicate that Walt was coming down the hall

8:47 Marc remembers Walt Disney, “What a tremendous man he was”

10:53 As a treat for the assistant animator, Marc got to animate on Snow White, the scene with Dopey dancing on top of Sneezy

11:46 On Bambi, Marc worked on the design of the characters, Bambi, Thumper and Flower, animated a lot on the film as well; Marc did a photographic study of human babies and put those expressions into young Bambi

12:49 Walt Disney had relied on his foreign revenues from the worldwide distribution of his films, probably more than any other studio, and during World War II, he suddenly was not able to access his money, from England in particular. Walt was asked by the United States government to do films that would help the war effort and Marc worked on some of those and those films helped Disney survive the wartime; Marc worked Alexander P. de Seversky’s Victory Through Air Power, for Disney, despite being overlooked on screen credit; Marc ran in to Seversky at the New York World’s Fair that Disney had attractions in

17:42 Due to the war, Disney could not do full-length feature films so they did short subjects that they would tie together; Cinderella was the first full-length animated feature Disney did after the war; Marc animated the first sequence on Song of the South and also worked on story on it; Disney wasn’t capable of doing a full-length animated film which is why the film was live-action with only some animation; Marc and Alice attended the 30th anniversary of Song of the South After the war Marc worked on some of the films such as Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians; Walt like that Marc could do anything – Alice tells a story of when Walt called Marc a genius

23:52 Marc designed Tinker Bell and animated the close-up scenes with her; Peter Pan was written as a stage play, not a book, and in it, Tinker Bell was only a spot of light so Marc had to develop the character, and some people complained about his version

John “Doc” Anello started working at Disneyland in 1975. After a brief stint filling in for talent booker Sonny Anderson, John became the park’s production manager, ensuring Disney quality at all entertainment venues. He later became the manager of Disneyland entertainment’s education department.  For several years after retiring he would conduct his own big band, “Doc Anello and the Swing Machine” at at Carnation Plaza Gardens in Disneyland.  (See below for more photos and audio index)

AUDIO INDEX

3:07 John had a band before working for Disney; He started working for Disney in 1975 as production manager for entertainment; Took over the All-American College Program from 1976 until 1980; Taught at College of the Desert in Palm Desert from 1980 until 1988; He had a performing group that traveled all over the United States; He started his band again in 1989; Stan Freese was working at Disneyland and hired him in 1991 to play at least once a month at Disneyland; Moved to Florida to help write a book with Ron Logan (who headed Disney live entertainment for the whole company)

4:48 Working on a Disney intern program which would have been similar to “Dancing with the Stars,” but years before that show was created

6:48 Started his band again and played at Disneyland, but first played in a band at the age of 15 in New Jersey; Also had a trio and quartet he performed with outside of Disney; About John’s band, the Doc Anello and the Swing Machine, and some of the band members;

8:27 John was discovered by Disney talent booker Sonny Anderson when he was performing at the Disneyland Hotel with bandleader, Bernie Bernard, who often performed there and Sonny, who was playing the drums; Director of entertainment Bob Jani hired John as a temporary talent booker when Sonny Anderson was ill; Went on leave of absence from where he was teaching to work for Disney; About Bob Jani

11:47 John became in charge of the All American College Program, which original was the All American College Band and the All American Singers and Dancers for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World; From 1977 through 1980 he would travel the country auditioning talent for the program

16:02 John went back to teaching college and leading a group of talented students

Jim Adams and Don Payne entertained thousands of guests at Disneyland and toured the country for Disney in the 1970s.

Together and individually Jim and Don were involved in performing, writing and directing many of Disneyland’s events such as “The Baby Animal Show” at Carnation Plaza Gardens, the “Fun with Music” show at the Fantasyland Theater, “The Great Annual Easter Walking Race” and much more. Jim and Don both also starred in Disneyland’s historic “Golden Horseshoe Revue,” alternating with Disney Legend Wally Boag. (See more photos and audio index below)

AUDIO INDEX

2:56 Jim’s start in entertainment at Disneyland; Began in the Christmas parade; Meeting Wally Boag for the first time; Wally enlisted Jim to perform in the Disneyland Drama Workshop including “Chicken Ranching for Fun and Profit” and “Tail of the West”; Intended for internal performances, “Chicken Ranching” was eventually seen by the public; Jim started performing in the “Golden Horseshoe Revue”

11:10 Jim toured the country promoting Disneyland and Disney’s latest film releases; Did television and radio shows, live shows at malls and hospital visits

13:06 Remembering Disney Legend Fulton Burley; Fulton was always entertaining people, both on and off stage; Fulton even entertained in the bathroom!; Working with Fulton in the “Golden Horseshoe Revue”

23:16 Don’s start at Disneyland; Began in the Christmas Parade, with his first performance on December 15, 1966, the day Walt Disney died; Don remembers snow at Disneyland that night; Don joins the character department and then becomes a performer in the “Golden Horseshoe Revue”

28:34 Jim begins performing the Mountain Man character as the “Golden Horseshoe Revue” pre-show, and Don takes over the Mountain Man pre-show when Jim was in the main show

Kathleen Mitts Micalizzi was the 1993 Disneyland Ambassador to the World. (More photos and audio index below)

Kathleen in the 1993 Tournament of Roses parade

AUDIO INDEX

1:38 How Kathleen came to appear in the Space Mountain safety video

2:49 Kathleen got her start at Disneyland performing in parades and shows including the Main Street Electrical Parade, Party Gras, Main Street Hop and Fantasmic!

5:07 After three attempts, Kathleen was finally chosen as Disneyland Ambassador to the World for 1993. Everything immediately changed for Kathleen as soon as she was selected; A funny memory of her first day as Ambassador

7:32 A lot of traveling was involved, representing Disney throughout the United States; About the Mickey’s Toontown promotional tour, and making television and radio appearances as well as hospital visits for sick children

9:03 The opening of Mickey’s Toontown, dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony

9:34 Traveling to Tokyo Disneyland for their 10^th anniversary with all Disney Ambassadors, and visiting Paris

11:46 Appearing in the Hollywood Christmas Parade and the Tournament of Roses; Receiving gifts as Ambassador

15:53 Summing up her Ambassador year