Ruthie Thompson: 110 Years of Disney Magic

Today in general, people don’t live to be 100 years old, and living past the age of 100 is even rarer. One person, however, who used to work for the Disney Studios, turned 110 years old on July 22nd of this year. Her name is Ruth “Ruthie” Thompson, and in today’s blog, I thought we could explore her story.

Ruth Thompson was born on July 22nd, 1910 in Portland, Maine. Her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was only eight years old. The Thompsons moved to a house on Kingswell Avenue. Ironically, their house was just a few houses down from the house of Robert Disney, Walt and Roy’s uncle. Walt and Roy started the original Disney Bros. Studio at their uncle’s house and it wasn’t long before they met Ruth and hired her, along with several other of the neighborhood children to be live-action reference models for one of the “Alice” Comedies, which were a series of cartoons that the Disney brothers produced long before Mickey Mouse ever came into the limelight. She also like to play polo at Dubrock’s Riding Academy, which is also where Walt played polo. 

In the mid-1930’s, when Walt successfully got his studio off the ground, he made the decision of taking on the ultimate project, producing the very first feature-length cartoon movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). He hired Ruthie to be an “Inker,” or “Ink-and-Paint,” artist on the film, the one who puts the finishing touches on every drawing in a cartoon movie. After training as an inker, she also trained in the Paint Department and continued working on feature length films such as Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), and Dumbo (1941). Then she was promoted to the Final Checker position in which she reviewed animation cels before they went into the movie. At the time of WWII, she was promoted again to Animation Checker when she worked on training and educational cartoons for the U.S. Armed Forces starringMickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. One example is the cartoon Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959), which also came out the same year as Sleeping Beauty, both contributions of Thompson.

Ruthie continued working for Disney in the ‘60s and ‘70s, checking and scene planning for Mary Poppins (1964), The Aristocats (1970), and Robin Hood (1973). She also worked on five episodes of the cartoon television series Popeye the Sailor (1960-1963) and the Winnie the Pooh short, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974). The very last film she worked on for Disney was The Rescuers (1977) and she retired from Disney after more than 40 years. However, she also worked on United Artist’s animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings and the Japanese animated film Metamorphoses, both of which were released in 1978. Since her retirement, she has also appeared as an interviewee in documentaries about the early days of the Walt Disney Studios, including the two-part episode about Walt Disney of the PBS series American Experience (2015) and in the web series Not-So Small World just earlier this month.

When Thompson celebrated her milestone birthday on the 22nd, she received a very special celebration at the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) in Calabasas, California, where she lives. The staff decorated the halls with Disney and the Dodgers (her two favorite things), received a Disney-themed cake, and learned from the MPTF that they planned to dedicate one of their post-production facilities in her name. Disney chairman, Bob Iger, gave her a very special birthday wish when he said “You’re an amazingly talented artist, a courageous pioneer and a true Disney legend. All of us at the Walt Disney Company salute you. Keep smiling!” Thompson was also interviewed for the Disney fan club, D23. When asked if there was any wisdom she’d like to share that she’s accumulated throughout the years, she replied “Have fun. Try to do as much as you can for yourself. Remember all the good things in life.” And there is no doubt that her work helped bring many good things in lots of people’s lives.  

Carl Reiner: The Value of Humor

Throughout the history of comedy, there have been those who write it, those who perform it (in movies, television, and stand-up tours), those who produce and direct it, and some who do all of the above. One of the greatest examples of someone who has done all the above is Carl Reiner. For more than 70 years Carl Reiner made the world laugh in every medium of entertainment! He wrote, produced and starred in some of the most endearing television sit-coms and motion pictures ever. He also wrote humorous books and plays, and even lent his voice to some cartoon shows and even narrated some audiobooks.

      Carl Reiner was born on March 20th, 1922 in the Bronx, New York. His parents, Irving and Bessie Reiner, were Jewish Immigrants who had relocated to the Bronx where his father worked as a watchmaker. At the age of 16, he took a job as a sewing machine repairman. While working that job he heard from his older brother, Charles, about a free drama workshop sponsored by the Works Progress Administration and decided to attend. After attending the workshop, he knew his career path. In an interview he did with “Newshour” in 2016 Reiner said “My influences in comedy started because my parents loved comedy. My parents always sought out comedies. The Marx brothers were their favorites. Those people who have a sense of humor get through life more comfortably than those who don’t.”

At 20 years old, Reiner was drafted into the United States Air Force and served in WW2. During his service, he was trained as a French interpreter at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., and while there directed his very first play, which was by Moliere. He achieved the rank of corporal by the end of the war, but was honorably discharged in 1946. In ’48, he made his Broadway debut in the musical revue Inside U.S.A.. Two years later, in ’50, he starred in another revue called Alive and Kicking, also the year he got on NBC’s groundbreaking classic comedy variety series, Your Show of Shows (1950-1954) starring with Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca and Howard Morris. The show was groundbreaking because the entire cast always did one take per sketch, without any retakes whatsoever! In addition to performing on the show, he also wrote sketches for it, though he won the first two Emmys of his career for his performance. The show led to Reiner meeting and befriending Mel Brooks, who worked as a writer on the show. Their friendship led to collaboration on five different comedy albums, the most beloved of all being “The 2000 Year Old Man,” in which Reiner plays an interviewer and Brooks plays a man who witnessed Jesus’s crucifixion.

The success of “Your Show of Shows,” led to NBC continuing with “Caesar’s Hour,” which ran from ’54-’57. Reiner’s time on these shows inspired him to think about writing a new sit-com about his time as a writer/performer on the shows. In 1959, he made his film debut in Happy Anniversary (1959). He also wrote the pilot script for a sit-com entitled Head of the Family, in which he portrayed a fictionalized version of himself, named Rob Petrie, who lives a humorous life as the co-writer of a comedy-variety show and a loving husband and father. Although CBS liked the pilot, they didn’t like him in the role of Rob Petrie, and suggested he find someone else for the role. This led to Reiner collaborating with Sheldon Leonard (producer of The Danny Thomas Show (1953-1964) and The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)) and as co-producers they found Dick Van Dyke, at the time starring in the hit Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie. Hence the show was renamed The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966) and remains a beloved classic today. 

While producing “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” Reiner also had a small part in the epic comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), which also starred Sid Caesar along with nearly every well-known American comedian at that time (i.e. Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Edie Adams). That same year he also wrote the James Garner/Doris Day flick The Thrill of It All (1963). In the later seasons of the show, Reiner hired Garry Marshall as a writer and because of that generosity, Marshall went on to have a career similar to Reiner’s.      

             

Prior to creating “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” Reiner also wrote his very first book, an autobiographical novel entitled Enter Laughing, published in 1958. The novel was readapted for the screen by Columbia Pictures in 1967 and starred Reni Santoni as David Kolowitz, another fictionalized version of Reiner. Columbia also granted Reiner the right to make his directorial debut with the film. The year “Dick Van Dyke,” ended its run on TV, iReiner also starred in the films Don’t Worry, We’ll Think of a Title, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (which also starred Jonathan Winters who appeared in “Mad World,”) and he lent his voice to the Czech-American animated film Alice in Wonderland in Paris. 

He opened the ‘70s directing the film Where’s Poppa (1970) and he reunited with Dick Van Dyke on The New Dick Van Dyke Show which ran on CBS from 1971-1974. He appeared on The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978) in 1974, reunited with Mel Brooks for the television version of The 2000 Year Old Man in 1975, and directed The Jerk (1979), Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982), The Man With Two Brains (1983), and All of Me (1984). All four films starred Steve Martin, and “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” and “Man With Two Brains,” were co-written by Reiner and Martin along with George Gipe. Reiner also appeared in “The Jerk,” and “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.” In 1981, he provided the voice of God in History of the World, Part I which starred and was written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks.

In the ‘90s, he retired from writing shows, but he continued his acting and director career, and he directed Fatal Instinct in 1993 which was a parody of films like Fatal Attraction (1987), Basic Instinct (1992), Chinatown (1974), and Cape Fear (1991). In 1994, he lent his voice to audio books of Aesop’s Fables and Jack and the Beanstalk, and the following year, published a sequel to his first book, Enter Laughing, called Continue Laughing. In the early 2000’s, he accepted the role of con man Saul Bloom in Warner Bros 2001 remake of Ocean’s Eleven starring alongside George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts. He reprised that character for its two sequels, Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). He continued voice acting, lending his voice to live-action/CGI hybrid film Good Boy! (2003) and the Netflix film Duck Duck Goose (2018). He was thrilled beyond all belief when he was invited by Disney, along with other comedy legends, Mel Brooks, Betty White, and Carol Burnett to all do cameo voice-overs in Toy Story 4 (2019) in which they all voice “toy” fictionalized versions of themselves, Carl Reinerocerous, Melephant Brooks, Bitey White, and Chairol Burnett. They each reprised these roles for an episode of the Disney+ Original Series Forky Asks a Question (2019).

Carl Reiner passed away on June 29th, 2020 due to natural causes at the age of 98. His career and life are inspirational because they inspire literally everyone to look around and see how humorous life really is. On occasion, it is difficult to see the humor in life, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. As the lyrics to the “Dick Van Dyke,” theme song say “When you find the joy of livin’ is lovin’ and givin’ you’ll be there when the winning dice are tossed.” We should always consider ourselves fortunate to have people in our lives who are humorous and who remind us of the meaning and the value of humor. That undoubtedly applies to Carl Reiner. 

Disneyland’s 65th

“To all who come to this happy place: Welcome! Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” These were Walt Disney’s words when he dedicated Disneyland on its opening day, July 17th, 1955. In honor of Disneyland’s 65th anniversary on July 17th, 2020, I felt this blog ought to explore the legacy of Disneyland and what makes it so special. 

Walt had originally conceived the idea for Disneyland as early as the late 1930s. Not long after he successfully got his movie studio off the ground, he began to receive letters from people that acknowledged how badly they wanted to visit his studio and meet their favorite Disney character. When Walt took occasionally took days off from work to spend time with his family, he would take his two daughters, Diane Disney Miller and Sharon Mae Disney, to a carousel in Griffith Park in L.A. As he watched his daughters ride the carousel, he felt discouraged by the fact that the carousel was something that was only kid-oriented and there were no amusement parks that could be fun for both kids and adults. In one of the last interviews of his life, he said, “As I’d sit there while they rode the merry-go-round and did all these things, I’d sit on the bench eating peanuts, I felt that there should be something built, some kind of amusement enterprise built where the parents and the children could have fun together,” he said in one of the last interviews of his life.

When Disney shared this idea with his older brother, Roy, Roy Disney believed it was impossible, which was his typical reaction to most of his younger brother’s ideas. In the documentary Walt: The Man Behind the Myth (2001) it is acknowledged that Roy “thought the studios stockholders wouldn’t think it made sense for a film company to go into the amusement park business,” because he oversaw all of the studios financial details. Prior to the 1950s, the studio had been on the verge of having to shut down permanently, but got back up on its feet thanks to the success of Cinderella (1950), followed by Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953). Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Sleeping Beauty (1959) were in production at the studio at this time, and the studio had successfully transitioned into producing live-action films such as Treasure Island (1950), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and the True-Life Adventure Series (1948-1960).  

Walt Disney never, ever gave up on what he believed to be a great idea. On December 16th, 1952, he founded WED (Walter Elias Disney) Enterprises, which today is known as Walt Disney Imagineering. The new entity would be the primary developers/constructers of Disneyland. The people at WED took inspiration for Disneyland from Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark built in 1843, along with the Children’s Fairyland Park which was built in Oakland, California in 1950. It took a very long time for them to decide where the park would be built. One of the sites they considered by the Santa Ana Freeway in Southern California, but Walt himself chose the first site they had considered: in Anaheim, which south of Los Angeles. 

He knew right from the get-go that building this park was going to cost a great deal of money, and while he did have enough money in his pocket to purchase land for the park, he didn’t have enough to build it. In December of 1950, Walt starred in his very first television special entitled “One Hour in Wonderland,” which aired on the NBC network, and he later felt that he could use television to spark people’s interest in Disneyland. That being the case, he made an arrangement with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network to be the host of a documentary show called Disneyland (1955) in order to share the idea of the theme park in people’s homes and if the show was a hit, the network would finance his park. Needless to say, “Disneyland,” the television show was a huge hit, and it also became one of the very first television shows ever to be filmed in color! Around the time that “Disneyland” the show aired on television, the original Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1959) and the Davy Crockett series (1954-1956) aired on television as well.

When the opening date finally came, there was yet another television special on ABC, emceed by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan, each of whom were friends with Walt. The park was only open to members of the press and VIPs on the 17th, but it was to open to the public on the 18th. The opening date unfortunately was grueling and hectic for the press because the weather was over 110 degrees, drinking fountains were left dry due to a plumbers strike, roads nearby were jammed and 28,000 guests showed up despite the fact that only 11,000 had been invited. So, Disneyland was poorly reviewed by the press, but to make it up to them, Walt invited them back for the public opening date the next day to experience the “true Disneyland,” and Walt also gave a party for each of them at the Disneyland Hotel.

Despite several problems on opening day, Disneyland was an extraordinary success! From Adventureland to Fantasyland to Tomorrowland to New Orleans Square, people were blown away by everything. Although they weren’t available opening day, Walt himself, favored the Carousel of Progress which was an attraction about a family that experiences the changing of time and technology which fascinated Walt all throughout his life. He also held high regard for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction because it originally was the largest audio-animatronic attraction at the time. In the six-and-a-half decades since Disneyland opened, millions and millions of guests have made magical memories that have lasted all their lives. It is a wonderful place because it inspires all who attend to look around and relish in the many wonders and beauties of life itself. It also inspires all who visit to hold onto their childish imagination because Walt once said “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there as imagination left in the world.” 

Do you have any favorite Disneyland memories? My all-time favorite memory of Disneyland is when I first walked-through the Sleeping Beauty Castle because “Sleeping Beauty,” is one of my favorite Disney movies. 

A Tribute to The Hall of Presidents

In honor of the fact that it’s 4th of July Weekend, I thought in this blog we could explore the history of a beloved Disney theme park attraction, The Hall of Presidents. This attraction is located at the Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. When Walt Disney passed away on December 15th, 1966, there were several projects that he was still working on, this being one of many, along with the development of several various films, and Walt Disney World itself.

The idea for The Hall of Presidents first hatched in Walt Disney’s head as early as the 1950s which was also when he first began developing Disneyland. His plan was to call the attraction “One Nation Under God,” and it would be part of an extension of Mainstreet U.S.A. in the park. Unfortunately, he discovered that the technology that he wanted use either didn’t exist or didn’t entirely meet his desire, and the idea was temporarily shelved. After Disneyland opened in July 1955 and was incredible huge success, WED (Walter Elias Disney) Imagineer visited Robert Moses about new park ideas, and learned that Walt had an idea of an attraction consisting of an audio-animatronic statue of his all-time favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, reciting his most most famous speeches. Moses became very interested in the idea, and agreed to help build it and “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” originally opened as part of the 1964 New York World’s Fair before transitioning to Disneyland, where it opened on July 18th, 1965, the day after the park’s 10th anniversary.

When plans for Walt Disney World were underway, the WED Imagineers were concerned and anxious about how they would be able to continue plans for the new park without Walt Disney’s supervision. They knew Walt Disney World would be similar to Disneyland, but they also wanted to be sure that they weren’t building the exact same park that they had already built. They didn’t want to build another New Orleans Square, as they had done at Disneyland, because Florida itself, they thought, was very much like the real New Orleans. So they looked at designs and concepts for a land that originally was to be called Disney’s Liberty Street at Edison Square, made some revisions, and came up with the themed land at the Magic Kingdom known as the “Liberty Square.” It opened on the same day as Walt Disney World on October 1st, 1971. After they developed “Liberty Square,” they also re-discovered Walt’s “One Nation Under God” idea and became confident that now they could make that a reality as well. 

As Walt himself had originally wanted for Lincoln, the Imagineers built audio-animatronics of all of the United States Presidents at that time, from George Washington all the way to Richard Nixon. Before the audience sees the statues, the Imagineers came up with an idea to show a short film about the History of America: The film first acknowledged the freedoms of the American people, the United States Constitution, the development of America early on, and reenacted the Philadelphia Convention. Then the film transitions to Abraham Lincoln’s time in office, along with the American Civil War, taking inspiration from the “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” attraction at Disneyland. And then it ended with the time the Saturn V Rocket took off, followed by the audience seeing the talking president statues. The most valuable thing about the film is that it depicts that despite how great things are today when compared to back then, there is always room in our country for change.  

Since it’s ’71 opening date, “The Hall of Presidents,” has undergone many changes. The original finale of the attraction was the original rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which was also used in “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” but that was later re-recorded in a lower key. Columbia University History Professor Eric Foner persuaded Disney executives to revise the script of the show to focus on slavery and various ethical and civil related issues in the United States of America. Foner also helped rewrite Lincoln’s speech which was almost identical to the speech from “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.” And of course the attraction has been refurbished to include animatronic figures all of our nations presidents since Nixon, including Ford, Carter, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, Obama, and Trump. The figures through W. Bush were all designed by Disney Imagineer Blaine Gibson, who worked for Disney from 1939 till he was 90 years old!. Gibson’s apprentice, Valerie Edwards, however, sculpted the Obama figure. Clinton also became the first actual President to officially record his own voice for his own animatronic figure, and W. Bush, Obama, and Trump have all followed this example. The figures of our nations earlier Presidents, however, have been voiced by voice actors.

The role of George Washington was originated by veteran Disney voice actor Paul Frees, best known at Disney for voicing Donald Duck’s uncle, Professor Ludwig von Drake. Although Frees passed away on November 2nd, 1986, the attraction continued using archival footage of his voice until 2009. Since then, George Washington has been voiced by actor David Morse, who ironically received an Emmy Nomination for his portrayal of George Washington in the HBO Miniseries John Adams (2008). Royal Dano, who is also known at Disney for starring in the film Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), originated the role of Abraham Lincoln when the attraction opened and since his passing on May 15th, 1994, archival footage of his voice has been used for the character. The attraction has also been narrated by several different people: Lawrence Dobkin (who also voiced Benjamin Franklin in the show) was the narrator from 1971-1993, Maya Angelou from 1993-2001, J.D. Hall from 2001-2008, Morgan Freeman from 2009-2017, and College of Charleston Professor Joy Vandervort-Cobb is the current narrator.

Undoubtedly, “The Hall of Presidents,” has a remarkable history throughout Disney and it is one of their most fascinating attractions. It’s one of the most inspiring as well, because it motivates us to be thankful for the lives we have, but to also not be afraid to make a difference in each other’s lives, knowing how there is always room for improvement in our country and there has never been a time throughout its history where it has been perfect or made complete sense. Walt Disney himself would have been more than satisfied with the final result of this attraction had he lived to see the world in the 21st century.