So today on our podcast, something different. In 1967 and 1968, Roy Disney put together a plan to create,

and hear I'll quote from one of his memos, a book or books about Walt. This was a year or two

after Walt's death, and there was a two-step plan.

Key artists and individuals, such as animators, Mark Davis, and Ward Kimball, would be

interviewed in a formal setting, while mid- and lower-level employees would not.

Also not interviewed were executives who worked far from Burbank, such as in New York or London.

But all Disney employees, especially those not being interviewed, were asked to send in stories about how they remembered Walt.

Roy's specific directions were that longtime employees should write down anecdotes, and here

again I'm quoting, about Walt that show the various sides of his nature and character, these

may run the gamut from the warm and humorous to the tough and needling.

Whatever they may be, we would appreciate your taking the time to think back

over the years and recall some of the incidents and stories that stick in your mind as related

to Walt.

Some key individuals did also send in short memories before being interviewed, such as Disneyland

construction manager Joe Fowler and Disney and wed artist John

Hensch. But most of the key employees did not. To set a good example, Roy offered a couple of stories

of his own. Nearly all of this material never showed up in any book on Disney. It's mostly been forgotten. Roy started

soliciting this material before Disney even hired a biographer. The first biographer's work was

ultimately rejected by the Walt Disney Company and the Walt Disney family. It was kind of strangely

a topical biography in which each chapter focused on a

different area of Walt's personality or interests. Likewise, the effort by a second biographer was

not published either, in part, and I'm guessing here, because the manuscript that remains also includes a number of

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