1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,880 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:11,719 Speaker 1: a show that uncovers a little bit more about history 4 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: every day. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're looking at 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: the time when two down on their luck brothers decided 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: to bet it all on cartoons. The day was October 7 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 1: ninety three. Young cartoonist Walt Disney and his big brother 8 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: Roy founded the Disney Brothers Cartoons Studio in Hollywood, California. 9 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: Known today as the Walt Disney Company, It's now one 10 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:51,879 Speaker 1: of the largest and most popular media empires in the world. 11 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: Not that you need me to tell you, but the 12 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: studios started out in much more humble fashion in the 13 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: back room of a realty office on Kingswell Avenue in 14 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: Los Angeles, where the monthly rent was just ten dollars. 15 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: Back in his hometown of Marcelline, Missouri, Walt Disney showed 16 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: artistic promise at a young age. As a teen, he 17 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: drew cartoons for the school paper and eventually began selling 18 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: his work to local publications. After serving in World War 19 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: One as a member of the Red Cross Ambulance Corps, 20 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: Walt found work at a film ad company in Kansas 21 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: City in the early nineteen twenties. It was here that 22 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: he first took an interest in cell animation, a burgeoning 23 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: new medium that brought hand drawn cartoons to life. Ever, 24 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: the entrepreneur Walt quickly launched his own animation company called 25 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: laugh a Graham Studio. Working on a shoe string budget 26 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: with a small team of animators, the studio produced a 27 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: series of short cartoons for a movie house in Missouri. 28 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: Encouraged by this modest success, Walt set his sights on 29 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: a bigger, more innovative project. He noticed the popularity of 30 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: a Fleischer Studios series called Out of the Inkwell, which 31 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: featured animated characters interacting with live action backgrounds and actors. 32 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:23,079 Speaker 1: This gave Walt the idea to reverse the gimmick by 33 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: showing a live action character interacting with a cartoon world. 34 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,919 Speaker 1: With the last of the studios dwindling cash, Walt signed 35 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: a child actress named Virginia Davis to star in the 36 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:43,559 Speaker 1: project and began shooting a pilot film known as Alice's Wonderland. Unfortunately, 37 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: Laugh A. Graham Studio went bankrupt before the short could 38 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: be finished, but Walt refused to give up if his 39 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: ambitions had outgrown the small media industry in Missouri, then 40 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: he would go where the real action was and find 41 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: a new investor there. So, in the fall of nineteen 42 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: twenty three, with just forty dollars in his pocket and 43 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: an unfinished demo reel under his arm, Walt Disney left 44 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: Kansas City on a train bound for Hollywood. Luckily for Walt, 45 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: he had some family waiting for him when he arrived 46 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: in Los Angeles. His uncle Robert had recently moved there 47 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: after retiring, and Walt's older brother, Roy was in town 48 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: receiving treatment for tuberculosis. Walt was able to move in 49 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: with his uncle while he found his footing, and when 50 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: Roy got out of the hospital, the brothers decided to 51 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: pull their resources and hunt for work together. As Walt 52 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: later wrote, quote when Roy got out, we had more 53 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: in common than brotherly love. Both of us were unemployed 54 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: and neither could get a job. We solved the problem 55 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: by going into business for ourselves. Within a couple months 56 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: of his arrival, Walt completed his pilot film and his 57 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: uncle's garage and sold it to a distributor in New York. 58 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: He also signed a contract to produce six more Alison 59 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: cartoon land shorts. In order to deliver what he promised, 60 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: Walt and Roy founded their new studio and convinced some 61 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: of their old collaborators, including Virginia Davis and her parents 62 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: and animator of I Works, to join them in l A. 63 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: The studio's location on Kingswell Avenue was just a short 64 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: walk from their uncle Robert's home, where Walt was staying, 65 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: but soon after selling the first Alice short, the brothers 66 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,239 Speaker 1: were able to afford their own space just a few 67 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: blocks from the studio. In early n they beefed up 68 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,720 Speaker 1: their staff by hiring three women to ink over the 69 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: pencil lines of their cartoons. One of these women, Lillian Bounds, 70 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: would become Walt's wife just one year later. During nineteen 71 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: twenty four, the fledgling studio produced ten Alice short films 72 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: for their New York distributor, Margaret Winkler. This high volume 73 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,840 Speaker 1: of work was due in large part to a demanding 74 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:18,599 Speaker 1: schedule imposed by Winkler's fiancee, Charles Mints. Over the next 75 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: three years, Mints would a certain more and more control 76 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:26,360 Speaker 1: over the Disney Brothers studio, even going so far as 77 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: to replace Virginia Davis with a cheaper and less agreeable actress. Still, 78 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: despite the growing tension, the partnership proved lucrative for everyone involved. 79 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: Roy and Walt put most of their earnings back into 80 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: the business, and by early nine six they had finished 81 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: construction on a new and much larger studio located on 82 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:54,239 Speaker 1: a Hyperion Avenue. They chose a new name to match 83 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: their new digs, no longer the Disney Brothers Studio, but 84 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:03,359 Speaker 1: rather the Walt Disney Studio. The change was made in 85 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: recognition of Walt's rising star in Hollywood. He had always 86 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: been the main creative on their projects, with Roy serving 87 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: as the numbers man, working behind the scenes to keep 88 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: the company afloat. By all accounts, the decision was mutual 89 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 1: and there was no bad blood between the brothers. Walts 90 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: eventually bought out most of Roy's shares in the studio 91 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: they had founded together, but Roy stayed on with the 92 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: company for decades, even serving as its first CEO and chairman. 93 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: Things were going well for the brothers Disney, but their 94 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,479 Speaker 1: fraught relationship with Charles Mintz reached its tipping point in 95 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: n That's when the distributor ended Walt's beloved Alice series 96 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: insisting instead that the studio create purely animated shorts starring 97 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: a new character called Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit. Walt obliged, 98 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:03,359 Speaker 1: ultimately to acting twenty seven Oswald shorts, with much of 99 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 1: the animation handled by a Bye Works. Finally, in a 100 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: rather shady business move, Charles Mints seized ownership of the 101 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: Oswald character and poached away most of the Disney Studios staff, 102 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: effectively cutting Walt and Roy out of the business they 103 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: had started. It was a crushing blow for the Disneys, 104 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: but it launched them on a path that would culminate 105 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: in the creation of one of the world's most beloved 106 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: and recognizable characters, none other than Mickey Mouse. If Walt 107 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: could no longer use the Oswald character, then he would 108 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: have to create a new one, and that's just what 109 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 1: he did. The massive popularity of the Mickey Mouse shorts 110 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: persuaded Walt and Roy to push the medium of animation 111 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: in all sorts of new directions. Over the next decade, 112 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 1: the studio would introduce synchronized sound and color to their 113 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: shorts and expand into the untested field of feature length 114 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: animation with hit films like Snow White and The Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio, 115 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: and Fantasia. Today, the company is fond of saying that 116 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: its legacy all started with a mouse, but the truth 117 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: is that it started with two brothers, and though one 118 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: went on to eclipse the other in fame, without them 119 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: working together, the studio probably never would have made it 120 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: out of their uncle's garage. Lastly, if you're curious what 121 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 1: happened to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, here's a bonus fact. 122 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: Charles Mints continued to produce new Oswald shorts throughout the 123 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: nineteen thirties, but eventually the character was overshadowed by Mickey 124 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:53,560 Speaker 1: Mouse and all things Disney. Oswald languished an obscurity for 125 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 1: the rest of the twentie century, with the seven shorts 126 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:03,239 Speaker 1: produced by Disney eventually become the property of Universal Studios. 127 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: But fast forward to two thousand six, when a very 128 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: unique trade brought the Lucky Rabbit back where he belonged. 129 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: In exchange for the rights to the original Oswald shorts, 130 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: the Walt Disney Company allowed sportscaster Al Michael's to exit 131 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: his contract with Disney's ABC and ESPN Networks. That freedom 132 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: up to work for NBC Sports, which is owned by Universal. 133 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: To his credit, al Michael's didn't seem to mind that 134 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: the deal had effectively traded him for a cartoon rabbit. 135 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,840 Speaker 1: He told reporters quote, I'm going to be a trivia 136 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: answer someday, and yeah, way to look on the bright side. 137 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:52,840 Speaker 1: Al I'm Gabelusier and hopefully you now know a little 138 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 139 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: want to keep up with the show, you can follow 140 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d i 141 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 1: HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 142 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: you can always send them my way at this day 143 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: at i heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler May's 144 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 145 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another day in 146 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: History class. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit 147 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 1: the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 148 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.