General Merchandise
Topic: Walt Disney Biographies

#	Author	Message
1	Mermaidgrl Sun 5/18/2008 1:25p	I'm currently taking a Disney class at UCLA (well, American animation... but let's face it... that's Disney! :-P), and I have to write a couple of papers using various sources. I recently heard that Diane Disney Miller spoke out against the biography written about her father by Neal Gabler, and that had me thinking: Do any of you other Disney history buffs have any favorite bios on Walt that do not warp his character or discredit him? I don't think Walt was perfect... but I would sure like to not waste my time on works that simply perpetuate the 'Evil Disney Prince' myth. Thank you so much in advance! :)
2	leemac Sun 5/18/2008 11:49p	Mermaidgrl - I would definitely take a pragmatic view - the best way would be to read several of them. The problem might be just getting hold of them now. Bob Thomas' Walt Disney:An American Original is the Company-sanctioned version and although it is very pro-Walt it does give you an insight into the man. Marc Eliot's Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince is fascinating - even if you have to take some of it with a pinch of salt as it is so negative. Sometimes it is just better to hear about the man himself from the people who knew him best - some people really enjoy Didier Ghez's Walt's People series: http://www.laughingplacestore....-P-1.asp Some of the interviews are just fascinating.
3	Kimber Sun 5/25/2008 5:04p	As a point of information - Diane wasn't angry at Neal for his portrayal of her father, which she felt was accurate and more than fair - but, rather, it was that she felt that the contributions to the Walt Disney mythos from her mother were dismissed in the biography. Neal and I spoke at great length about the complex relationship - sort of the "behind every great man..." angle. It was that Neal focused on the second-place Lillian took to his work and whatever part she played in it - and Diane took umbrage with that. Kim Kim Kim
4	Kimber Sun 5/25/2008 5:05p	I need to check my signature line :)
5	-em Sun 5/25/2008 6:47p	Personally I wasnt a fan of the Gabler book but I did like the Thomas one. I also liked the one they released in 2001 for his 100th birthday (its a large black book) but name is escaping me right now.. Other good books are the Ub Iwerks bio, The Nine Old Men book, and the Memories of Walt by I think the Greens.. -em
6	-em Sun 5/25/2008 6:55p	The black book released in 2001 was Inside the Dream by Katherine and Richard Greene -em
7	Kimber Sun 5/25/2008 7:25p	"Remembering Walt..." by Howard and Amy Green is also a good read as traditional anecdotal biographies go - as is Leslie Iwerks' biography of her grandfather Ub "The Hand Behind the Mouse..." - all in all though, as a serious study oa all things Walt, Gabler's "Walt Disney - The Triumph of the American Imagination" is the best of the bunch - avoiding Thomas' spoonful-of-sugar approach or Eliot's vilification - it's thoughtful and thorough. BTW - Walt wasn't the only one creating great animation at the time. Kim
8	Mermaidgrl Tue 5/27/2008 7:16p	Walt is my favorite. Thank you for the suggestions -em!

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