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Bill Walsh (producer)

February 08, 2023

William Crozier Walsh (September 30, 1913 – January 27, 1975) was a film producer, screenwriter and comics writer who primarily worked on live-action films for Walt Disney Productions. He was born in New York City. For his work on Mary Poppins, he shared Academy Award nominations for Best Picture with Walt Disney, and for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium with Don DaGradi. He also wrote the Mickey Mouse comic strip for more than two decades. He died in Los Angeles and was interred in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.

In 1970 an article in Variety listed him as the second most successful film producer of all time in terms of money-earning movies even though he was "a guy no one's ever heard of".[1]

Biography

Early life

Walsh was born in 1913 to immigrant parents in New York. He was raised in Cincinnati by his aunt and uncle, Agnes and William Newman. He played football at Purcell[citation needed] and wrote sports for the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. In 1934 he accepted a University of Cincinnati athletic scholarship.[2]

Early career

While at UC, Walsh produced a freshman show that happened to be seen by Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Fay who were passing through town in a show, Tattle Tales. They hired Walsh at $12 a week to rewrite the show, which went to Broadway where it ran for five weeks. Walsh then followed Stanwyck and Fay to Hollywood. He worked as a press agent for 15 years at the Ettinger Company and started writing jokes as a sideline on the suggestion of client Edgar Buchanan.[2]

Disney comic strips

He joined the Disney company in 1943 as a press agent and began writing the Mickey Mouse comic strip as a sideline.[3] "Mickey Mouse was very dull and kind of stupid," Walsh later said. "Donald Duck was the one I liked. He had complete licence. He had pizzaz."[1] Due to Walsh's lack of interest in Mickey as a character, and to his own taste for science fiction, mystery and horror, the stories he wrote for the strip quickly became very different from those of the previous decade. Walsh's storylines could be darker and more violent than in the earlier strips, and introduced various bizarre characters. Notably, Walsh created Eega Beeva, an evolved man from the future who became one the strip's protagonists from 1947 to 1950, effectively replacing Goofy as Mickey's sidekick.[4] Another recurring character created by Walsh is the bird Ellsworth who appeared as Mickey's sidekick in the strip's sunday pages where he became a major focus, sometimes stealing the show from Mickey. Walsh continued to write the daily strip for more than twenty years, partnering with artist Floyd Gottfredson on dozens of stories until 1955, when the strip changed formats to become a gag-a-day strip. Walsh continued writing the gag strip until 1964, when he passed it on to Roy Williams.[5]

While at Disney, Walsh also wrote gags for the "Panchito" stories in the Silly Symphony comic strip (1944–45), and created the Uncle Remus and His Tales of Br'er Rabbit Sunday strip (1945–46).[5]

Television

In the late 1940s Disney put Walsh in charge of their television operations. He wrote and produced television specials, starting with One Hour in Wonderland (1950).

Walsh produced a number of huge successes, including Davy Crockett (1954–55) and The Mickey Mouse Club (1955-59). He also wrote the feature The Littlest Outlaw (1955) and produced a number of serials that aired as part of The Mickey Mouse Club, including Spin and Marty, Corky and White Shadow, The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure, Adventure in Dairyland, The Adventures of Clint and Mac, and Walt Disney Presents: Annette.

He moved up to features in 1959.[6]

Features

Walsh wrote and produced The Shaggy Dog (1959) with Fred MacMurray, Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran. A fantasy comedy made for relatively little money it was a huge hit and became the most profitable Disney film of all time. The same team then made Toby Tyler (1959), a circus film that was well received critically though not as popular.

Walsh wrote and produced a series of comedies starring MacMurray and Kirk, all very popular: The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), a fantasy; Bon Voyage! (1962), an Americans-abroad family comedy, also with Corcoran; and Son of Flubber (1963), a sequel to Absent Minded Professor. He provided the story for The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964), a fantasy comedy with Kirk.

Walsh co wrote the musical Mary Poppins' (1964) which became the most popular movie Disney ever released. He wrote it with Don DaGradi who would be Walsh's most regular collaborator - Walsh normally worked with a co-writer, or supervised other writers.[7]

Walsh wrote and produced That Darn Cat! (1965), Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968).

Post-Walt Disney

After Walt Disney's death in 1966 Walsh was part of the seven man committee who ran the company.[8]

He wrote and produced The Love Bug which was a huge success.[9]

In 1970 Walsh said "I make movies for people between the ages of nine and fourteen. It's a very intelligent and very honest audience... Also I don't make personal statements; I make movies hoping they'll make money so I'll be able to make more movies. I'm a schlock hack and I glory in it. My folks had a tent show and if you tried to make personal statements for audiences in Kentucky and Tennessee they'd burn the tent down."[1] He said he never wanted to direct because "I have flat feet... you have to get up too early" and "you have to talk to actors."[1]

He wrote and produced Scandalous John (1971) which he said was his favourite film even though it was the only one to have lost money.[7] Far more popular was Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

In 1971 Walsh said his main contributions to the films were "fantasy... I have nutty ideas which any other studio would throw me the hell on the street for but which are very compatible here".[7]

His later films included The World's Greatest Athlete (1973), Herbie Rides Again (1974) and One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975).

Walsh died of a heart attack in 1975. He was survived by his daughter and two sons.[2]

Filmography

Comics

Walsh scripted the Mickey Mouse comic strip drawn by Floyd Gottfredson from 1944 until 1964. He found it an enjoyable collaboration and only his heavy workload finally forced him to give it up. One of the continuities he wrote before the strip became gag-a-day was reprinted in Gladstone Comic Album No. 17 (1989) as Mickey Mouse and the World of Tomorrow.

References

  1. ^ a b c d WEST VIEW BY BURT PRELUTSKY: Superhack Los Angeles Times 20 Dec 1970: w6.
  2. ^ a b c Bill Walsh, 61, Movie Writer, Producer, Dies Los Angeles Times 28 Jan 1975: a19.
  3. ^ BILL WALSH, 61, DIES; A DISNEY PRODUCER, New York Times 29 Jan 1975: 35.
  4. ^ Becattini, Alberto (2016). Disney Comics: The Whole Story. Theme Park Press. pp. 1–17. ISBN 978-1683900177.
  5. ^ a b Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472117567.
  6. ^ Disney on TV: A reminiscence of how it all began Walsh, Bill. Los Angeles Times 29 Dec 1974: k29.
  7. ^ a b c Mr. Success, Spelled W-A-C-K-Y, of Disney's Fantasy Factory Warga, Wayne. Los Angeles Times 5 Dec 1971: z32.
  8. ^ Disney After Disney: Roy & the Seven Champlin, Charles. Los Angeles Times 28 May 1967: k8.
  9. ^ IN DISNEY'S 'LOVE BUG': VW Whirs on Fantasy-Humor Track Savoy, Maggie. Los Angeles Times 18 Mar 1969: g1.

External links

February 08, 2023
bill, walsh, producer, william, crozier, walsh, september, 1913, january, 1975, film, producer, screenwriter, comics, writer, primarily, worked, live, action, films, walt, disney, productions, born, york, city, work, mary, poppins, shared, academy, award, nomi. William Crozier Walsh September 30 1913 January 27 1975 was a film producer screenwriter and comics writer who primarily worked on live action films for Walt Disney Productions He was born in New York City For his work on Mary Poppins he shared Academy Award nominations for Best Picture with Walt Disney and for Best Writing Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium with Don DaGradi He also wrote the Mickey Mouse comic strip for more than two decades He died in Los Angeles and was interred in Glendale s Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery In 1970 an article in Variety listed him as the second most successful film producer of all time in terms of money earning movies even though he was a guy no one s ever heard of 1 Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Early career 1 3 Disney comic strips 1 4 Television 1 5 Features 1 6 Post Walt Disney 2 Filmography 3 Comics 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditEarly life Edit Walsh was born in 1913 to immigrant parents in New York He was raised in Cincinnati by his aunt and uncle Agnes and William Newman He played football at Purcell citation needed and wrote sports for the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune In 1934 he accepted a University of Cincinnati athletic scholarship 2 Early career Edit While at UC Walsh produced a freshman show that happened to be seen by Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Fay who were passing through town in a show Tattle Tales They hired Walsh at 12 a week to rewrite the show which went to Broadway where it ran for five weeks Walsh then followed Stanwyck and Fay to Hollywood He worked as a press agent for 15 years at the Ettinger Company and started writing jokes as a sideline on the suggestion of client Edgar Buchanan 2 Disney comic strips Edit He joined the Disney company in 1943 as a press agent and began writing the Mickey Mouse comic strip as a sideline 3 Mickey Mouse was very dull and kind of stupid Walsh later said Donald Duck was the one I liked He had complete licence He had pizzaz 1 Due to Walsh s lack of interest in Mickey as a character and to his own taste for science fiction mystery and horror the stories he wrote for the strip quickly became very different from those of the previous decade Walsh s storylines could be darker and more violent than in the earlier strips and introduced various bizarre characters Notably Walsh created Eega Beeva an evolved man from the future who became one the strip s protagonists from 1947 to 1950 effectively replacing Goofy as Mickey s sidekick 4 Another recurring character created by Walsh is the bird Ellsworth who appeared as Mickey s sidekick in the strip s sunday pages where he became a major focus sometimes stealing the show from Mickey Walsh continued to write the daily strip for more than twenty years partnering with artist Floyd Gottfredson on dozens of stories until 1955 when the strip changed formats to become a gag a day strip Walsh continued writing the gag strip until 1964 when he passed it on to Roy Williams 5 While at Disney Walsh also wrote gags for the Panchito stories in the Silly Symphony comic strip 1944 45 and created the Uncle Remus and His Tales of Br er Rabbit Sunday strip 1945 46 5 Television Edit In the late 1940s Disney put Walsh in charge of their television operations He wrote and produced television specials starting with One Hour in Wonderland 1950 Walsh produced a number of huge successes including Davy Crockett 1954 55 and The Mickey Mouse Club 1955 59 He also wrote the feature The Littlest Outlaw 1955 and produced a number of serials that aired as part of The Mickey Mouse Club including Spin and Marty Corky and White Shadow The Hardy Boys The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure Adventure in Dairyland The Adventures of Clint and Mac and Walt Disney Presents Annette He moved up to features in 1959 6 Features Edit Walsh wrote and produced The Shaggy Dog 1959 with Fred MacMurray Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran A fantasy comedy made for relatively little money it was a huge hit and became the most profitable Disney film of all time The same team then made Toby Tyler 1959 a circus film that was well received critically though not as popular Walsh wrote and produced a series of comedies starring MacMurray and Kirk all very popular The Absent Minded Professor 1961 a fantasy Bon Voyage 1962 an Americans abroad family comedy also with Corcoran and Son of Flubber 1963 a sequel to Absent Minded Professor He provided the story for The Misadventures of Merlin Jones 1964 a fantasy comedy with Kirk Walsh co wrote the musical Mary Poppins 1964 which became the most popular movie Disney ever released He wrote it with Don DaGradi who would be Walsh s most regular collaborator Walsh normally worked with a co writer or supervised other writers 7 Walsh wrote and produced That Darn Cat 1965 Lt Robin Crusoe U S N 1966 and Blackbeard s Ghost 1968 Post Walt Disney Edit After Walt Disney s death in 1966 Walsh was part of the seven man committee who ran the company 8 He wrote and produced The Love Bug which was a huge success 9 In 1970 Walsh said I make movies for people between the ages of nine and fourteen It s a very intelligent and very honest audience Also I don t make personal statements I make movies hoping they ll make money so I ll be able to make more movies I m a schlock hack and I glory in it My folks had a tent show and if you tried to make personal statements for audiences in Kentucky and Tennessee they d burn the tent down 1 He said he never wanted to direct because I have flat feet you have to get up too early and you have to talk to actors 1 He wrote and produced Scandalous John 1971 which he said was his favourite film even though it was the only one to have lost money 7 Far more popular was Bedknobs and Broomsticks 1971 In 1971 Walsh said his main contributions to the films were fantasy I have nutty ideas which any other studio would throw me the hell on the street for but which are very compatible here 7 His later films included The World s Greatest Athlete 1973 Herbie Rides Again 1974 and One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing 1975 Walsh died of a heart attack in 1975 He was survived by his daughter and two sons 2 Filmography EditOne Hour in Wonderland 1950 TV special writer producer The Walt Disney Christmas Show 1951 TV special producer The Disneyland Story 1954 TV special writer producer Davy Crockett 1954 55 mini series producer The Littlest Outlaw 1955 writer The Adventures of Spin and Marty 1955 TV series producer Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier 1955 producer The Mickey Mouse Club 1955 56 TV series producer Corky and White Shadow 1956 TV series producer The Hardy Boys The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure 1956 TV series producer Adventure in Dairyland 1956 TV series producer Further Adventures of Spin and Marty 1956 TV series producer Davy Crockett and the River Pirates 1956 producer Westward Ho the Wagons 1956 associate producer The Fourth Anniversary Show 1957 TV special producer The Hardy Boys The Mystery of the Ghost Farm 1957 TV series producer The Adventures of Clint and Mac 1957 TV series producer Annette 1958 TV series producer Disneyland 59 1959 TV special producer The Shaggy Dog 1959 writer associate producer Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus 1960 writer producer The Absent Minded Professor 1961 writer associate producer Bon Voyage 1962 writer associate producer Son of Flubber 1963 writer co producer The Misadventures of Merlin Jones 1964 story Mary Poppins 1964 writer co producer That Darn Cat 1965 writer co producer Lt Robin Crusoe U S N 1966 writer co producer Blackbeard s Ghost 1968 writer co producer The Love Bug 1969 writer producer Scandalous John 1971 writer producer Bedknobs and Broomsticks 1971 writer producer The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World 1971 TV special writer executive producer The World s Greatest Athlete 1973 producer Herbie Rides Again 1974 writer producer One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing 1975 writer producerComics EditWalsh scripted the Mickey Mouse comic strip drawn by Floyd Gottfredson from 1944 until 1964 He found it an enjoyable collaboration and only his heavy workload finally forced him to give it up One of the continuities he wrote before the strip became gag a day was reprinted in Gladstone Comic Album No 17 1989 as Mickey Mouse and the World of Tomorrow References Edit a b c d WEST VIEW BY BURT PRELUTSKY Superhack Los Angeles Times 20 Dec 1970 w6 a b c Bill Walsh 61 Movie Writer Producer Dies Los Angeles Times 28 Jan 1975 a19 BILL WALSH 61 DIES A DISNEY PRODUCER New York Times 29 Jan 1975 35 Becattini Alberto 2016 Disney Comics The Whole Story Theme Park Press pp 1 17 ISBN 978 1683900177 a b Holtz Allan 2012 American Newspaper Comics An Encyclopedic Reference Guide Ann Arbor The University of Michigan Press ISBN 9780472117567 Disney on TV A reminiscence of how it all began Walsh Bill Los Angeles Times 29 Dec 1974 k29 a b c Mr Success Spelled W A C K Y of Disney s Fantasy Factory Warga Wayne Los Angeles Times 5 Dec 1971 z32 Disney After Disney Roy amp the Seven Champlin Charles Los Angeles Times 28 May 1967 k8 IN DISNEY S LOVE BUG VW Whirs on Fantasy Humor Track Savoy Maggie Los Angeles Times 18 Mar 1969 g1 External links EditBill Walsh at Inducks Bill Walsh at IMDb Disney Legends Bill Walsh profile Bill Walsh at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bill Walsh producer amp oldid 1120964329, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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