Television arrived at our San Fernando Valley home in the early days of broadcast, thanks to already outdated sets that my dad brought home and got working. Since we lived in the Los Angeles area, we picked up several channels through our roof antenna, all in beautiful black-and-white. My mom fell in love with soap operas. My favorite show was Fury (“The story of a horse and the boy who loves him…”). My brother Terry preferred Sky King, about a heroic pilot and his pretty niece who flew into one adventure after another. Disney’s weekday afternoon show, The Mickey Mouse Club, was popular with both of us kids… but there was one show that we liked even better.
On Sunday evenings, Terry and I always dropped whatever we were doing and came running to watch Walt Disney’s Disneyland. That delightful show later changed its name multiple times, but no matter what it was called, each hour-long segment featured classic cartoons, nature shows, live-action serials, or one-shot tales. What I liked best about it was the personalized introductions by Walt Disney himself. Looking back, I can see that Disney was the Mr. Rogers of that era – a kind, gentle man who understood children and seemed to speak directly to each one of us. Having endured an unhappy childhood, he spent his entire life trying to recapture it for himself and for all youngsters everywhere. This shone through his many projects, including the famous amusement park, Disneyland, which opened to the public in 1955, and I was privileged to visit on at least two Catholic school days.
To us, everything Disney was wonderful. Even in those early years, there was some spin-off merchandise like Daniel Boone coonskin caps and Disney character lunch pails. Coloring books were also popular. I still remember the circus-themed Toby Tyler coloring book that I got when I was bedridden with mumps at seven years of age. Toby Tyler was a lesser-known movie featuring Kevin Corcoran from movies like Shaggy Dog, Old Yeller, and Swiss Family Robinson. Two of those films also included the teen actor, Tommy Kirk, who played Kevin’s big brother. I had a bit of a crush on Tommy.
Movies and television were very different back then. There were very few that you couldn’t let the kids watch. No overt sexuality, no profanity, no graphic violence. Romantic encounters were limited to a tasteful kiss between a man and a woman and ultimately led to marriage. A lot of the entertainment – Disney in particular – was uplifting and taught good morals.
Thanks to our Uncle Larry, Terry and I were treated to many Disney flicks and other wholesome fare. Larry, a big man in every sense of the word, zipped around LA in an old faded Mercury with travel decals scattered over its windows. There must have been a hole in the car’s exhaust system because we could hear it rumbling a long way off. I remember summer evenings when Terry and I sat on our front porch, impatiently listening for that rumble as he came to pick us up for a family-friendly drive-in movie.
Even as a young child, I preferred live-action films rather than the animated variety. The Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber (both with Fred MacMurray) were among my favorites. The Light in the Forest also stands out, along with Big Red. Another that I especially liked was Pollyanna and other films with Hayley Mills. After seeing Parent Trap, I wanted my hair cut short like hers. My dad was a barber and did his best, but somehow my dark-haired, unruly “do” didn’t come out as good as blonde Hayley’s.
Those were the days. Since Walt Disney’s death, his brand has undergone many changes, and not all for the better, in my opinion. Some sense of innocence has been lost, but thankfully he has left a wonderful heritage in the old Disney film vault. Let’s get those movies and shows out where we can see them!
For more fantastic articles from our latest magazine issue ‘Disney’, please click on the below link:
F&F Winter 2019: Disney