Just look at this undated 1960's image; I would not last very long as a costumed character at Disneyland. I can only imagine the indignities these people suffer at the hands of little monsters like this one, who appears to be kicking Grumpy from the rear.
As you can see from these consecutive September 1961 shots, Grumpy was apparently a favorite for the little kids to pick on. Now his nose is getting the abuse.
Over twenty years later in 1984, this adult guest feels the need to do the same thing to poor old Grumpy. Note how the screen in the hat for the visibility of cast members is now gone.
Can you imagine the revenge fantasies that were plotted by these cast members in costume?
See more vintage & current Disneyland character photos on my character web page.
4 comments:
I have t-shirts, jackets and other trinkets of Grumpy. He just happens to be a favorite character of mine. Thanks for featuring him.
I have always felt empathy for these character CM's. It seems like bottom of the barrel work, but hey, it is at Disneyland.
The guy we should really feel for is the one dressed as Mr. Pickle outside the sandwich shop.
JG
Little monsters like the one kicking Grumpy are brought over to "it's a small world" to get their feet bolted to the ride, forcing them to sing that same song over and over again for the rest of their lives.
I had a couple friends who were Disney characters in the mid 60's when I was in college. The character costumes were hot to wear even the ones that did not have a head or full body costume. One of my friends was a Cinderella and she would roast in mid summer in the white tights and all the garb that went on under the blue dress. None the less if you got a job at Disneyland, it usually was considered for that time, a good gig.
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