Where's My Wench Wednesday

Although I love her dearly, I have not seen her in over THREE YEARS! Who am I referring to? Why, the Redheaded Wench from Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean dark ride attraction. The panoramic view of this scene opening today’s post was shot back in December 2015. The following shot was from the last one I took of her, June 2016.



What happened to her? As you may or may not know, the Marc Davis designed animatronic became a victim of misguided political correctness. Afraid of offending, the Disney Corporation replaced the “wench” with a redheaded female pirate...HOLDING A GUN. Yes...that’s so much better.

Here’s a brief history of our gal, beginning with this July 1967 publicity shot:



A guest shot from April 1970:



A few that I captured from October 2005, digitally:



…and with a film camera:





A nice juicy closeup from May 2008:



What happened to the original animatronic? Currently on display at the Walt Disney Archives, she looks damn good for her age! I’m not quite sure where the hairdo came from, but it was still good to see her. Perhaps they used beer cans to curl her hair?



Want to see her shoes? I knew you would:



Last one for today is a “behind-the-scenes” image taken by a former cast member, showing the bare-bones of the animatronic itself:



I have yet to see the new version, and can’t say I'm really anxious to.

See more Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean photos at my main website.

View from the Top: Disney Studio

After a ten year hiatus, I returned to the Walt Disney Studio in Burbank for a visit. Parking in the Zorro garage (which replaced the area where the Disney “Zorro” TV series was filmed), I admired the stained glass portraits of some of Disney’s most famous animated characters.

Designed by Michael Graves in 1990, the primary building at the Studio is called the Team Disney Burbank building. It contains the office of President and CEO Robert A. Iger, as well as the boardroom for the Board of Directors. The building is sometimes referred to as the “Seven Dwarfs Building” because of the gigantic statues holding up the roof of the building. On January 23, 2006, in honor of Michael Eisner's 21-year leadership of the company, the Team Disney building, was rededicated as Team Disney - The Michael D. Eisner Building.

Today, whatever you do, DON’T call it the Eisner Building!



Ever wondered what the view was from the building? Wonder no more.



Or how it would look framed by a Mickey from one of the chairs in the private dining room?



Some closeups of the Dwarfs’ arms holding up the building:







The final one today is Daisy Duck’s portrait at the Zorro Garage:



More photos coming up from my trip to the Walt Disney Studio!

See more Disney Studio photos at my main website.

Movie Studio Monday

Today’s post takes you on a tour of some of the biggest movie studios in Hollywood. These first two vintage shots from the 1950’s show Paramount Studios, beginning with a view of the Bronson Gate.



Here’s one I shot back in 2006 showing the Melrose Gate at Paramount. BTW: it's located on Melrose.



This Universal image from July 1974 just SCREAMS 70’s. The entrance signage could only exist in that decade. I think I smell polyester, too.



A September 1965 shot of the Universal City Studio Tours Tram. Universal is not only a studio; it’s a city, too! I wonder if Harry Potter is the mayor?



This shot was taken during the 1965 tour. A great overview of the backlot.



Here’s one I snapped in 2004, showing the Bates home. I believe Mother is in the window.



Welcome to Warner Brothers! Here’s the Gate 2 entrance:



Two images I took back in 2004 showing the backlot:





Let’s hop on over to Burbank to see the Disney Studio, featured in this June 1941 image with Walt surveying his property. I wonder if he’d still want his name associated with the current company?



The iconic street sign at the studio, with actor Farley Granger surrounded by two lovely ladies. Farley better watch that cig so that he doesn’t burn the lady on his right!



A 1958 shot of the Disney backlot which no longer exists:



How the animation building looked when I visited it a number of years ago. Almost like time stood still here.



Leo the Lion from MGM no longer roars here in Culver City. Sony & Columbia kicked him out years ago. However, many of the iconic buildings still exist from yesteryear, including the original front gate:



The Thalberg Building:



Stage 15, the largest on the lot and the fourth largest in the world:



...and the interior of Stage 15, which is where portions of “The Wizard of Oz” were filmed:



And finally, one 1954 image of RKO Studios:



You'll have to wait until Temple Tuesday for Fox Studios!

See more Hollywood photos at my main website.

Walt at the Studio, June 1941

This vintage publicity photo dated June 9, 1941, shows Walt Disney standing in front of the Studio that he built. The accompanying caption:

The Busiest Man Is The Boss

Complete relaxation comes to Walt Disney every day at the noon hour when he strolls around the paths of his studio at Burbank, Calif. In the background are some of the staff who helped produce "The Reluctant Dragon," the latest Disney feature-length film.

Although the backlot is gone, the studio and office buildings look very much the same today as they did when they were built.



Oh how I love the lettering above this door.

In other Mouse news, it was brought to my attention last night by a faithful reader that the use of the former Royal Court has been leaked/revealed. In an article written by someone who has od'ed on the Disney Corporate Kool-Aid, we discover that a Club 33 for the less-fortunate will be open in the New Year:

disneydose.com



Not surprisingly, Herb Ryman's original art has been trotted out in yet another attempt to lend historic credence to what's going on. I think I smell a new fragrance in New Orleans Square: Desperation.

See more Daveland Disney Studio photos at my main website.

Jungle Book Monday

Today, Daveland celebrates the upcoming release tomorrow of Disney's "The Jungle Book" for the first time on Blu-ray.

A few photos from Disney featuring Floyd Norman, one of the animators who worked on "The Jungle Book." Here's one of Floyd in the 1950's:



On the "Zorro" set at the Burbank Studio:



Standing by the famous signpost at the Walt Disney Studio lot in Burbank:



While we're at it, here is an overall vintage shot of the Studio:



And one of Walt, also posed by the signpost:



Last one from this set is a contemporary shot of Floyd, who continues to work for the Walt Disney Compay as a freelance consultant on various projects:



It's somewhat amazing that with an area called Adventureland that the powers-that-be at Disney haven't put anything from this movie at the park. Maybe they are too afraid to touch the classic Jungle Cruise; or maybe they feel that a few appearances by Baloo around the resort are enough.



Are you humming, "I Wanna' Be Like You" yet?

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my main website.

Welcome to the Not-So-Wild West

This July 1958 photo was shot during the building of “Western Street” at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California and shows Western Street’s designers/art directors: Stan Jolley, Marvin Davis and Carroll Clark. It was taken on a day that Walt Disney checked out the progress on the lot. Unfortunately, he is not in the photo!



Most of the buildings on the Western Street were constructed in 1958 for the TV shows "Elfego Baca" and "Texas John Slaughter." Other productions which modified the structures for filming were "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," "The Love Bug," and "Those Calloways." The last major feature films to utilize the street extensively were "Hot Lead, Cold Feet" (1978) and "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" (1979). With the increased use of "on location" shooting, the back lot sets were gradually replaced by the Property building, the Zorro parking structure, the Frank Wells office building, and Stages 6 & 7.



Stanford Jolley, Jr., known as Stan Jolley (1926-2012) was an art director and production designer who originally worked at The Walt Disney Studios on "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" (1958-1964). He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the Harrison Ford film "Witness" (1985).

Carroll Clark (1894-1968) was an art director nominated for seven Academy Awards in the Best Art Direction category: "The Gay Divorcee" (1934), "Top Hat" (1935), "A Damsel in Distress" (1937), "Flight for Freedom" (1943), "Step Lively" (1944), "The Absent-Minded Professor" (1961), and "Mary Poppins" (1964). Clark also worked (uncredited) with Production Designer Van Nest Polglase on the original "King Kong" (1933). That's a pretty respectable list of films!



Marvin Davis (1910-1998) was a master planner, art director and scenic designer. In 1953, he was invited by his friend, former Fox art director Dick Irvine, to join WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering), the design and development arm of the Company charged with creating theme parks. Former Sr. VP of WDI John Hench recalled, “Marvin was very conscientious about developing the Park. He worked extremely hard to help bring Walt’s dream to life, exactly as Walt envisioned it.” At Disneyland, Davis designed the exterior of The Haunted Mansion, New Orleans Square, Sleeping Beauty Castle and the buildings on Main Street, U.S.A.. Davis had a famous argument with Herb Ryman as to which direction the top of Sleeping Beauty Castle should face. Davis' original front on the model of the castle was flipped backwards; Walt Disney walked into the model shop, liked Ryman's "front" better, and the design remains to this day. Davis became an Art Director with Walt Disney Studios after Disneyland opened, working on "Babes in Toyland," and television's "Zorro" and "The Mickey Mouse Club." Davis also won an Emmy for his work on "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color." In 1965, Marvin worked as a project designer on Walt Disney World, turning Walt Disney's ideas for WDW and Epcot into workable site plans, contributing to the design of Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Resort. Davis' window on Main Street is located above the Disney Gallery in Town Square.

See more vintage & current Walt Disney Studio in Burbank photos on my Disney Studio web page.