Martin Evolution on Monday

Are you humming “You must have been a been a beautiful baby?” How could you not with this adorable photo of a very young Steve Martin. Pre-banjo; pre-wild-and-crazy-guy; pre-Jerk...this is about as young as it gets. Here's how the photo looked before I did a little restoration work:



Photo #2 from the vaults of Martin shows an eight-year-old Steve. Already you can see the wit developing behind the smiling eyes.



This undated shot shows Steve hard at work selling Disneyland Guidebooks at the entrance to Disneyland.



Although the badly faded shot (which I was unable to restore any color to) is undated, it does give a few clues. For sale at the Disneyland Newsstand are two different Zorro Dell Books with Guy Williams on the cover. The “Zorro” series ran from October 1957 to July 1959. This Dell comic is dated Dec.-Feb. 1959:



The other cover visible on the stand is dated March-May 1960, after the series had already ended.



Thanks to David from Gorillas Don't Blog, I can now show the two other Dell Comic Covers both Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey and Louie on the newsstand; the first is from March 1960:



And this one is from October 1960, which would make me guess that this shot is from Fall 1960.



See more Steve Martin 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.

Violence at Disneyland!

This photo is somewhat surprising if not viewed in its historical context. Hard to believe that there was once a Gun Shop in Frontierland. Even though I doubt that they sold real weapons, I'm not even sure that you could buy fake guns or pistols at Disneyland anymore.



Today, this shop has been incorporated into The Golden Horseshoe, as seen in this photo I took on my most recent trip to Disneyland.



The interesting little sculpture above the door disappeared at some point.



Either removed, destroyed, or plastered over.



Guns weren't the only weapon used in Frontierland; Zorro brandished his sword on top of the Mark Twain for guests to marvel at below:





It seems like the area by the Gun Shop was not a safe place for guests; here's Black Bart in the middle of a gunfight:



Wally Boag is on top of the Horseshoe, having just been "shot":



Even the peaceful Rivers of America had violence right under your nose, as you can see by the The Burning Cabin:



I just love zooming into the faux dead guy on the bench with an arrow through his chest. Again - hard to believe this was here for YEARS at Disneyland!



Obviously, cast members had fun with this guy too, as he is rarely seen in the same position:





The last time I saw any kind of politically incorrect violence at Disneyland was over in Adventureland back in June 2008 when this evil villainous was getting pummeled by an ungentlemanly Indiana Jones.



I think the poor Hippos on the Jungle Cruise are the last examples of violence at Disneyland...other than the fits of anger by guests who have to wait too long in line for something.



See more vintage and current Disneyland Frontierland photos on my Frontierland web page.

TPE: Frontierland, Good vs. Evil

In the laws of life, you have to have both good and evil, and Frontierland at Disneyland is no exception. Those afraid to journey back to early Frontierland can feel safe to know that there's a U.S. Marshal here...AND he can shoe my horse!



Oops...zooming in, I can see I picked a bad day for my visit. This attraction is closed!



I am digging this vintage signage. It is so perfectly done to theme.



Sheriff Lucky doesn't seem too busy in this photo; perhaps it's time for a trip to the nail salon?



Uh oh...trouble has just entered the picture; it's Black Bart! He obviously has hoodwinked these two poor women with his charms.



If only the photographer had panned to the right a bit more...



I guess Sheriff Lucky has arrested Black Bart. He makes an example of Bart by parading him in front of the Golden Horseshoe Saloon.





Uh oh...Bart is on the loose. He hides behind Lafitte's Anchor, located at this time on New Orleans Street:





Could this young guest be a protégé of Bart's?



Sheriff Lucky is in the background on the right, enjoying the antics of Bart.



Good and Evil, all in one shot.



In this August 1958 photo, it would appear that Lucky is being played by a different cast member.



Meanwhile, on top of the Golden Horseshoe, Wally Boag entertains the guests below with his antics:





In August 1960, the stars of "Zorro" put on a show for Disneyland guests.



Chances are the fights on top of the Saloon and The Twain were performed by stunt actors, while the real stars (Guy Williams and Britt Lomand) came out afterwards to circulate among the guests.













Guy Williams, also known as Professor John Robinson from "Lost in Space" duels with a young guest...



and signs autographs for his adoring fans.



See more vintage & current Disneyland Frontierland photos on my Frontierland web page.