Tribute to Betty & Wally

It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of both Betty Taylor & Wally Boag, much beloved Disneyland legends.

Betty, who played Slue Foot Sue at The Golden Horseshoe Revue, died Saturday at the age of 91 – one day after her costar, Wally Boag. Taylor heard about auditions for Walt Disney's show at Disneyland, auditioned in 1956, and got the part of Slue Foot Sue (originated by Judy Marsh). She stayed in the role until she retired approximately 30 years later when the show ended. Taylor described Slue Foot Sue as “not a hard character, but rather like a Mae West or a Kitty on the...television series ‘Gunsmoke.'” Taylor was inducted as a Disney legend alongside Boag on November 30, 1995. Here are their plaques at the Disney Studios in Burbank:





Wally Boag, hired personally by Walt Disney to perform as Pecos Bill, passed away Friday at the age of 90.



Boag's show at The Golden Horseshoe was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running stage production in show business, with more than 50,000 performances. Boag also was the voice of José at the Enchanted Tiki Room.

Born Wallace Vincent Boag on Sept. 13, 1920 in Portland, Oregon, he found his way to Anaheim in 1955 when his friend Donald Novis told him about auditions for Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue. Boag won the role of Pecos Bill and later appeared in the original 'Mickey Mouse Club' and "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" TV shows. Novis was the show's first tenor (later replaced by Fulton Burley when he retired in 1962).



Here's a previously unpublished shot of Wally performing live on the stage of the Horseshoe some time during the 1950's:



A beautiful full-color publicity shot of the cast, including Wally & Betty:



These two rare views are from August 1955, and part of the Dick Gardner collection. Wally & Judy Marsh (Betty's predecessor):



Boag making his famous balloon animals:



The original Slue Foot Sue sign outside the Saloon, circa March 1956:



Betty & Wally live on stage:



Wally giving this little girl the memory of a lifetime:



An informal cast portrait:



An episode of “The Wonderful World of Color,” celebrating the 10,000th performance of the Golden Horseshoe Revue aired on September 23, 1962. Here's a photo of Betty Taylor with famous comedian Ed Wynn from that show:



Two rare shots from September 1963 of Betty & Wally on stage at The Horseshoe:





And 13 years later in March 1976:





This last photo shows Wally at one of his last public "performances," which was a loving tribute to him and The Golden Horseshoe held in 2008. Unfortunately, Betty was unable to make the trek to California for the show.



My Andy Warhol inspired portrait of Wally was part of the evening's silent auction:



Both Betty and Wally meant so much to the fans that went to The Golden Horseshoe to witness in person their talents and charms. Thanks so much to both of them for all that they selflessly gave over the years. Somewhere in Heaven I am sure that they are doing an encore to a standing ovation.

See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Golden Horseshoe photos at my main website.

5 Year Anniversary of Daveland Blog!

5 years. Hardly seems possible. What an amazing journey it has been. Lots of surprises and fun in today's post, beginning with this first image which is what I would call a Holy Grail shot. Previous to me recently acquiring it, there was only one known photo of Steve Martin working at Disneyland. This 1957 photo of him posing with two young ladies serendipitously fell into my lap, just like the 1965 Knott's Berry Farm shots (look it up, folks; serendipity is more than just a tasty restaurant!).



Just like Steve Martin, George “Moe” Collins began his career at Disneyland as a guidebook salesman back in the park’s early years, riding his bike to the park down Katella Avenue, which was only a 2 lane street at the time. He would return to Disney some 20 years later, working as a staff writer at WED Imagineering, hired by and working for Marty Sklar. Here are Moe's comments on this photo:

The lyrics from 'Bookends" by Simon and Garfunkel, come drifting back. "Long ago, I have a photograph…preserve our memories…"

In the summer of 1956, I had the good fortune to become a guidebook salesman at a place where most kids in America would have loved to work. Still star struck in the wonder of Davy Crockett, and The Mickey Mouse Club, it was like stepping back in time and onto a stage. I didn't know anything about sales, or money matters for that manner, but I jumped at the chance to do anything that Disneyland would offer. I would have scooped up the expended horse fuel behind the trolley if there had been an opening.

I was so excited about getting the job that I could hardly wait to ride my bike home and tell my family and friends, who lived on Dewey Drive in Garden Grove. One of those Dewey Drive friends was a boy who seemed to be even more excited about my "triumph" and shyly asked if I could possibly help him get a job doing the same thing. Bingo. A Star Was Born. Not only did he become a top guidebook salesman, he eventually became a Disney Legend and one of America's greatest entertainment treasures......Steve Martin.

On the weekends and during summer vacation and holidays, we would ride our bikes to the park down Katella Avenue…a two lane street then…and go to wardrobe where they dressed us in 1890's garb, replete with candy striped shirts and a top hat. We looked and felt the part,.and we appreciated that humble beginning. We still do to this very day, sharing memories and pictures of those halcyon days.

Many years later, I would become a staff writer at Disney's Imagineering division....the master planners of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and every Disney theme park throughout the world. Although I stayed only 6 years, I am still brushing pixie dust off my shoulders. Steve still does things from time to time for Disney and he, too, never forgets. He remembered my small role in helping him get his first job, and on December 2, 2007, I was thrilled, and deeply moved, to be his guest at The Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, honoring Steve for his exemplary lifetime achievements in the performing arts. Nice going, Steve, and thanks for the memories.

Before snagging this great shot, I had one "close call" with this photo:



Zooming in, you can see the guidebook salesman…



Moe shared Steve's comments:

“Well, this to me is an amazing photo. It’s not me, but only one of two photos I’ve seen of the guidebook salesboys, and the ONLY one I’ve seen of a kid in operation inside the gate. I was beginning to doubt our existence! This kid is standing on the exact spot that I used to work, right in front of the west newsstand, taken from the other view that was in the Robbins Barstow film that I accidentally appeared in at the Main Gate. This boy is older than I would have been and I don’t recognize him. He looks about 14-15; I left by the time I was 13, maybe 12 to go work as a trick roper in Frontierland. And how shocking that his sleeves are rolled up!

He is wearing a straw hat. I wore a felt top hat (because I loved magic) until they made us wear a straw hat, but I loved the straw hat too. The outfit he is wearing is perfect. I may have even worn that vest. It’s so familiar I can smell it. His left pocket is bulging because it’s full of coins from guide book sales. We never wore pins because we worked for a leasee.

When I first started, we worked outside the main gate and worked the crowd as they approached the ticket booth, then we were moved inside because, I was told, it was too tacky to have the first thing the guests see was boys hawking things.”

Martin's next Disneyland gig was selling souvenir spinning lassos in Frontierland, followed by demonstrating and selling packaged magic tricks and joke novelties at the old Merlin's Magic Shop in Fantasyland, where he became an accomplished magician. He learned to juggle from Disneyland Court Jester, Christopher Fair, and modeled his trademark, "Well, excuuuuuse me," phrase on the exasperated outbursts of a woman he worked with.

Moe also graciously shared this image from his personal collection, circa 1956, of a Golden Horseshoe show in progress:



From Moe:

I took this photo inside the Golden Horseshoe with an old Brownie Hawkeye camera! Not exactly digital quality, lol! This was sometime late 1956, when Steve and I were selling guidebooks. Notice the kid in foreground balcony with his legs through the slats, and the Proscenium sign of "Sue" aying homage to Slew Foot Sue, one of Wally Boag's skit characters.

From Holy Grail to Prizes! That's right! I am awarding prizes today in honor of my 5 Year Anniversary. First place winner receives a set of 6 50th Anniversary Disneyland plates, still in their original boxes with COA's. Sorry, only continental USA for the 1st prize.

















2nd & 3rd place winners will receive an 8x10 photo of ANY photo on my website that I personally shot, from 2004 to present day. That's right! A high quality lab print suitable for framing!

Here's what you need to do, dear readers (after 5 years, you are definitely dear to me!): leave a comment on this post between now and Monday, June 6, 2011, noon (PST), and I will do a random drawing for the top 3 prizes. Okay all you blog lurkers (I know you're out there!), time to start leaving some comments!

Thanks for following me for 5 years and all of the great interactions I've had as a result of this blog. Stay tuned for more!

See more vintage & contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.

Viewliner & August 1958 Mixed Bag

It’s a wacky bag of assorted shots today from August 1958, with one standout image, which will hopefully make it worth viewing for all of you readers out there. It’s a busy day at the castle, with Main Street vehicles dumping people off left and right.

Let's get right to the gem of the batch, shall we? Here is The Viewliner, in all its miniature toy-like glory. These two ladies are either very savvy or just plain lucky, as The Viewliner was only in operation for one more month after this photo was taken.



The photographer obviously felt that once was not enough, and decided to capture this view of Dumbo & The Skyway twice.





As we look at the Jungle Cruise lanai, I begin to drift off into boredom.



With this last shot of the Old Mill on Tom Sawyer Island, I have drifted off to sleep completely.



Stay tuned for tomorrow's 5 year anniversary post; no snoozers for that one! See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my regular my main website.

Traveling Thursday: Vegas Glee

While in Vegas, we caught the Live Tour of "Glee," the hit show that has swept the nation. Ryan Murphy, the creator, went to college at IU (my alma mater) and was part of The Singing Hoosiers (we endearingly referred to them as The Hooting Seizures), a vocal group that was extremely popular there; I am sure "Glee" is at least partially a product of that experience. He was also a writer for the student newspaper. Our paths crossed a few times but I never really knew him that well. Still, it is always exciting to see a fellow alumni doing well ("Nip/Tuck" was also his brainchild).

Performing at the Mandalay Bay, the Tour included all of the talented actors & actresses who portray the high school students, but sadly Jane Lynch (as the scene stealing Sue Sylvester) & Matthew Morrison are not part of the tour. However, they are at least part of the proceedings, as pre-filmed comic introductions are shown on the large-screen TVs.



It was a very enjoyable show, proving that these kids are not the just product of a soundboard. They all performed well live, doing their own singing and dancing. Yes, that's possible...if you have the talent!







Can you imagine Britney Spears doing her own singing (while dancing) in a live show? Glee's Brittany (played by Heather Morris) did both and had the audience on their feet.



Puck (Mark Salling) gave the girls a thrill as he cruised through the audience while playing his guitar.



Glee doesn't just do showtunes; they cover the gamut of genres when it comes to music.





The show's diva, Rachel (Lea Michele), belted out a few numbers to everyone's glee (pardon the pun).



One of the highlights of the show was when The Warblers performed, led by Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss).







After a faux finale, Kurt (Chris Colfer) wowed everyone with his version of "Single Ladies."





Clocking in at just under 90 minutes (no intermission), it was a very entertaining and action packed evening.



After the show, late-night dining options were somewhat limited, but Burger Bar at Mandalay hit the spot just fine.



See more Glee photos atmy main website.

April 1977, Pt. 4

All of you agents-of-no-change out there can rest a little easier tonight, knowing that in the last 30 some years, the Dry Goods Store looks almost the same in 2011 as it did back in April 1977. For those with time on your hands, please make up a list of all the differences in Microsoft Word and send them to me immediately. Your check is in the mail.



Over at the Horseshoe that is Golden, our April 1977 photographer took this shot of the attraction poster:



Zooming in, it would appear that Wally Boag was on vacation.



These 3 photos from 2008 show the attraction posters that could be found in a similar location outside The ’Shoe:







Last but not least, a shot of the show itself. These are somewhat difficult to come by. I say bring back the Can-Can girls!



Nothing against Billy Hill...it just would be nice to have the Can-Can girls back. They’re much cuter!



See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.