Words From Walt
Page 5 of 20
December 10
A man should never neglect his family for business |
It should come as little surprise that the man whose name is synonymous with family entertainment would take so much pleasure in being a part of his own family. Family was of paramount importance to Walt and he played the role of son, sibling, husband, father and grandfather with great glee.
A large part of Walt's success was that he was a family man. He understood what it was like to be a typical American husband and father because he was a typical American husband and father. If Walt is credited with having the uncanny knack of understanding what the public felt and the entertainment that the public craved, it may well have been because he was a member of the society in which he lived. Outside of the Studio, he was an everyman. It was his family that made sure that he had one foot always planted in the real world.
There are hundreds of stories in the various Disney profiles, biographies and publications that highlight his devotion to his family. Walt doted on Lilly. Their love was truly a great romance. Unlike many Hollywood couples, Walt and Lilly took an active part in raising their two daughters themselves. Walt was often the one to take Diane and Sharon to school or to events such as birthday parties and dances. Despite the responsibilities he surely had as the head of a Hollywood studio, Walt's duties as head of his family took precedence.
To his daughters, Walt Disney was Daddy. They really didn't have much of an idea of who Walt Disney was and what the rest of the world knew of him. There is a great story about how a young Diane asked her father if he was THE Walt Disney after a classmate of hers inquired. She hadn't made the connection between the man who was her daddy and Walt Disney, the cartoon maker.
Even the origins of Disneyland find its beginnings in "Daddy's Day." As he was sitting on a bench as his daughters rode a merry-go-round, Walt thought that there should be a place where parents and children can have fun together. This feeling that other parents would agree that such a place should be built lead Walt to look into the creation of the modern theme park. The fact that Disneyland, and later Disney theme parks, have become so successful is a testament to Walt, the family man.
Just because he put family before business didn't mean that Walt didn't try to get his family into the business. Walt and his brother Roy were business partners from the creation of the company in 1923 until Walt's death in 1966. Upon their marriages to his daughters, Ron Miller and Bob Brown joined the company at the constant urging of Walt. Roy Edward Disney, nephew of Walt and son of Roy Oliver Disney, cut his teeth as an assistant film editor of the True-Life Adventure films.
Walt Disney was a part of the society in which he lived. He was a family man in a time when the nuclear family was in its heyday. He put in many hours at work like executives today might, but he was always available for family functions and made sure that he didn't miss important family milestones if he could avoid it. He didn't simply cater to the family market because it made good business sense. He lived his life as part of his target audience. Because of that, his business and his family and the world at large were better for the experiences.
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-- Matthew Walker
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