Disney Couples: Howard and Amy Green
Page 2 of 2
Amy Booth Green was born on November 12, 1963 in Portland Oregon to parents of British and Irish heritage. She has an older brother and sister. Amy grew up with Uncle Walt and “The Wonderful World of Disney.” By the time she reached high school, she spent much of her time in the theater department, as well as professionally recording voices for local radio commercials. Amy joined the Oregon Air National Guard in 1981, and graduated with honors from U.S. Air Force boot camp and went on to be named Airman of the Year for the State of Oregon in 1982.
She continued performing, professionally. and after auditioning for a television movie that was being filmed near Portland, a Hollywood producer told her that she should be in pictures. Amy decided to take his advice and within three months, packed her Toyota Celica with her clothes, a plate, fork, knife, spoon, cup, and drove to Los Angeles, where she knew not a soul.
Amy found a one-bedroom house, which she rented for $300 a month, that was less than a mile from where Disney’s Hyperion Studio once stood. She quickly found an agent, but after going on a few auditions, soon decided that acting was not for her after all. Somehow, life seemed too short to be running from audition to audition, cattle call to cattle call. She was working a part-time job with a private eye in Hollywood and continued her association with the Air National Guard as a sergeant and administration specialist at the Van Nuys air base.
Amy loved going to Disneyland and one day, while riding the Monorail, she decided she wanted to work for the company. So she applied for a job at the Burbank Studio and, as she recalled, made a pest of herself calling human resources once a week. After several months of calling she was finally hired as a secretary in Sales Promotions which developed movie tie-ins with companies, such as Baskin Robbins Ice Cream.
Her boss, Lee Reem, kept asking her if she had met “HEG “ yet --Howard E. Green. She hadn’t met HEG, however, she had noticed a tall, rather shy man around the Studio who she thought was “awful cute.” One day she answered the department phone and was told that it was Howard Green calling for Lee. She asked if this was the “infamous Howard E Green” she had heard so much about. He chuckled in response. Amy put Howard on hold and went into Lee’s office, telling him that “HEG” was on the phone. Lee asked again, “Have you met him yet, kid?” “No,” she replied, so Lee took her by the hand and marched her down halls and around corridors until they reached Howard’s office.
He was still on hold with his feet propped up on the desk when they walked in. That was their first meeting and to her surprise he was “the big, cute shy guy” she’d seen around the Studio. Howard says he had noticed her too and would sometimes invent excuses to pass her office jut to peek over at her. He liked her red, curly hair and the way she interacted with all sorts of people, ranging from the janitors to executives.
The couple recalled one occasion,when they approached one another in the hall before having officially met. They made eye contact and in a moment of nervousness Howard ran into a water fountain. He was embarrassed and Amy tried to look the other way to ease his discomfort. Still, after they were introduced, Howard still didn’t ask her out and she had to make excuses to go to his office to see him, including raiding his Rolo stash in his desk drawer. Over time, they learned they had much in common including a love of old movies, old music and old books.
Impatient, Amy finally asked him when he was going to invite her to see some of his old movies on video. So that following Friday night they watched a Marx Bros, documentary and started watching “The Lady Eve.” Unfortunately, Amy fell asleep on their first date ("I don’t do so good on Friday nights,” she says) and while she never thought he’d ask her out again (even though she asked him out!) this was the beginning of a budding Disney romance. Howard did ask her out and on their second date, they went sailing with a friend. Amy got sea sick, however, and swears Howard looked green (no pun intended) too, although he readily denies it.
While working full-time at Disney Studios, followed by The Disney Channel Publicity, Amy took college courses at University of California, Los Angeles and Glendale Community College. In 1988, she received a partial scholarship to the University of Portland in her hometown. It was a difficult decision, but she left Disney and Howard to complete her bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in U.S. History with emphasis on film.
They kept in touch and Howard eventually proposed marriage. In 1992, they were married on Leap Day at Maryhill Museum on the banks of the Columbia River Gorge. True to his “hype” nature, Howard handed out souvenir tee-shirts to those attending featuring caricatures of Amy and Howard, penned by Legendary Disney artist Floyd Norman, “taking the leap.”
As a freelance writer, Amy has written for Disney Magazine, Disney Channel Magazine and Los Angeles Magazine. She says she feels honored to contribute to the Company’s Disney Legends program writing bios about key artists, animators, Imagineers, filmmakers, celebrities and more, who contributed to the history of the Company. the bios are being compiled and published in a book called “The Disney Legends.“
“We love Walt and his legacy,” said Howard. “Even now, we get to be a small part of it.” Amy added, “And if it weren’t for Walt, I’m bettin’ Howard and I never woulda found each other. Disney’s blessed our lives in many ways.”
Discuss It
Related Links
-- Posted August 27, 2002