Sunday, October 12, 2014

Rare Walt Disney Interviews

By Keith Mahne




Disney Avenue has a real treat for you today. We have put together a list of videos and sound clips of Walt Disney being interviewed throughout the course of his storied life. These types of segments give us a wonderful look at the man Walt truly was along side the Disneyland TV series he hosted. Come escape for awhile and join us in today's article as we take a closer look at the life of Walt Disney with these seldom heard interviews that you absolutely won't want to miss...

(Please be sure to pause the Disney Avenue Music Player in the top, left-hand corner of the page prior to playing the videos below if you are on a desktop computer.)




The first interview is a sound clip of Walt from 1937...









Next up is one of Walt Disney promoting Snow White on CBS radio from 1937 as well. Walt Disney and Cecil B. DeMille talk about Snow White the night before its release...









In 1939, Lux Radio Theater performed a radio adaption of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. During the program, again Cecil B. DeMilne interviewed Walt Disney...









This next interview features Walt, his wife Lillian and his two daughters Sharron and Diane on a cruise ship...









Next is a radio interview of Walt Disney for the New York World's Fair in 1964. In the spring of 1964 Walt was working on publicity for his exhibits and here is one of his radio interviews...









And now we have an eight minute interview Walt did with well respected movie historian Tony Thomas in 1959 for Thomas' radio show Voices of Hollywood Past where he talked with celebrities and discussed Hollywood history. This interview took place when Thomas was working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. writing and producing programs about Hollywood...








Next we have one of Walt Disney's last radio interviews from September 1966. It's from a South African radio program recorded at the Burbank Disney Studio and Disneyland between Lesley Steyn and Walt Disney. It's an interesting mixture of music and interviews that also includes the Sherman Brothers and Disneyland Ambassador, Connie Swanson. Have a listen...








For the grand finale, we have an extremely hard-to-find interview of Walt by Fletcher Markle. Many audio and video biographies of Walt Disney have pulled clips or sound bytes from this 1963 interview conducted by Fletcher Markle, an actor-announcer-writer-producer-director who had just finished directing Walt Disney’s The Incredible Journey. There are few cutaways to Markle during the single-camera interview; the focus stays on Walt in long takes, making the conversation a rare and illuminating glimpse of Disney in his 60’s. I really love this interview because one can almost replace them self with the interviewer to get a good idea of what it would be like to sit in a room, one-on-one with Walt and have a conversation about his life. Here now is the full Fletcher Markle interview of Walt Disney which seems to be pretty hard to find. Enjoy friends...










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Keith Michael Mahne is the owner and editor of Disney Avenue and the host of the Disney Avenue Podcast. He has made countless trips to the Walt Disney World resort since his first trip in 1989 at the age of four. Keith has a strong passion and respect for Walt Disney, the parks and resorts, and the men and women who help create them. He started Disney Avenue as a way to inform and entertain readers and to repay all those who make dreams come true every day.

9 comments:

  1. Do you know who interviewed Walt for the radio interview for the Worlds Fair? I need it for a source but can't cite anything.

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    1. Did you listen to the whole interview? The answer to your question is at the end.

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    2. Yes, I've listened to it many times. My son is trying to cite it as a source for a national history day paper but I can't understand the man' last name. Do you know how to spell it and was this through one of the NBC affiliates?

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    3. I had trouble hearing the last name myself which is why I suggested listening to the end but I just listened to it again while in my car over Bluetooth and it's Dick Strout. I just googled that name and that is him. Hope that helps.

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    4. Yes thank you! That helps and we appreciate your time!

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    5. Disney has pulled the entire interview to 'cleanse' it.

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    6. When did this interview take place?

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    7. Sierra, which one are you referring to? The dates on in each interview's description.

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  2. Well done Keith Mahne - I battled too. Could not decide whether it was Staub or Stroud. You are a star. Elaine from South Africa

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