The JournalHollywood Animation’s Beginnings in Kansas City Did you know that Walt Disney got started in the movie
business when he was a young man living in Missouri? And that Disney claimed that he was
inspired to create Mickey Mouse by the mouse that he had kept as a
pet at the Laugh-O-gram Studio in Kansas City? The Spring 2001 JOURNAL of the Jackson County Historical
Society features Hollywood Animation’s Beginnings in Kansas City by
Dan Viets. This article
is just “swell” for anyone who grew up watching the Mickey Mouse Club, for
those who’ve visited the theme parks that Disney is famous for, and for those
who are interested in perpetuating his memory and saving an important
Disney-related Jackson County historic site. Dan Viets is a lawyer in Columbia, Missouri. He negotiated and contributed to the
purchase of the building that housed Disney’s Laugh-O-gram Studio. Disney’s years in Kansas City will be
interpreted and commemorated for the public’s enjoyment and education in that
building in the years to come. In 2000 the Walt Disney Family Foundation
pledged to match up to $450,000 in funds to be raised by Thank You Walt
Disney, a nonprofit Missouri corporation, for the purpose of saving this
building. He thanks David R.
Smith at The Walt Disney Archives, Ted Cauger, son of A. V. Cauger who gave
Walt his start in the movie business, and Betty Jean Bond, local historian,
for their kind assistance to the author.
Laugh-O-gram
operated on the second floor of what was then known as the McConahy
Building on 31st Street. Viets lectures about Disney on behalf of the
Missouri Humanities Council. Any
nonprofit Missouri organization may request a slide presentation. Contact: Mr. Dan Viets15 North 10th Street Columbia, MO 65201 573.443.6866 (work) 573.819.2669 (cell). Here is a partial bibliography of sources used in
the preparation of the feature story, which researchers may consult. Also, below are some World Wide Web
links that help to complement and expand what Viets has offered in the print
version of the JOURNAL. To
order this Journal edition, subscribe or join JCHS click
here. Bibliography Barrier, Michael. Hollywood Cartoons, American
Animation in its Golden Age. Oxford University Press, 1999. Brashear, Minnie M. “Missouri Literature Since the First World War….” Columbia, Mo.: Missouri Historical
Review, April, 1946; 341-4. Broggie, Michael. Walt Disney’s Railroad Story. Pentrex, 1998. Hall, Joyce C., with Curtis Anderson When You
Care Enough (Kansas City, Mo.: Hallmark, 1979). Kansas City Journal Post. “Kansas City Mouse Best Known Creature in
World.” 8 Sept. 1935, 4B. Ladwig, Craig. The Star, The First 100 Years. Kansas City, Mo.: The Kansas City Star, 1980. Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic, A History of American Animated
Cartoons. McGraw-Hill, 1980. Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin’s Movie
Encyclopedia. Dutton, 1994. Merritt, Russell, and J. B. Kaufman. Walt in
Wonderland, The Silent Films of Walt Disney. The John Hopkins University
Press, 1993. Miller, Diane Disney, as told to Pete Martin. The
Story of Walt Disney. Henry Holt and Company, 1956 and 1957. Rasky, Frank. The Fantastic Walt Disney.
Kansas City, Mo.: The Kansas City Star Magazine, 14 Nov. 1960. Solomon, Charles. Enchanted Drawings, the
History of Animation. Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. Thomas, Bob. Walt Disney, An American Original.
Simon and Schuster, 1976. Websites Where
the Magic Lives Online
Walt Disney Company
conglomerate An online tribute to Walt
Disney and Mickey Mouse Walt Disney: His Life and
Works Comprehensive
Information About Disney’s Life, Ideas, and Creations |
