Introduction

“Are you ready, Walt?” Hamilton Luske asked from the director’s chair behind the cameras.

Walt Disney looked down at his chest, straightening his black tie and creasing the lapels of his gray jacket. “I’m ready, Ham.” Looking behind himself at the bulletin board pinned with concept art and stepping closer to the silver bust of the nation’s sixteenth president, Walt folded his hands against his midsection.

“Quiet on the set!” Luske yelled.

Walt looked at the teleprompter alongside the camera, the title of The Wonderful World of Color episode at the top, “Disneyland Around the Seasons.” He realized that this episode had a special significance for him, marking some of the latest additions and improvements to his Disneyland park, which had celebrated its tenth anniversary only a year before.

The whir of the cameras began. Luske paused a moment to let them start recording. “Action!” he yelled.

“Ever since I was a youngster,” Walt began, “I have had a great admiration for Abraham Lincoln.” Reaching out his hand to his left, the show’s host began to walk towards a small, elevated diorama portraying a stage, the dome of the US Capitol building in the distance with a red, white and blue sky in the background and a small figure of Abraham Lincoln standing in the center.

“So when we decided to bring to Disneyland’s visitors some great moments of Mr. Lincoln’s life,” Walt continued, “we began an exhaustive research.” After a brief pause, he continued walking to his left where a framed photograph showed a close-up view of Lincoln standing on a stage, his hands behind his back.

“We studied his mannerisms, his gestures, and even his voice characteristics. Above all, we wanted to create a faithful physical likeness in this audio-animatronic figure of Mr. Lincoln.” The camera zoomed in revealing that the photograph was not actually of Abraham Lincoln, but rather a Disney-created likeness of the man.

“When we held the opening ceremonies, it was a great occasion for all of us.”

“Cut!” Luske yelled. “That was good, Walt. I think we got the shot we needed.”

Walt walked over to a nearby chair and sat down, spreading his legs slightly with his forearms resting on his knees. He felt a slight catch in his chest as he gasped for air. Attributing it to the lights of the studio and the long day of work, Walt didn’t realize his wheezing was a result of the lung cancer that would claim his life only three days before “Disneyland Around the Seasons” would air on December 18, 1966. Whenever he found himself struggling to breathe, Walt would think back to fond memories. Nearby, Ham Luske and the co-producer of The Wonderful World of Color Harry Tytle were reviewing the footage just shot in a Moviola device. From his chair just off set, Walt could hear his line about the opening ceremonies and dedication for “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” at Disneyland on the park’s tenth anniversary on July 18, 1965.

It had been a sunny day. Surrounded by a number of guests, Walt, his wife Lillian and Disneyland’s ambassador “Miss Tencennial” Julie Rheim stood together before a red ribbon holding a large pair of scissors. Cameras flashed, capturing the moment as the three smiled at the camera.

“Here we go!” Walt called over the crowd, cuing the Disneyland band to start playing nearby. The scissors closed on the ribbon, but it remained intact. Rheim started to laugh as Walt tried not to grimace. He had hoped this wouldn’t happen again; it had taken Richard Nixon’s children eight tries with the oversized scissors when dedicating the Disneyland Monorail in 1959. Luckily, this was not the case in 1965, because with the second snap of the scissors, Walt, Lillian, and Rheim officially opened Main Street USA’s “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” at the Main Street Opera House.

As the band continued to play, guests watching the ceremony clapped enthusiastically. Above the cheers and applause, Walt couldn’t hear the brief exchange between his wife and Miss Tencennial, so he smiled to those standing around and behind them instead.

After the official dedication of “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” Walt invited guests into the foyer and theater of the Opera House to enjoy the first public showing of the presentation. With the rest of the building vacant, he invited members of the press with him, Lillian, and Rheim to the exit of the theater, where he was joined by Jim Cassin, the Executive Director of the Illinois Commission to the New York World’s Fair, and other members of the Illinois Commission. Walt conducted a brief dedication of a Tourist Information Kiosk located at the exit of the theater, serving as a mere formality out of respect to those who had helped bring Mr. Lincoln back to life in animatronic form at the New York World’s Fair.

After the conclusion of the kiosk’s dedication, Walt and a small group stepped to the side to watch the reactions of Disneyland guests as they exited the show. Smiles plastered every face. However, Walt didn’t watch the faces of the guests, but rather those of the men and women standing around him: James Algar, who had written and directed “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln;” Cassin, who, partnering with Ralph Newman, the Commission’s Chairman, had been instrumental in bringing the story of the Great Emancipator to the New York World’s Fair; and many of the Imagineers and designers who had helped to bring the figure to electronic life.

“Walt.” Luske’s voice brought the dreamer back to the current reality of the studio. “We are ready to record the voiceover for some of the show segments.”

Walt cleared his throat and pushed himself up out of the chair feeling a sense of pride for accomplishing his childhood dream of bringing the Great Emancipator to life.