Bill Walsh
Writing
Biography
Bill Walsh was born in New York to immigrant parents (father from Canada, mother from Ireland). In his teen years he lived with relatives in Cincinnati, OH, and later attended the University of Cincinnati. In 1933 he joined the stock touring company of husband / wife team Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Fay as a writer, but the couple divorced the next year and Walsh found himself stuck in Hollywood with no job and no prospects. He wound up working as an agent for a publicity agency, one of his clients being ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Walsh joined Walt Disney Studios in 1943, working for both the Publicity and Story departments. One of his jobs was to write jokes for the syndicated Mickey Mouse comic strip (he continued doing that on a voluntary basis for more than 20 years, long after he left those departments). Walsh brought his former client Edgar Bergen to Disney to narrate some cartoons and TV shows. Walt Disney, who at first saw television as basically a tool to promote his films, was impressed with Walsh's publicity savvy and chose him to head the studio's television division. His first few projects were resounding successes, and when Disney made a deal with ABC Television to invest in its Disneyland amusement park in exchange for Disney developing a TV series, Walsh was named the series' producer. The show turned out to be The Mickey Mouse Club (1955). Walsh developed the show basically by himself, with little input from Disney, who was more concerned with developing Disneyland. He hired both the child performers and adult hosts on the show, came up with the basic format--rotating "theme" days, animated opening and closing sequences and recurring live-action series, among other innovations--and even helped to develop the famous Mousketeer "ears" each performer wore. After several seasons on "The Mickey Mouse Club", Walsh wanted to get out of television production and left the show to produce live-action films. He produced quite a few of Disney's comedies and adventure films, the most famous being Mary Poppins (1964), which was one of the studio's biggest successes and pleased critics as much as it did fans. Most of the films he produced, however, were derided by critics as dull and low-quality and helped to cement Disney's reputation for turning out unimaginative, repetitive, assembly-line pap. The films made money for the studio, though, and Walsh and Walt Disney remained close until Disney's death in 1966. Bill Walsh died of a heart attack in 1975.
Known For
In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.
Mary Poppins
A variety show featuring a cast of child performers.
The Mickey Mouse Club
The sons of the great detective Fenton Hardy, Frank and Joe are eager to impress their father with their mystery solving skills.
The Hardy Boys
Professor Phillip Brainard, an absent minded professor, works with his assistant Weebo, trying to create a substance that's a new source of energy and that will save Medfield College where his sweetheart Sara is the president. He has missed his wedding twice, and on the afternoon of his third wedding, Professor Brainard creates flubber, which allows objects to fly through the air.
Flubber
Down-on-his-luck race car driver Jim Douglas teams up with a little VW Bug that has a mind of its own, not realizing Herbie's worth until a sneaky rival plots to steal him.
The Love Bug
The living Volkswagen Beetle helps an old lady protect her home from a corrupt developer.
Herbie Rides Again
Marty Markham, a rich orphan, attends summer camp at a dude ranch where he gradually learns to love outdoor life and becomes best friends with the popular Spin Evans.
The Adventures of Spin and Marty
Three children evacuated from London during World War II are forced to stay with an eccentric spinster. The children's initial fears disappear when they find out she is in fact a trainee witch.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
The tale of a workaholic dad-turned-dog who finds that being man's best friend shows him the most important job - being a great dad.
The Shaggy Dog
The boys (and girls) are back for another summer of ranch life.
The New Adventures of Spin and Marty
About a freckle-faced Spin and wealthy city kid Marty at the Triple R Ranch summer camp. Adding to the fun are exclusive interviews with the original cast members and a special tour of the original filming site.
Further Adventures of Spin and Marty
The eponymous wraith returns to Earth to aid his descendant, elderly Emily Stowecroft. The villains want to kick Emily and her friends out of their group home so that they can build a crooked casino. Good guy Steve Walker gets caught in the middle of the squabble after evoking Blackbeard's ghost.
Blackbeard's Ghost
The inimitable VW Beetle is losing all his races and destined for the scrap heap until mechanic Hank takes him over and gives him a new lease of life. Soon, Herbie is winning again, to the fury of his previous owner, who builds a menacing black bug to challenge Herbie to the ultimate race.
The Love Bug
Through an ancient spell, a boy changes into a sheepdog and back again. It seems to happen at inopportune times and the spell can only be broken by an act of bravery....
The Shaggy Dog
A young woman suspects foul play when her cat comes home wearing a wristwatch. Convincing the FBI, though, and catching the bad guys is tougher than she imagined.
That Darn Cat!
Bumbling professor Ned Brainard accidentally invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly. Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself.
The Absent-Minded Professor
Mickey Mouse Club serial starring Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie.
Corky and White Shadow
Adventure in Dairyland is a television serial that aired in 1956 on ABC as part of the second season of The Mickey Mouse Club. The serial starred Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and Sammy Ogg of Spin and Marty and featured Kevin Corcoran in his first Walt Disney production.
Adventure in Dairyland
Lt. Robin Crusoe is a navy pilot who bails out of his plane after engine trouble. He reaches a deserted island paradise where he builds a house and begins to adjust to life. He is in for trouble however when a local girl is banished to the island by her father, who then comes after Crusoe.
Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N.
The Adventures of Clint and Mac is a 1957 television serial that aired on ABC as part of the third season of The Mickey Mouse Club.