Fridays with Jim Korkis: The Early Years of Disney at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
By Dave Shute
Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.
THE HOLLY-VERMONT REALTY OFFICE AND THE BEGINNING OF DISNEY STUDIO
By Jim Korkis
As the Walt Disney Company celebrates the centennial of its creation in 1923, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has always had a physical homage to honor that creation.
When Walt Disney came out to Los Angeles from Kansas City in August 1923, he lived with his Uncle Robert who charged him a weekly rent of five dollars as well as an additional dollar for using the garage to try to do animation.
When Walt got the contract from a New York film distributor to do twelve episodes of the Alice Comedies animated series with an option for more, he walked down the street two blocks west from Uncle Robert’s house to the Holly-Vermont Realty office.
Walt told the owners of the office that he only needed enough room “to swing a cat in”, meaning just a limited space, and could only afford a maximum of ten dollars a month. He was given a room at the back of the real estate office. Walt and Roy had to put up a curtain to block the room from the activity in the rest of the office.
As former Disney Archivist Dave Smith wrote to me in March 1982, “Walt moved down the street on October 8, 1923, to 4651 Kingswell Avenue, and there in the back of a real estate office set up the first Disney Studio. A contract was signed for the Alice Comedies on October 16, 1923, and we consider that the official date of the beginning of the Disney Studio.”
Image (c) Disney
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios to the right side of Peevy’s Polar Pipeline refreshment stand is a door with the logo for the Holly-Vermont Realty Office.
The owners of the real Holly-Vermont Realty Office rented Walt a room in their building from October 1923 to February 1924, when Walt moved to a larger space next door at 4649 Kingswell Avenue. The sign in the upper window listing space for rent at Disney’s Hollywood Studios suggests that Walt has already moved out to bigger and better things.
The Disney Brothers Studio was unique because at the time it was the only animation studio in California. All other animation studios were primarily in New York.
In that small studio space, Walt Disney single-handedly wrote, designed, directed and animated Alice’s Day at Sea, finished in December 1923. It was a silent film in black-and-white with a simple story of a live action young girl going to the beach with her dog and falling asleep. She dreams of having adventures under the sea with animated creatures of the deep.
Walt’s older brother, Roy, the business manager, doubled as company cameraman, photographing both the animation and the live action. The star was six year old Virginia Davis, who told me in a 2007 interview, “It’s amazing to think that from this cartoon comes the Disney entertainment empire. We filmed it at Santa Monica. It was the first time I had seen an ocean.
“There was no script. Walt would tell me the story but it was exciting because I was in the story. There was no rehearsal at all. Since it was silent, he would tell me off camera where to look and how to react.”
At Disney’s California Adventure on Buena Vista Street, there is a sign for “Hollymont Property Associates” referencing the Holly Vermont Realty Company, as well as one for the Kingswell Camera Shop, referencing Kingswell Avenue, the street of the first Disney Studio.
* * * * *
Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!
In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Off to Never Land: 70 Years of Disney’s Peter Pan and Final Secret Stories of Walt Disney World!
Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!
0 comments
Comment by typing in the form below.
Leave a Comment | Ask a Question | Note a Problem