The Final Days of Walt Disney - DOCUMENTARY

one of the founding fathers of the modern amusement park Walt Disney was an icon wall happy please welcome from The Many Adventures of Mickey Mouse to the development of the first audio-animatronic his legacy has long stood as a beacon of his empire throughout the years Walt consumed himself with innovative projects and the months leading up to his death he did not skip a beat this is the story of Walt Disney's final days we all know Walt Disney as a 20th century visionary and the father of Disneyland but he was much more than that he was a loving husband a father of two and a grandfather to seven in the summer of 1966 Disney and his wife Lillian took all of their grandchildren on a vacation to celebrate in Disney fashion they rented a hundred and forty foot yacht now only was this a family vacation the Disney's were also celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary a celebration of four decades on the beautiful waterways of British Columbia Canada they were spotted enjoying themselves on a local island where they docked their boat Walt Disney of course with camera in hand and as he often did when he was young the youthful sparkle in his eye almost looked as if he was a child again always full of fun in an adventure the Disney's loved their children and this trip was truly a gift one of the last ones he could give them [Music] in September of 1966 Walt Disney was on the path to making a ski resort in Northern California mineral team the Walt Disney Company had already won a bid to start planning the ski resort so development was underway as seen in this press conference well in attendance with Governor Pat Brown discusses the plan for this exciting new opportunity even though Walt was eager about this project he seemed to be a bit off from the photos and videos won't look to be worn down and not as fibrin itself something was holding wild Disney back but he refused to accept slowing down [Music] on February 22nd 1963 Walt Disney received the George Washington Medal of Honor for his patriotism and good citizenship are none other than President Dwight Eisenhower Walt was recognized as an ambassador of freedom for the United States in Eisenhower's opening statement he said Foundation at the Valley Forge honors Walt Disney ambassador of freedom for the United States of America for his educational wisdom and patriotic dedication in advancing the concept of freedom under God for his unfailing professional devotion to things which matter most human dignity and personal responsibility for masterful creative leadership and communicating the hopes and aspirations of our free society to the far corners of the planet Walt was greatly honored to receive this recognition it is said out of all of his Awards this one was closest to his heart but in his mind he was not worthy of such a title Walt said it's kind of hard to express my feelings about this this is one of those moments when I feel entirely inadequate it's something that sort of makes you feel rather humble but I want the board of freedoms Foundation and everyone to connected with this to know that I sincerely appreciate this tribute and in expressing this appreciation I think I should make a little confession and that is that personally I don't understand why the heck it was given to me I've just been going along doing what sort of comes naturally to me I might say I've been selfishly indulging myself as an American as a United States citizen enjoying all the privileges one has as a citizen and it's only in times like this that you sort of wake up to the fact that what it really means to be a citizen after receiving this award vault felt it was only necessary to honor the true heroes of this country so he did [Music] for the first time in Disneyland history Walt holds his own ceremony honoring the real heroes Medal of Honor recipients Walt wanted to personally thank these war heroes and invited them to the happiest place on earth on October 14th Walt rolled out the red carpet and personally welcomed the heroes after breakfast the attendees were ushered to Disneyland's backstage area and given a proper entrance the heroes were paraded down Main Street USA on Disneyland's transportation fleet the Omnibus Surrey and fire engine and made the final stop at their destination in the Main Street Opera House from there they would watch a private showing of great moments with mr. Lincoln followed by a word from Walt himself being the Patriot that he was Walt wanted to leave a legacy and chain of respect for those to follow this celebration of Heroes has continued at Disneyland every year since Walt's inaugural event [Music] some people may think that this is the last trip to Disneyland for Walt Disney but through research we've uncovered that this wasn't Walt's final trip to Disneyland in the fall of 1966 Disneyland chief photographer would capture Walt's last visit to the happiest place on earth here is the account of her neighbor do there's a little story of when I was shooting that particular picture it was shot on and roll the Flex and there was 12 pictures on a roll I had shot 11 pictures of Walt out of different angles watching for her smile watching to make sure Mickey was looking the right way making sure the castle spires weren't hanging out of his ears anyway I had shot eleven pictures and I had said Thank You Walt that's it event told me at the studio we treat film like paper clips you shoot shoot shoot all the film you need because if it's not in the can you will never have it so he asked me to shoot one more so I shot one more and he said that's fine Rene and he walked away [Music] Walt Disney was always working on many projects one of those projects included the merger of the Shannara Art Institute in the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music in the Cal arts a centralized institution so that as people could get the training they needed to this day Cal arts is one of the most reputable art schools in California and produces some of the leading animators never far from the studio what was also giving his personal touches on the last film he would ever work on the junk the work but there was something bigger on the horizon something that would cast a shadow on all of his previous projects Disney was heading into unknown taury Walt and his team were constructing a roadmap for this city of tomorrow the flora project as they called it would be a fully functioning city with even an amusement park like that of Disneyland they called it Epcot Walt was very eager to present this project to the world and so he did on October 27th and his feature Epcot film this is the last time the public would ever see Walt on film [Music] hiding in the vault of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank California is a last-known film appearance of Walt Disney it wasn't until recently that Disney archivists discovered this footage so close to his ultimate fate Walt powered through this with as much strength as he could bear but you could tell something was just not right good evening friends I'm sorry to have to welcome you to this Invitational showing us follow me boys in this way I'd give anything to be there with you but this seems to be one of those times I'm tied down here at the studio night and day of course it's always this way when we're shooting a picture and it so happens we're in the middle of shooting one right now it's a comedy feature called Blackbeard's ghost sorry Nina Peter Ustinov deep Jones and Suzanne Pleshette now we've completed quite a few pictures since finishing follow me boys but there's one special one that I just have to mention it's titled the happiest million this is one we call a happy family musical it's the true story of the fabulous Anthony Drexel Biddle family of Philadelphia in the era of 1917 now the stars are Fred MacMurray a real Disney favorite as mr. Biddle the lovely greer garson as mrs. Biddle to newcomers Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson playing Cordelia Biddle and Angie Duke and it was the romance between these two that brought together the together the Middleton Duke family and introducing the fabulous Tommy Steele star of the Broadway hit half a sixpence Tommy plays the part of John Wallace the butler now there's a sequence in the picture that I like very much to run for you it's that part where Tommy fresh off the boat from Ireland has been sent by an employment agency to the middle home to apply for the job as Butler he walks in unannounced and this is what happened well that's just one of the many songs in the show and naturally being part Irish it's one of my favorites of course now the happiest millionaire won't be released until late next year so let's get on with the business at hand and that is follow me boys to us this is a very special kind of motion picture and one of which we're very proud it has a fine cast and oh yes you're about to meet a 15 year old boy who whom I predict a great acting future his name is Kurt Russell I hope you enjoy the show and incidentally have a handkerchief handy if you're like me you're not only going to laugh a lot but you're going to shed a few happy tears so thanks for coming and again I'm sorry that can't be there with you personally for this occasion but here now is follow me boy [Music] on November 2nd 1966 all have been experiencing neck and leg pain from an old Polo injury so he proceeded to get surgery Walt had a series of preoperative x-rays taken at the hospital closest to his Burbank studio the Providence st. Joseph Medical Center during which the doctor discovered a malignant tumor that spread to his entire left lung the doctor gave Walt anywhere from six months to two years to live his life had a short clock just 19 days later surgeons removed his left lung on a 65th birthday he was readmitted to the hospital with what was described as a routine post-operative check of this time he never checked out of the hospital while being the man he was refuse to let anyone see him in the hospital except for his immediate family he didn't want people to see him like that during one of his final trips to the studio lot Walt told his right-hand Marty Skyler goodbye Marty which was unusual for Walt because he never liked saying goodbye on December 15th 1966 in the company of his family Walter Elias Disney passed at the age of 65 Walt's daughter Diane Disney Miller said that during his final moments his beloved brother Roy Disney who had helped him secure financing to make his dreams of Disneyland come true was sitting at the foot of his bed massaging his feet just as he passed same well kid this is the end I guess Walter Elias Disney passed just ten days after his 65th birthday even though Walt's health decline was continuously reported by the media that didn't stop the world in its tracks when won't passed a nation was in mourning flags across the country were at half-mast following his wishes there is a private funeral service for immediate family at the little Church of the flowers at Forest Lawn afterward he would be cremated then laid to rest at his final resting place in Forest Lawn just a few minutes away from his studio 31 years and one day later his wife Lillian Disney would join him in Forest Lawn they would forever spend eternity laid to rest in a small garden next to the freedom mausoleum in life Walt Disney innovated the art of synchronized sounding cartoons one of the founding fathers of the modern amusement park and captured our hearts with imaginative storytelling he also holds the record for the most Academy Awards received 32 in total where would this world be without people like Walt Disney

Channel: Find The Mouse

Views: 32,373

Rating: 4.9080458 out of 5

Keywords: Disneyland, Find The Mouse, Walt Disney, Final Days of Walt Disney, Death of Walt Disney, Disney Death, Walt Disney Death, How Walt Disney Died, Walt Disney Final Days, Walt Disney Documentary, Documentary

Id: EzA7FHyWhDA

Length: 17min 29sec (1049 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 17 2020