Roy Meets Girl

Today's post is brought to you by my mom, Marilyn, who recounts a memorable trip to Disneyland when she was just 14 years old.  On October 11, 1958 she with her little brother Ray and my grandparents Chet and Margie, attended an Apex Steel employee picnic at the Holidayland area outside the Park...and met a celebrity!

There were horseshoes to throw, a sack race - which my grandfather won! - and a water balloon toss across the grass.  Following an outdoor barbecue lunch, everybody was ushered into the big circus tent for a live performance by a few famous Mouseketeers from television. Doreen, Cheryl, Sharon, and Tommy were there - and maybe Bobby, Mom thinks.  After a couple of songs and dances, Roy Williams, the show's "Big Mooseketeer" entered the stage with a pad of paper. All the kids in the audience lined up for a free sketch of a favorite Disney character to take home. 

Mom's impression of Roy was "a very friendly fat man, in kind of a Santa Claus sort of way." As Roy chatted amiably with each kid, he effortlessly conjured up mice, ducks, dogs - and even Zorro for one kid - with a stick of charcoal.  Besides being a familiar face on TV, Roy Williams was a longtime story artist for the studio's animated shorts, and he could draw Mickey's grinning visage in ten seconds or less!

Roy asked Mom if she was having a good time at the picnic, and what character would she like.  In a sudden moment of teenage shyness, she couldn't think of anything, so Roy made the decision for her...

It's Pluto!  Arf!!

Cute drawing, huh? Of course, once she got home - and for years afterward -  Mom wished she had asked for one of Cinderella's mice!

And now... See Roy sketch Mickey in ten seconds! From the "Disneyland" TV show, 1956.

Summer and Smoke

An original illustration for Walt Disney Magazine, June 1957

(Hand-painted cel overlay on gouache background) 

No artist credit, but art directed by Paul Hartley

Summer will be over before you know it, so I hope you're getting yourself outdoors to enjoy life as much as you can.  

Hop on that bicycle! Have a cook-out! Haven't you noticed I've been blogging less so as not to distract you from going outside and working on your tan?

I'm loving this summer, our first in our new home.  Back in March we planted eight tiny heirloom tomato plants in the garden and have been harvesting something like 20 to 40 of the best tasting tomatoes every day for the past 2 months.

Our projects have been on a roll, too.  Besides producing new art and merchandise, Jody and I are designing a new Disneyland parade called "Soundsational" to debut next year (it's gonna be great)!  And somehow or another, I'm cramming on an art piece for a Palm Springs show in September.  

Best of all, we've managed to have some fantastic cook-outs with friends and family this summer!  Hope your summer has been full of fun, sun and veggie burgers, too.  There's only about a month of it left, and then everything starts to turn to pumpkins.  

(Which we've also planted!)

The final published spread.