Here are the answers to yesterday’s quiz. I hope you got them all correct.
1. Walt’s brother, Roy O. Disney, served as the Disney Company’s CEO from 1929 until his death in 1971. Who replaced him in this role?
A. Donn Tatum
B. E. Cardon Walker
C. Ron Miller
D. Michael Eisner
E. None of the above
Answer: A. Donn Tatum
Donn Tatum joined the Disney organization in 1956 and worked his way up the ranks. In 1971, he became chief executive and board chairman following the death of Roy O. Disney. He was the first non-Disney family member to head the company. Tatum served as CEO until November 1976 and as chairman until 1980, when he handed the company over to Card Walker.
2. What does the “O” stand for in Roy O. Disney’s name?
A. Orville
B. Orlando
C. Oliver
D. Oscar
E. None of the above
Answer: C. Oliver
Oliver was Roy’s middle name. He lived from June 24, 1893 to December 20, 1971, and married Edna Francis in April 1925. They had one son, Roy E. Disney. Roy O. is responsible for continuing Walt’s dream by building Walt Disney World.
3. What does the “E” stand for in Roy E. Disney’s name (Roy O’s son)?
A. Edward
B. Earl
C. Elliot
D. Eric
E. None of the above
Answer: A. Edward
Edward was Roy’s middle name. He lived from January 10, 1930 to December 16, 2009. Roy is credited with “saving” the Disney Company twice. Once in the late 70’s with the ouster of Card Walker and Ron Miller and again in the early 00’s with a campaign to remove Michael Eisner.
4. Who voices the Ghost Host in the Haunted Mansion?
A. Thurl Ravenscroft
B. Paul Frees
C. Mel Blanc
D. James MacDonald
E. None of the above
Answer: B. Paul Frees
Paul Frees was a prolific voice actor and provided his vocal talents to Disney characters and attractions. He lent his voice to Professor Ludwig von Drake, the auctioneer in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and the narrator for “Adventures thru Inner Space.”
5. What architect designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles?
A. Michael Graves
B. I. M. Pei
C. Frank Owen Gehry
D. Robert A. M. Stern
E. None of the above
Answer: C. Frank Owen Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry designed the 2,265 seat auditorium which acts as the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Lillian Disney, Walt’s wife, made the initial donation of $50 million in 1987 to get the project started. The building is praised for its unique design and outstanding acoustics. The Walt Disney Concert Hall is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. If you ever find yourself in Los Angeles, tours of the hall are available during the day.
6. What Imagineer is credited with coming up with the idea of creating an attraction based on the characters from “Song of the South” which turned into “Splash Mountain?
A. John Hench
B. Marty Sklar
C. Xavier “X” Atencio
D. Tony Baxter
E. None of the above
Answer: D. Tony Baxter
As the legend goes, Tony Baxter was stuck in traffic on his way to work. During this time he was contemplating “fixes” for two problems at Disneyland. First, how to draw guests into the often empty Bear Country. And second, repurpose the AudioAnimatronics found in the sparsely attended America Sings. It was then that he had the idea of redesigning the AA characters from America Sings into characters from the movie “Song of the South” and combining them with a log flume ride in Bear Country. Splash Mountain officially opened at Disneyland on July 17, 1989, at Tokyo Disneyland on October 1, 1992, and at the Magic Kingdom one day later on October 2, 1992.
7. Where was Walt Disney born?
A. Marceline, Missouri
B. Chicago, Illinois
C. Kansas City, Missouri
D. Huron County, Ontario
E. None of the above
Answer: B. Chicago, Illinois
Although Walt considered Marceline, Missouri his “home town,’ he was actually born in the Hermosa community of Chicago on December 5, 1901.
8. Walt met his future wife, Lillian Marie Bounds, working in what department of his studio?
A. Storyboard Department
B. Background Department
C. Inbetweener Department
D. Ink & Paint Department
E. None of the above
Answer: D. Ink & Paint Department
Walt met Lillian while she was working as a secretary in the Ink & Paint Department. She felt a since of pride when Walt drove her and other young women home from work, always making her house the last stop of the evening. Walt and Lillian were married in 1925 in Idaho at Lewiston’s Episcopal Church of the Nativity.
9. Who brought Walt’s concepts for Mickey Mouse to life after he lost the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit?
A. Ub Iwerks
B. Ward Kimball
C. Ollie Johnston
D. Frank Thomas
E. None of the above
Answer: A. Ub Iwerks
We often hear the story that Walt created Mickey Mouse while returning home from New York by train after losing the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. However, this story is somewhat misleading and makes it sound as if Walt was solely responsible for the creation of this now-famous character. In fact, it was Ub Iwerks who actually came up with the idea of a mouse.
As a child, Walt had a pet mouse while living on the farm. In 1925, artist Hugh Harman heard this story and drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney. In the spring of 1928, Walt asked Ub to start drawing up new characters to replace Oswald. Ub created many new personas, but none appealed to Walt. Searching for ideas, Ub stumbled upon the Harman drawing of Walt surrounded by mice and the idea for Mortimer (now Mickey) came to life.
10. Ron Miller was the president of the Disney Company from 1980 to 1984 and CEO from 1983 to 1984. What relation was Ron to Walt?
A. Son-in-law
B. Brother-in-law
C. Nephew
D. Cousin
E. No relation to Walt
Answer: A. Son-in-law
Miller played football at the University of Southern California and later played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams. He met Walt’s older daughter Diane Disney on a blind date and they were married on May 9, 1954.
11, What Imagineer sparked Walt’s interest in model railroading?
A. John Hench
B. Rolly Crump
C. Ward Kimball
D. Bob Gurr
E. None of the above
Answer: C. Ward Kimball
From his earliest memories, Ward Kimball had a passion for trains. In 1938, he and his wife Betty purchased a full-sized 1881 narrow-gauge Baldwin steam locomotive from the Nevada Central Railroad and spent a number of years restoring it to its former glory. He ran his prize in his own backyard.
In 1945, Ward was hosting a “steam-up” party for the local Live Steamers Club and invited his boss, Walt Disney, to be the guest engineer for the event. Ward recounts that he never saw Walt smile more broadly than the moment when he pulled the throttle and the engine emerged from the roundhouse.
12. Three celebrities hosted the opening of Disneyland which was broadcast on ABC Television. Which was NOT one of these people?
A. Bob Cummings
B. Art Linkletter
C. Danny Thomas
D. Ronald Reagan
Answer: C. Danny Thomas
Although Danny Thomas was one of the invited guests to the event, he was not one of the hosts. Walt was personal friends with Cummings, Linkletter, and Reagan and asked them to host his grand opening of Disneyland on July 17, 1955.
13. We all know that Walt’s father’s name was Elias. What was Walt’s mother’s name?
A. Flossie
B. Fanny
C. Francine
D. Flora
E. None of the above
Answer: D. Flora
Walt’s mom was Flora Call Disney and was of German and English descent. She lived from April 22, 1868 to November 6, 1938. The cause of her death is a rather heart wrenching tale.
After the success of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Walt and Roy bought their parents a new home in North Hollywood. Shortly after moving in, Flora complained of gas fumes coming from the furnace. Walt dispatched a studio repairman to fix the problem; however, the leak was not adequately repaired. A few days later, Flora died of asphyxiation from the fumes at the age of 70. Guilt over this incident would plague Walt and Roy for the rest of their lives.
14. Who is the current president of the Walt Disney World Resort?
A. Meg Crofton
B. George Kalogridis
C. Tom Skaggs
D. Bob Iger
E. None of the above
Answer: B. George Kalogridis
George Kalogridis became president of the Walt Disney World Resort on January 9th of this year. Prior to this appointment, he was president of the Disneyland Resort for four years. Kalogridis first started working for Disney while he was in college. He bused tables at the Contemporary Resort when the Walt Disney World first opened in 1971.
15. Who is the current president of the Disneyland Resort?
A. Dan Cockerell
B. Michael Colglazier
C. Bruce Vaughn
D. Mary Niven
E. None of the above
Answer: B. Michael Colglazier
Michael Colglazier replaced George Kalogridis as president of the Disneyland Resort on January 9th of this year. Before moving to Anaheim, he was the president of Disney’s Animal Kingdom at WDW. Colglazier began his Disney career in 1989 as a corporate analyst.
16. What is NOT a name of the ferry boats that carry guests from the TTC to the Magic Kingdom?
A. General Joe Potter
B. Ron Dominguez
C. Admiral Joe Fowler
D. Richard F. Irvine
Answer: B. Ron Dominguez
Ron Dominguez is a former vice-president of Walt Disney Attractions, but no boat is named after him.
Walt met Retired Army Maj. Gen. William E. ‘Joe’ Potter at the New York World’s Fair where he was working as executive vice president of the event. Walt hired him a year later to help build his new theme park in Orlando. Potter masterminded much of the behind-the-scenes projects such as canals and underground utilities that were considered revolutionary in the ’60s and ’70s.
In 1954, Walt was looking for someone with naval experience to oversee the building of the paddle steamer, Mark Twain. He found retired Admiral Joe Fowler supervising the construction of tract homes in Southern California. Walt was so taken with Fowler that he was hired as construction boss for the entire Disneyland project.
Richard Irvine was an Academy Award winning art director who was hired by Walt in the early 1950 to help design and build Disneyland. In later years he headed design and planning for both the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion.
17. Who was responsible for the overall design and color scheme for “it’s a small world”?
A. Mary Blair
B. Alice Davis
C. Mark Davis
D. Herb Ryman
E. None of the above
Answer: A. Mary Blair
Although Alice Davis designed the costumes and Mark Davis designed the scenes and characters, it was art director Mary Blair who created the overall look and feel of the attraction. Mary also designed the tile work that covers the elevators shafts in the Contemporary Resort.
18. Who wrote the music for “Pirates of the Caribbean” (Yo Ho “A Pirate’s Life for Me”)?
A. The Sherman Brothers
B. Buddy Baker
C. Walt Disney
D. George Bruns and Xavier Atencio
E. None of the above
Answer: D. George Bruns and Xavier Atencio
Yo Ho “A Pirate’s Life for Me” is loosely based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s sea-shanty “Dead Man’s Chest.” It was written by George Bruns (music) and Xavier Atencio (lyrics). Bruns was a prolific composer for Disney and Atencio was an Imagineer who also worked on the Haunted Mansion.
19. Michael Eisner came to Disney in 1984. Who was his second-in-command and right-hand-man?
A. Jeffrey Katzenberg
B. Michael Ovitz
C. Frank Wells
D. Bob Iger
E. None of the above
Answer: C. Frank Wells
Many said that Eisner and Wells functioned like Walt and Roy – Eisner offered imagination and Wells found creative ways to pay for Eisner’s ideas. Unfortunately, Wells died in a helicopter crash while returning from vacation in Nevada in 1994.
How old was Walt Disney when he died?
A. 66
B. 67
C. 68
D. 69
E. None of the above
Answer: E. None of the above
Walt was 65 when he died. He was born on December 5, 1901 and died on December 15, 1966. Walt was a chain smoker his entire life. While undergoing surgery to repair an old polo neck injury, a malignant tumor was discovered in his left lung. The lung was removed and Walt began cobalt therapy. The doctors gave him 6 months to 2 years to live. On November 30th he collapsed at his home and was rushed to the hospital. He died ten days after his 65th birthday – much too young.
Jack,
Another great blog.
I think you should get some kind of honorary degree of Disney-ology for all the work you do to keep us informed.
I am going to take this with me to read on the plane in another 10 days.
Thank you again for all that you do.
Hi Jack! Yep, didn’t do so hot! I appreciated the history tho. 13 more days until I’m at WDW!!!!!!
Great quiz Jack!
Unlike the first comment, I only got 3 right. A lot of them I didn’t have a clue about, but thanks to your explanations of the answers I now know!!
Jack,
I’d never heard the story about how Walt’s mom died. That is a heartbreaking story… Thanks for the quiz.
Welcome back, Jack!
Thanks for putting the pictures with the names!
A very nice blog Jack.
Instead of just publishing the answers, you went into detailed descriptions, which turned the quiz into an educational experience. Very much like Uncle Walt would have done. Bravo!
Your friend,
Dan
hey Jack
once again another great quiz. I only missed 3 (1,12,19). I always love learning about the history behind the parks and the people who made everything posible. can’t wait for your next blog and as always keep up the great work.