Document details

Originally on the audio recording 'Voices from the Hollywood Past' from the Walt Disney Archives. - Walt's start in Hollywood - Mickey's birth - Walt doing Mickey's voice - Donald Ducks birth - Pluto's birth

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Walt Disney: I came to Hollywood and arrived here in August 1923 with $30 in my pocket and a coat and a pair of trousers that didn’t match. And one half of my suitcase had my shirts and underwear and things…the other half had my drawing materials. (Laughs) It was a cardboard suitcase at that. Tony Thomas: (Also laughing) We don’t think of you in terms of the silent picture era. What did you do when you finally got out here? WD: Well, I tried to get a job doing anything I could in a studio, so I could learn. I was a little discouraged with the cartoon at that time. I felt at that time that I was getting into it too late. In other words, I thought the cartoon business was established in such a way that there was no chance to break into it. So I tried to get a job in Hollywood, working in the (live-action) picture business so I could learn it. I would have liked to have been a director or any part of that. It wasn’t open, so before I knew it, I had my drawing board out and I started back to the cartoon. And I was able to secure a contract for twelve of these short films. And I did all the drawing myself. I did. I had no help at all. I was all alone. I made the first six practically alone. Then, at that time, I was able to get some of the boys that had been with me in Kansas City to come out. So then, from the seventh on, I had some help. [...]