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Interesting that Disney's such a favorite. Can't personally vouch for the book's veracity, but "Disney: The Dark Prince" paints a well-documented portrait of a WED who was an anti-Semitic Nazi sympathizer, a stool pigeon for J. Edgar Hoover, a union-busting egomaniac who took credit for others' work, a rotten family man, and a messed-up depressive. Not my idea of the ideal dinner companion.

 

 

The fact that he was originally anti-union is about the only thing credible there, IMHO. Funny though, because you forgot to mention he was also an astronaut, the NFL's leading rusher, Canada's Prime Minister, the first man to travel to the center of the earth, and he had the ability to time travel.

Interesting how one man found the spare time to accomplish so much while building the greatest family-focused entertainment empire on the planet.

 

By the way, Tallulah sounds like a wonderful person as well. As qouted from a tribute website devoted to the actress:

"Possessed of a tremendous energy level, very few people could keep up with her. She smoked over one hundred cigarettes per day, drank gin and bourbon like they were water, and carried a suitcase-full of drugs to help her sleep, stay awake and just function in general. She reportedly engaged in hundreds of affairs with both men and women. Her biting wit, salty language and outlandish behavior – like the propensity for taking off her clothes at the drop of a hat – shocked and outraged everyone."

 

home.hiwaay.net/~oliver/tbintro.htm

 

I still like ya, Shepp. At least your mind is always at work...I can appreciate that.

 

Scott "Propaganda books make me laugh" B.

Posted

^^^Thanks for the reminder - someone sent me some NPR clips on The Jesus Seminar, but like the stereotypical slacker of my generation I didn't follow up.

 

When we saw Patti Smith last summer, she was actually late to the show because they had to stop and make a pilgrimmage to Whitman's house first. I would wither under Bankhead's keen eyes just as I did under Patti's. Reagan would only be on my list for a game of Whack-A-Mole (or Whack-A-President).

Posted

The fact that he was originally anti-union is about the only thing credible there, IMHO. Funny though, because you forgot to mention he was also an astronaut, the NFL's leading rusher, Canada's Prime Minister, the first man to travel to the center of the earth, and he had the ability to time travel.

Interesting how one man found the spare time to accomplish so much while building the greatest family-focused entertainment empire on the planet.

 

 

Well, it's been a while since I read the book, so I forgot about the astronaut thing. Sorry.

 

As I said, not having researched the subject myself, I can't vouch for ithe book's veracity. Hell, I even mangled the title: it's "Hollywood's Dark Prince." But I do recall the FBI informant thing was backed up by a declassified FBI document reproduced in the photo section, and I certainly find it easy to believe that someone of Disney's background and generation could be anti-Semitic. The Nazi thing I'm not so sure about...maybe I was just overdramatizing.

 

Sure, I grew up with good ol' Uncle Walt on the telly, and I read the book just as a lark. (I'm even heading to DLR in a few weeks.) And sure, maybe the exworkers and family quoted in the book have untruthful axes to grind; I have no idea. But why is it tough to believe that a shrewd businessman with an all-kindly image could be something a lot more complex (and perhaps less endearing) off-camera? (Without taking anything away from the nature of his achievement - Henry Ford was notoriously anti-Semitic, but his cars ran just fine. I'd just rather not eat dinner with him.) The Disneypark empire, after all, is built on the perfect simulacrum - it seems to be Everest or Paris or the Old West, but it's just a lovely facade pasted over clanking machinery. To quote U2, it's "even better than the real thing." And mightn't the DisneyCorp.'s hagiography be "propaganda" as well? Nahhh...the man who gave us Mickey Mouse (well, actually Ub Iwerks did, but no matter) couldn't be anything less than a saint.

 

And, lest we forget, who built the most successful family-focused, religiously-based theme park on the planet?

 

Yep, Jim Bakker.

Posted

^ We should probably call this one a draw. I know I've read countless books on the man, and could debate this one for hours, but we shouldn't spam this one up for everyone. It's time to hear who everyone else wants to have dinner with.

 

shepp, my hats off to you for some good banter on the subject. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on ole uncle Walt, huh? By the way, how did Jim Baker ever make his way into this?

 

Scott "Walt thought up Mickey, Ub drew him" B.

Posted
By the way, how did Jim Baker ever make his way into this?

 

'Cause if I were allowed to invite a sixth, it would be Tammy Faye...oh, and then there's Arianna Huffington. I'd love to hear the two of them sit down for a chat.

 

(Well, actually, it had to do with public image, private behavior, and the selling of dreams at theme parks.)

Posted

I just quoted him, so I need to add someone to my list:

Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain

And obviously then need to add:

H L Mencken

And possibly:

Ambrose Bierce

 

Don't Jesus Christ, Mark Twain, H L Mencken, and Ambrose Bierce together sound like one hell of a party? Johnny Depp can still come - I think he'd get a kick out of the company, too.

Posted
Roger Waters.

 

(Time for a Google lesson)

 

 

-amanda

 

Who doesn't love Pink Floyd?

 

Anyway, in no particular order:

 

Genghis Khan

David Byrne

Edgar Allen Poe

Albert Einstein

Dante

Posted

Genghis Khan

David Byrne

Edgar Allen Poe

Albert Einstein

Dante

I get the others, but Ghengis Khan? That sounds like a pretty scary, not to mention messy, meal to me. I admit extremely little knowledge beyond the stereotype, so maybe I'm just brainwashed. I stand by messy though, since I believe knives were the only flatware. Turkey legs all around?

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