Hey everyone, I’m Mike, she’s Sophie, that’s Brenda, and and he’s Grogu, and we’re On the Road with Mickey! This is episode 131 for July 25, 2022, and today our feature topic is Disney Legends! We’ve talked about Disney Legends previously. At the start of last year we talked about all of the Nine Old Men when Brenda joined us, and then later that year we talked about them some more when we looked at Fred MacMurray, Ub Iwerks, and Julie Andrews. Well, today we’re continuing our look by focusing on Mr. Dick Van Dyke, Roger E. Broggie, and the incomperable Lillian Disney! Grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and relax, and tell us in the comments below what you think! Here’s the rundown of what we talked about:

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• From Last Week:
  
  • In the group, we asked what Wowza foods you’ve encountered at Disney. We had a great response! Check out the answers we received:
    
    • Sheila said “The salmon at the Hollywood Brown Derby in DHS . It was so tasty! The salmon was on a bed of rice in a pool of pesto; with a decorative piece of puff pastry.”
      
    • Chandler chimed in: “We were on our last day and our last quick service meal during our 3-day visit in Jan, 2020. We were tired, hungry, ready to end our day, and simply needed something to eat. We didn’t know anything about Satu’li Canteen, and just happened across it. This ended up being the absolute BEST meal we had. When we visit again in the future, Satu’li will most likely be in the MUST DO list.” – Chandler, from the picture it looks like the Combination Bowl: Grilled Beef & Chicken. Let me know if I’m wrong.
      
    • Chrissy added her favorites: “The Gray Stuff, Homecoming’s Deviled Eggs, Satuli’s former Family Platter which had a little of everything on it, and Space 220’s King Oyster Mushrooms.”
      
    • My sister Robin added her Wowza food: “The salad at Liberty Tree Tavern! Stephanie and I scarfed that down like it was manna from Heaven!”
      
    • Lastly, my friend Cindy added her pick: “It’s just a little dessert, but the 50th anniversary lemon chiffon at Sunshine Seasons is amazing and gorgeous!”
      
    • You can see some of the pictures that were shared with us over at the Facebook Group or you will also see some of them on our YouTube of the episode.
      
    
    
  
  
• Feature Topic: A Look at Disney Legends!
  
  • This week on the podcast, we are taking another look at some of the incredible Disney Legends that have been selected over the years. Each of us has done our research on our pick and we are looking forward to sharing that with you. We hope you enjoy this as much as we do!
    
  • Brenda: Dick Van Dyke
    
    • Richard Wayne “Dick” Van Dyke was born December 13, 1925 (just 11 days before my daddy) in West Plains, Missouri. He is an American actor, producer, comedian and writer.
      
    • After serving in the Air Force during WWII, he and a friend formed a pantomime act, “The Merry Mules” and performed Laurel and Hardy-type performances in nightclubs across the country. He broke into television and in 1961 he was cast as comedy-writer Rob Petrie on the hit series The Dick Van Dyke Show.
      
    • Although the show was a huge success, Walt Disney had never heard of him. When casting for Mary Poppins, Dick’s name was suggested to Walt and after a private screening of an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Walt chose him on the spot – no audition needed!
      
    • Dick Van Dyke, of course, played Bert the Cockney chimney-sweep/kite-peddler/sidewalk artist/one-man band in the 1964 Academy-Award-Winning film, Mary Poppins (a film in which Walt Disney devoted four years of his life to creating).
      
    • When Dick read the script, he decided he also wanted to play the part of the old bank chairman, Mr. Dawes. He told Walt, “I’d like to play Mr. Dawes – and I won’t charge you a nickel.” Walt said, “The price is right, but you’ll have to test for the part.” So, Dick went to the studio and did a screen test as doddering old Mr. Dawes, long white beard and all. The actor improvised a slapstick scene of a wobble-kneed oldster descending the steps with a cane. Walt loved it so much he had a step added to the boardroom set so Van Dyke could do the bit in the movie.
      
    • Because of union rules, Dick Van Dyke wasn’t allowed to do the role for free – but Walt suggested an alternative. The Disney company paid Van Dyke $4,000 to play the part of Mr. Dawes, and the actor donated that amount to Walt’s favorite cause, CalArts.
      
    • Dick Van Dyke said those months he spent filming Mary Poppins were the happiest, most fun few months he had ever spent in his life. The best part was working with Walt. “What I liked about him”, Dick said, “was that he had the enthusiasm of a ten-year-old about the work. To work with him was one of the most serendipitous things that ever happened to me.”
      
    • Dick Van Dyke was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1998 under the FILM category. Alongside him as fellow inductees that year were: Kurt Russell, Roy E. Disney and a man named Paul Kenworthy (who I don’t know but I like his last name). lol
      
    • Roy E. Disney said of Dick Van Dyke, “Every time I see Mary Poppins, I’m amazed at how Dick’s brilliant performance effortlessly ties this film together. After all, it is Dick who first welcomes us to number 17 Cherry Tree Lane. It is his chalk pavement picture that provides entry into one of the greatest fantasy sequences of all time. And, it is Dick who bids Mary Poppins goodbye at the end of the movie.”
      
    • For many years after Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke had many roles in other Disney productions.
      
    • It was Dick who inducted Walt Disney into the American Television Hall of Fame in 1986. Joined on stage by Mickey and Minnie, he presented the award to Walt’s wife, Lillian.
      
    • Dick is also the voice narrating Walt: The Man Behind the Myth (and if you haven’t seen it, I HIGHLY recommend it).
      
    • Dick Van Dyke is now 96 years old. He celebrated his 90^th birthday at Disneyland. The festivities included a parade down main Street, a flash mob performing “Step in Time,”  the presentation of a silhouette of Bert dancing and all the guests of the park gathering to sing “Happy Birthday” to him.
      
    • In his personal life, Dick was married to Margie Willett from 1948 until they divorced in 1984. He married Arlene Silver in 2012 and they are still married. He has 4 children: Barry, Stacy, Carrie and Christian Van Dyke.
      
    • Every time I see him, I smile. He is playful, just a kid-at-heart. He is utterly charming and loves to entertain – especially making people laugh. He is still amusing us all, all these many, many years after he entered our hearts.
      
    
    
  • Mike: Roger E. Broggie
    
    • Roger E. Broggie was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1990. Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on October 22, 1908, Roger joined the Disney Studios in 1939 as a precision machinist. His initial assignments were to work on installing the multiplane camera at the new Burbank studio and working with Ub Iwerks on special effects. In 1949, though, Roger Broggie worked with Walt Disney to create model trains for Walt’s ½ mile long Carolwood Pacific Railroad located in the backyard of Walt’s home. He is credited with supervising the building of the Lilly Belle, a 1/8th scale miniature working live steam locomotive named after Walt’s wife, Lillian.
      
    • Roger Broggie is considered to be the first Disney Imagineer.
      
    • Roger was promoted to be the head of the Disney Studios Machine Shop in 1950, and he became the transportation specialist. He created the special effects for the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and as they were working on Disneyland, he was in charge of development of the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, the Disneyland Monorail, and the Matterhorn Bobsleds. He was instrumental in developing the mechanical aspects of all Disney attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, including the Omnimover ride transit system, which he co-developed with Bert Brundage.
      
    • Roger and his machine shop co-workers developed the first fully functioning Audio-Animatronic human figure in 1963. Can you guess which character that was? Between 1973 and 1975, Roger Broggie worked on the EPCOT Center project at Walt Disney World.
      
    • Roger Broggie passed away at his home in Carmel, California on November 4, 1991. On October 21, 2003, Roger Broggie, Jr. and Michael Broggie, his children, rededicated the Walt Disney World Railroad steam locomotive No. 3 Roger E. Broggie in honor of their father. It was the fourth and final locomotive to be overhauled. Local trivia – it was overhauled at the Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC.
      
    • Lastly, on March 30, 2007, Roger E. Broggie was honored with a window on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland. The text reads: “Can Do Machine Works / Mechanical Wonders / Live Steam Engines / Magical Illusions / Cameras / Roger Broggie, Shopmaster / Advisor to the Magic Makers”. He has also had a window installed in Town Square at the corner of the Fire Station and Emporium. That one reads “Broggie’s Buggies / Roger Broggie, Wheelwright – Wagons – Surreys – Sleighs”
      
    
    
  • Sophie: Lillian Disney
    
    • Born Lillian Marie Bounds on February 15, 1899 in Spalding, Idaho.
      
    • Youngest of 10 children, her father died when she was 17.
      
    • After her high school graduation, she attended a year of business college before moving to Southern California in December, 1923. She lived with her sister Hazel.
      
    • Kathleen Dollard was hired in ink and paint to help with the Alice series, and Walt asked her if she knew anyone. She went to Lillian and told her “I have a job for you, but I am telling you about it on one condition: don’t marry the boss.” Lillian decided to go for it, and went to the studio for an interview. It was there that she met Walt for the first time, and recounted that he wasn’t wearing a suit. Rather, a brown coat, sweater, raincoat, and pants. One January 19, 1924, she got the job at 15 dollars a week…
      
    • Despite Kathleen’s warning, Walt quickly became enthralled with Lillian, offering to drive Lillian and Kathleen home on late nights. The thing of it is… Lillian lived closer to the studio, yet Walt always drove her home last.
      
    • It is also said that Lillian admitted once, “I was not very artistic at all, and I was not very good at inking and painting. Later, Walt made me his secretary, but I made too many mistakes when he was dictating. He always said I was so bad that he had to marry me.
      
    • And marry her, he did. On July 13, 1925, they were married at Lillian’s Brother’s home. It doesn’t say which one. But Lilly made her dress herself, and was given away by her uncle. They had two daughters, Diane Marie, and Sharon Mae. And like Lilly and her siblings, the two girls gave them 10 grandchildren.
      
    • She was credited with working on Plane Crazy, and her sister Hazel was recruited as the head of “Ink and Paint” after Lillian started working there.
      
    • He took her advice and didn’t name the famous mouse Mortimer.
      
    • He named one of his Disneyland railroad cars “Lilly Belle” in her honor.
      
    • And the paddle steamer replica at downtown Disney was named “The Empress Lilly” and was christened by Lillian herself.
      
    • In 1987, she pledged $50 million to the construction of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
      
    • On December 15, 1997, Lillian passed away from a stroke, exactly 31 years after the death of Walt.
      
    • She was inducted into the Disney Legends in 2003 alongside Roy’s wife, Edna Francis Disney.
      
    
    
  
  
• This Day in Disney History for July 25:
  
  • 2008: Disney Legend Harriet Burns passes away
    
  
  
• Disney Who’s Who Character
  
  • Lumiere from Beauty & the Beast
    
  
  
• A little bit of Walt
  
  • “As the original Mary Poppins budget of five million continued to grow, I never saw a sad face around the entire studio. And this made me nervous. I knew the picture would have to gross $10 million for us to break even. But still there was no negative head-shaking. No prophets of doom. Even Roy was happy. He didn’t even ask me to show the finished picture to a banker. The horrible thought struck me: Suppose the staff had finally conceded that I knew what I was doing.” – Walt Disney
    
  
  
• Coming Next Week: Our Top 3 Disney Restaurants we’ve always wanted to try!
  

As always, thank you for listening. We are having a lot of fun talking Disney, and I’m glad you are enjoying it as well! Remember, you can reach us in many ways — by email to info@ontheroadwithmickey.com. You can also talk to us on our Facebook Page, On the Road with Mickey or in our On the Road with Mickey Group. Feel free to join us! Have a great week, and we’ll be back to talk with you again next week!