Sunday nights were the must-see-TV of the 60's. Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, Sullivan, Bonanza, and of course, Disney were its residents.
The Disney show started out as Disneyland on ABC in 1954. It was a hit, its biggest coup of that decade being the Davey Crockett series over three nights. Coonskin caps were the immediate rage in the wake of the hugely successful presentation.
In 1961, Disney hopped networks. It had nothing to do with ratings or cancellation. Instead, it jumped to NBC because the network was widely telecast in color. The show was rechristened Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.
I count myself as fortunate to remember Walt Disney himself introducing the night's episodes in a folksy, downhome manner. No wonder kids loved him. I felt like he was my grandpa.
Walt died in 1966, and the intro scenes were dropped. Good move. Nobody could hold a candle to the man himself.
The show opened to a musical accompaniment that I can still recall, in large part. And it looked so good on our brand new color TV.
The show featured movies (cut into one-hour chunks), nature-based-films, and various shorts in the Disney vault. The ultimate was when they would show cartoons. Man, I would get into a state of ecstasy when Sunday afternoon commercials would announce a toon on Disney that night. They would also announce next week's show at the end of the episode, so sometimes the anticipation would last an entire week.
Dad would always act like we would have to switch the channel in such a case, but he never did. I think the old Norwegian had a sense of humor buried deep in his psyche.
Sunday nights no longer hold the same mystique over me, or the rest of the world. In fact, the various cable channels continue to make inroads on the Big Three networks (actually four, including Fox) so that the very concept of who's number one is different now than it used to be.
But in the 60's, Sunday night was the biggest show on television. And Walt Disney ruled it.
Comments (7)
I remember Ed Sullivan and Disney the best. Remember black & white TV?
Posted by Rhea | February 6, 2007 11:14 AM
Posted on February 6, 2007 11:14
Back to Mutual's "Wild Kingdom". Runor had it that assistant "Jim"
had a lit flare he held in back of the smaller creatures while filming,
so they would have 100% action sequences on a tight schedule. No waiting in the swamp for hours like Disneys docs for movement. Just get the flame under the animal, film quick, and cut to a policy advertisement for term
life.....AMerica, what a country!
Posted by scott | July 18, 2007 1:33 AM
Posted on July 18, 2007 01:33
I also grew up watching the 1960's and 1970's version of The Wonderful World of Disney! I was always so excited when they had the nature programs -- maybe it was about a bobcat or otters swimming or wolves. Interestingly, there was a very practical reason for these 'animal' programs. Everytime Walt Disney created a full movie cartoon, the Disney company would near bankruptcy. While on vacation in Alaska in the 50's, Walt discovered that by filming animals and adding a narrative track, the costs were almost nil. The animals never charged him a dime and to top it off, everyone LOVED the films!!! Desperation is, of course, the mother of invention! M---I--C,---K---E---Y, M---O---U---S----E !!!!!
Posted by Jeff | February 15, 2008 7:40 PM
Posted on February 15, 2008 19:40
I remember watching the proud bird from shanghai episode 474 season number 20 and first aired on December 16,1973.
It was a live motion picture of a chinese ringneck pheasant that overcame all odds.
It is not available anywhere. Could it be that Walt disney will never record this episode on DVD?
What a bummer I would like to see it again.
Any suggestios please email me.
Thank you,
Phil
Posted by Philip | May 16, 2008 1:51 AM
Posted on May 16, 2008 01:51
I grew up watching The Wonderfull World of Disney on Sunday nights back in the 50's & 60's. I loved the nature shows because of the narrator. Does anyone know his name?
Posted by Don Herring | January 21, 2009 1:17 PM
Posted on January 21, 2009 13:17
A regular Sunday night staple in our hosehold! I wonder what Walt would be thinking today about his empire? RIP Walt!
Posted by Rivers End | May 29, 2009 11:22 PM
Posted on May 29, 2009 23:22
Davy Crocket was replayed when I was in sub-primary. I was a huge fan! I put a big wooden create on my wagon and would try to push it along like Davy and his men did in the canal. I recall Toby Tyler at that time, too and was kind of sweet on the girl in the circus. I remember one Goofy cartoon in particular where they were showing how to drive, or rather, how not to drive with Goofy flaunting all the rules. I recall Tomasina the Cat as well. Though I did find it hard to believe the gorgeous woman was a witch. Some Disney shows looked boring at first but if you held in there, you got hooked. Ah, I remember the Scarecrow. My brother and I were nuts over him. Don’t forget Disney movies. Bambie, Cinderella, Snow White, etc!
Yeah, I found Walt to be a likable guy, too. Loved any cartoons. Not enough of them. I can’t help but think Walt would object to much of the crass disregard of all things except profit and merchandizing. But I think he would like Disney World, minus $15 hot dog and $20 burgers. I have never been to D World but I hear of the prices, via several sources including the Simpsons, of course. Anyone know if prices have gotten any higher?
Hey kids, this is another reason why the 60s was better cause we were not quite a greedy. Most lakes, beaches and other such places were free till 67 in Maine. Parking was free for a while intown. Ya had to be there.
Posted by Scott Irv | May 30, 2009 10:47 PM
Posted on May 30, 2009 22:47