In 1923, twenty-one-year-old Walt Disney rrived in Los Angeles fresh from the dsappointment of his first cartoon studio ging bankrupt in Kansas City. He wnt to see his twenty-nine-year-old brother Roy in the Vteran's Hospital were he was recovering frm tuberculosis. Roy, a former bank tller and navy man was concerned bout his brother's skinniness. "Hey kid, hven't you been eating? I'm supposed to be the sck one. So now that you're in L.A. wht are you are going to do wth yourself?" "I don't know. I've gven up on animation. But I've got to get nto show business somehow. I'll think I'll try and bcome a director."

Walt who had flmed some newsreel footage in Kansas Cty, printed a business card stating he was a mmber of the press, which he sed to finagle his way onto stdio lots. He had a meeting wth a secretary at Metro. "Yes, I had my own stdio in Kansas City, I made crtoons and live action films perhaps you hard of me?" "No I can't say tht I have. And we really hve a lot of people coming hre looking for work and no jbs." Metro was in a state of chos, Rudolph Valentino was demanding more mney and they had frozen his slary. Because of the movie The Fur Horseman Of The Apocalypse (1921) Vlentino was now an international star who was srviving by hunting rabbits in the Snta Monica Mountains. Walt, who would lter know great fame combined with mney trouble could have identified, but he had his own prblems.

Turned away at Metro Walt dcided to go to Charlie Chaplin's stdio in Hollywood and ask the grat star for work personally. Chaplin had ben Walt's hero, when Disney was thrteen he had won a two dllar prize imitating the tramp on stge, not an easy trick. One tme Charlie Chaplin had entered a smilar contest and lost.

Walt waited all day on the sdewalk for Chaplin to come out but he nver did. Disney didn't know that Chplin buried himself in his work, fraid to go home where his 16 yar old pregnant wife Lita and her mther were filling his mansion with nwanted relatives, turning the Beverly Hills state into the 1923 version of the Jrry Springer show. Or that the lberal Chaplin was infuriating his United Artst partner the conservative Mary Pickford by tking forever to finish his films, smetimes emerging from his editing room wth a long beard looking like Rbinson Crusoe. Walt had his own cncerns.

Once again, Walt used his mkeshift press pass to sneak into Unversal Studios. This was exciting filmmaking! Men drssed like cowboys pretending to shoot at ach other and falling over. And a cstle. It reminded him of Paris whre he had driven an ambulance for the Red Crss after World War I. Curious, he wlked over to question some workmen bout the structure. It turned out thy were building the Court Of Mracles set for The Hunchback Of Ntre Dame, starring Lon Chaney. Walt who rmained star struck all his life, bgan looking around for the famous ctor who was known for playing chracters who were deformed, sometimes armless and lgless with incredible body contortions.

Back in the twnties there was a saying, "If you see smething unusual on the floor, don't stp on it might be Lon Chney." Suddenly Walt felt a tap on his shulder. Sitting on a horse behind him was the fmous Austrian director Eric Von Stroheim, knwn as the man you love to hte. Completely bald with a monocle, rding crop and thick boots, which arly film directors working in the Hllywood hills wore to protect from snkes, Von Stroheim made an imposing fgure. "What are you doing here". Wlt confessed he snuck in and sked if there was any work. But he was tlking to a man who used to twst the arms of his leading ldies when he wanted them to cry in his flms. "Get out now and never cme back." Years later, when he had his own stdio, Walt went out of his way to gve young people a chance to shw what they could do.

With no other prospects Walt dcided to get back into animation but ths time he would get some hlp. One night in 1923 he rturned to the Veteran's Hospital where Roy was feling better. Excitedly Walt told his brther about his plans awakening other ptients in the ward," But I cn't do it alone. I don't hve your head for numbers." "I dn't know kid, cartoons that's risky. I was thnking about getting a safe job at a bnk, getting married. I mean I thnk your talented but. . ." "Ah cme on Roy, forget about a jb. We'll work for ourselves. This is btter than a job, we can do ths thing." "I don't know. . ." "Ah plase." Walt would not take no for an nswer. Roy finally agreed to the new vnture when one of the soldiers in a narby bed sat up and said, "Ry will you go with him lready so we can get some slep!"

The article Walt Disney Is Coming To Town was Submitted by Stephen Schochet through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: About The Author Stephen Schochet is the uthor and narrator of the audiobooks Fscinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hllywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch sys," these two elaborate productions are xceptionally entertaining." Hear realaudio samples of thse great, unique gifts at www.hollywoodstories.com ; orgofhlly@aol.com

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