Ralph Newman, chairman, Illinois
Commission, New York World's Fair; Illinois Governor Otto Kerner;
and Robert Moses, president, New York World's Fair, confer in
front of the Anna Hyatt Huntingon sculpture of Lincoln on horseback
during opening ceremonies of the Illinois Land of Lincoln Pavilion
SOURCE: The MORRELL Magazine
Vol. XL, No. 6, May-June 1964
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The paring of the Illinois Pavilion
with the Audio-Animatronics of Mr. Lincoln was the proverbial
"match made in heaven." It started when the Illinois
legislature passed early in 1963, a bill that established the
Illinois Commission on the New York World's Fair. The Commission
was given the broad directive of how to illustrate and dramatize
Illinois' "attractions in the midst of the most sophisticated
competition expected at the World's Fair." At the very first
meeting of the Commission it was decided that the theme would
be "Land of Lincoln." Acting as temporary Chairman
of the Commission was Fairfax Cone. Moses had General Joe Potter,
the Fair's Executive Vice President, and Martin Stone contact
Cone regarding the Lincoln figure. Cone later confessed that
when presented with the idea he was skeptical, yet he was willing
to entertain the concept.
On April 5, 1963, Cone arrived at the
[Disney] studio for a presentation of the Lincoln figure. He
was suitably impressed. Upon returning to Illinois, he immediately
dispatched a letter to Walt that read, "I am sure you know
that I was overwhelmed by the realism of the Lincoln figure that
you showed Mrs. Cone and me last Friday. The possibility of our
using the Lincoln figure and the effect of this upon visitors
to the New York World's Fair have not left my mind during any
of my waking hours since I saw it. I am going to New York tomorrow
to discuss the Illinois participation with the Fair people, and
I expect to be in touch with Jack Sayers shortly to further explore
this project."
In the Spring of 1963, the Governor
of Illinois, Otto Kerner, appointed renowned Lincoln scholar,
Ralph Newman, to the permanent position of Chairman of the Illinois
Fair Commission. "I was working in the Lincoln field for
several years -- and so I knew of Disney's interest in Lincoln,"
remembers Newman. "I also knew that he had been toying with
the idea of Audio-Animatronic figures, and that Lincoln was probably
going to be his first experiment. As soon as I was appointed,
I called him to tell him that I was the Chairman of the Illinois
Commission and that our Pavilion was going to be devoted to Lincoln
which appealed to him very much. From that moment on we started
conversations on the feasibility -- when this project would be
done, what we could do, what it would cost, what input I could
have as an authority on Lincoln -- and we went to work."
In a short time, Newman would become the driving force (and Disney's
biggest supporter) for the use of the Lincoln figure at the Illinois
Pavilion.
"I went to California and met with
Mr. Disney, and discussed the Lincoln figure and the facilities
that would be necessary for him," recalled Newman. The Lincoln
authority was impressed not only with Walt, but with the dignity
and reverence of the Lincoln figure, as well as the many ideas
from the Imagineers for the show. When Newman returned to Illinois,
he gave a very positive report on the Lincoln figure to his good
friend, Governor Kerner.
The Governor made plans to visit the
Disney studio to see the Lincoln figure. "Walt came in one
day to show Lincoln," remembered Neil Gallagher. "He
had with him the Governor of Illinois. I was running the figure
manually, so I made Lincoln stand up and make a few gestures.
We had a speech on tape at the time, and Walt played him the
speech. After the speech, Walt told him all about the project.
Well, by the time Walt was through talking, I was ready to put
money into this thing."
Apparently the Governor was as impressed
as Gallagher, because from that point on the Illinois Commission
was very adamant that the figure become a part of the Illinois
Pavilion. Over the next five months the negotiations dragged
on. The biggest stumbling block was the cost to do the show.
"The Illinois Legislature had voted a million dollars for
us to participate in the Fair, without any investigation as to
what it might cost. They didn't know if it would be too much
or too little -- it turned out to be too little," explained
Newman.
WED, Enterprises offered two small concessions
in an attempt to alleviate the costs. First, they agreed to include
all maintenance and operation costs in the rental fee, previously
established at $600,000. Second they divided the rental fee up
into two years, $350,000 for the first year and $250,000 for
the second year. The Illinois Commission had the exclusive option
on renewing the contract with Disney for 1965 at the $250,000
fee. WED had stripped their terms down to the bare minimum, but
Disney and Newman knew that it wasn't enough. If Moses wanted
Lincoln at the Fair, he would have to give in some too.
"We started working on Mr. Moses,"
recalled Newman. "He had some very tough conditions, including
our having to use his expensive security, high rentals, high
fees for utilities, and more. We couldn't afford that and Lincoln
too. Mr. Disney and I went to see Moses, and I told him that
the Legislature only voted us a fixed amount of money, and that
we needed his help if we were going to use Lincoln. As we were
leaving, I told Moses that I was going to see Adlai Stevenson,
the American Ambassador to the United Nations, and to call me
there if he wanted to reach me. I did that deliberately figuring
that it would make some impression on him. I told Mr. Disney
that if Moses didn't agree to our terms, we would have to participated
without the Disney figure. He said, 'He'll call you.' He was
right, because Moses called us at Stevenson's office and agreed
to our terms."
Newman reported the good news to the
Commission in a meeting on August 28, 1963. Three concessions
were made to the Illinois exhibit. First, the working drawing
approval fee and the connection fees for utilities were set at
a $5,000 maximum. Second, the fees for the demolition of the
building and restoration of the site to a finished park were
waived. Finally, the most significant concession was a $250,000
unsecured subsidy "in order that the Disney-Lincoln production
could be included in the World's Fair." It was a significant
offer on Moses' part that truly showed his convictions for the
Lincoln figure. It was the first (and only) instance of financial
support to any exhibitor at the World's Fair. The net
result was that only $100,000 out of the Illinois' budget went
to Disney for the first year rental on Lincoln, the World's Fair
Corporation paid the remaining $250,000 to cover the balance.
It took almost a year and a half, and
the opening of the Fair was right around the corner, but with
a little bit of help from Moses, Disney's Lincoln now had a sponsor
in the State of Illinois.
Source: © The Walt
Disney Company
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