|
New York, July 23 (AP) -- The individual star of the New York
World's Fair is none other than Abraham Lincoln.
Some audiences he holds in spellbound silence. Others he sets
to cheering wildly.
People go away from his performances in awe and praise and
such exclamations as "stupendous!" "tremendous!"
and "most impressive and inspiring." Many return time
and again.
Lincoln, seen as the feature attraction of the Illinois pavilion,
is the creation of the Walt Disney organization.
Fits Description Exactly
He is a new type of animated figure so lifelike many find
it hard to believe he isn't alive. He fits the exact description
of Lincoln as to face and figure, dress, speech and mannerisms.
After dramatic introductory music and other material, the
stage curtains part before a hushed audience to reveal the figure
sitting in center stage in a high-backed chair.
Slowly the figure rises, pauses to regard the audience to
right and left. Then quietly but forcefully he begins to speak.
For 10 minutes he delivers excerpts from Lincoln's speeches dealing
with liberty and freedom.
There is seldom the slightest sound from the audiences --
except for cheers. These come with a roar at the end, when the
figure once more takes its seat.
The performance lasts 10 minutes and is given 5 times each
hour, from 10 a. m. to 10 p. m.
|
Portion of Lincoln display at New York world's
fair.
 |
Speaking at the pavilion dedication when the fair opened,
Disney said he first conceived the idea about 10 years ago. He
said a number of people expressed misgivings, feeling that any
attempt at a mechanical recreation of Lincoln might not be in
keeping with his memory.
However, he persisted, and such fears vanished each time that
anyone saw the finished product.
Passes Million Mark
They're still vanishing at the rate of nearly 25,000 persons
a day, the total that the Illinois pavilion can handle. The free
exhibition already has passed the million mark.
Children as well as adults are obviously fascinated and impressed.
"It's extremely heartening to us all, the respect, attention
and interest displayed by young people," said Miss Virginia
L. Marmaduke, the pavilion's special events director. "It
proves that our children today aren't interested only in just
gimcracks."
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune,
Friday, July 24, 1964
|
-Walt Disney knew that ultimately,
if his Audio-Animatronic figure of Abraham Lincoln was to be
a success, there was one element totally out of the hands of
his Imagineers, and that was finding the right voice. According
to Paul Anderson, many had pushed Walt to hire the actor most
identified with the part of Lincoln to do the voice, which was
Raymond Massey (1896-1983). Massey's performance in Abe Lincoln
In Illinois (1939) had long been ingrained in the public
consciousness as the definitive portrayal of the sixteenth president,
and Massey had reprised the role in numerous television productions,
as well as a cameo in the recent big-screen epic How The West
Was Won (1962). But Disney was adamant in rejecting Massey,
claiming that the actor's voice did not match the known historical
descriptions of what Lincoln sounded like, and authenticity needed
to take precedence. And so, the part ultimately went to a lesser-known
actor, New York born Royal Dano, who was nonetheless no stranger
to playing Lincoln, having played the role in a 1959 television
production, "Mister Lincoln." Despite his New York
background, Dano proved quite adept at capturing the homespun
dialect that Lincoln's contemporaries described in recalling
his voice (an ability that also led to Dano being cast chiefly
in westerns over the years). He went on to reprise his Lincoln
voice performance for the Hall Of Presidents attraction at Disney
World in 1971.
-Paul Frees (1920-1986), along
with Mel Blanc, ranked as one of the busiest voice actors in
America, doing hundreds of radio programs, cartoons, commercials
and movies, where he would frequently redub foreign-born actors
who had been unable to master English well (in the 1967 movie
"King Kong Escapes" for instance, every Japanese actor
was redubbed by Frees for the English language release). Among
some of Frees' biggest claims to fame: Boris Badenov in the Bullwinkle
cartoons; the original Pillsbury Doughboy; and the "Ghost
Host" narrator of the Haunted Mansion ride in Disneyland
and Disney World. In addition to narrating "Great Moments
With Mr. Lincoln", Fair visitors could also hear his vocal
talents in the Hall Of Science "Rendezvous In Space"
movie, and the "Les Poupees des Paris" puppet show.
For a rare glimpse of Frees on-camera, check out the 1953 sci-fi
classic "War Of The Worlds" where he appears as a radio
reporter.