Early Television Museum

2007 Convention Presentation

Ludwig Von Drake Meets the NBC Peacock: Walt Disney and the Color TV Revolution

Presented by Jim Fanning

In 1961, Walt Disney moved his popular TV hour from ABC to NBC, specifically to revel in the creative and promotional possibilities in that network's Living Color broadcasting.  In what has been called the single most important programming event in the establishment of color television, Walt premiered Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, the first weekly television show designed to showcase color, and featuring the only animated character Walt ever created for television, Ludwig Von Drake. This presentation,including clips, stills and advertising material,will explore the creation, marketing and colorful details of Disney's Emmy- and Peabody-winning series, and its enormous impact on the public and industry acceptance of color television.

JIM FANNING is a writer, historian and Disney authority. The Editor and Staff Writer of Sketches, the Official Magazine of the Walt Disney Collectors Society, Jim is the author of books and articles about Walt Disney and his creative legacy.  He has written, researched and consulted for many divisions of The Walt Disney Company, and such Disney licensees as Mattel, McDonalds, NBC, and Technicolor, and his articles have appeared in such publications as The Hollywood Reporter, Disney News, The Disney Magazine, Disney Newsreel, Persistence of Vision and Comics Buyer Guide.