State Historical Society of Missouri
Center for Missouri Studies
605 Elm St.
Columbia, Mo
Disney historian and Chapman University Presidential Fellow Jeff Kurtti offers insight into Walt Disney's lifelong connection to the newspaper industry. From his six years as a Kansas City Star newsboy to his job as a railroad "news butcher" on the Missouri Pacific Line between Kansas City and Jefferson City, Walt Disney's early "newsie" experience impacted his life. You can see the influence in his work, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the creation of Disneyland, to television programming—so much so that Walt once said, "I feel sorry for the boys who never have had the chance to carry papers…"
Special programming the week of October 1-4 will be held at the Center for Missouri Studies as part of the grand opening of Daily Disney exhibition in the SHSMO Art Gallery. A curator's talk by Joan Stack will be held Tue. Oct. 1 at noon in the art gallery. Speaker events will be held in Cook Hall, including a presentation by Kaye Malins, founder of Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline on Wed. Oct. 2 and Jeff Kurtti, Thursday Oct. 3. Both talks will be from noon to 1 p.m. On Friday, Oct. 4, a Drawing Disney event for all ages and abilities will be held in Cook Hall from 10-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-3:30 p.m. Come for one or all of these fun, free Disney events as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company and the founder's Missouri roots and collections held at the State Historical Society of Missouri.
About the Speaker: Jeff Kurtti is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University in Orange, California. He is the most prolific nonfiction legacy author in Disney history, with more that 40 volumes to his credit over 25 years. A leading authority on The Walt Disney Company, its founder, and its history, he is also a writer-director of award-winning documentary content, and a respected public speaker. For several years, Kurtti worked for Walt Disney Imagineering, the theme park design division of The Walt Disney Company, and then for the Corporate Special Projects department of Disney. Since 1995, Kurtti has enjoyed a career as an author, writer, and consultant in the motion picture, theater, and themed design industries. He was creative director, content consultant, and media producer for The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco and a producer of The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story, a critically acclaimed documentary about the famed songwriters. Kurtti and his family currently reside in Arrow Rock, Mo.