Columbia Author Examines Walt Disney’s Ten Years in Kansas City

Disney historian and Columbia resident Dan Viets will present a program “Walt Disney of Kansas City” January 14 at noon at the State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO). Viets’ talk is part of the History on Elm series, held at the Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm St., Columbia, noon – 1 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month. The programs are free and open to the public.

Viets picks up on Walt Disney’s life after the family moved from Marceline, Mo., to Kansas City where he spent ten years learning art and pioneering the field of animation. At age 20, Disney founded Laugh-O-Gram Studio and attracted talented artists to work with him in Kansas City. The studio created early animation films that would one day influence Disney’s famed career in film and theme parks. Many of the young artists who worked with Disney in Kansas City followed him to Los Angeles where they revolutionized the animation film industry.

History on Elm continues through the winter and spring with additional programs this season. On February 11, the public is invited to attend a short film and talk on the restoration of Greenwood Cemetery, a Black cemetery in north St. Louis County that is on the National Register of Historic Places. On March 11, Sandy Selby, author of Arrow Rock Ink, will present “The Forgotten Stories of Arrow Rock,” examining the historic town’s first hundred years through Selby’s research in SHSMO’s newspaper archives. 

On April 8, historical archaeologist Erin Whitson will share her fieldwork and study along the tragic Trail of Tears through Missouri. May 13 will include a program on the rotoscope invention in Rolla, Mo., a forerunner to the development of IMAX films. On June 10, author and SHSMO editor Kimberly Harper, will talk about her new book, Men of No Reputation, examining Robert Boatright, one of the greatest con men of the early 20th century, along with the Buckfoot Gang, which operated out of towns in Jasper County and extended its large criminal syndicate throughout the Midwest.

The State Historical Society’s History on Elm series explores a variety of topics on the second Tuesday of the month at noon, ranging from Missouri art and authors to unique and interesting collections at the State Historical Society. The series is free to the public and registration is not required.