Richard Shickel in THE DISNEY VERSION briefly remarks that Disney
probably shared a "mild form of the anti-Semitism that was common to his
generation and place of origin" and that the studio "was notably lacking
in Jewish employees and at least once he presented a fairly vicious
caricature of the Jew on the screen" (Avon, 1968, p. 79).

There's more in Marc Eliot's WALT DISNEY: HOLLYWOOD'S DARK PRINCE, with
some material based on conversations with Ward Kimball, but the book as
a whole does not have a high critical reputation.

Don Larsson

___________________________
"Oh, Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!"
                                        --Herman Melville
 
Donald F. Larsson
Department of English 
Armstrong Hall 230
Minnesota State University
Mankato, MN  56001
mailto:[log in to unmask] 
Office Phone: 507-389-2368

-----Original Message-----
From: Film and TV Studies Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Hr Greenberg
Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 4:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [SCREEN-L] disney's alleged anti semitism etc

On another list, in the context of a discussion of Walt Disney's alleged
anti 
semitism and racism, one correspondent who said she knew a great deal of
the 
Disney operation in the forties and fifties said that Disney employed
many 
Jewish executives and creators, hired african americans at a time when
this 
certainly wasn't fashionable, and also employed women liberally. 

Now my understanding was that Disney studios did employ Jews -- lots of
us 
always being around Hollywood   cant say about people of color  but
women who 
were used as a sort of slave resource  poorly paid  in assembly line
production 
of cells  but who weren't allowed to rise higher than this into the
better 
ranks of animators

Any real info on any of this  my knowledge  and perhaps this is an urban

legend  was that Disney himself was at least a country club anti-semite
in his 
personal life, however many Jewish employees he had 

All info greatly appreciated   thanks  Harvey Roy Greenberg MD

----
To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF
Screen-L
in the message.  Problems?  Contact [log in to unmask]

----
For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives:
http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html