Talk about tie-ins! So soon after letting "The Long, Duck Night" take flight, I came across this historical tidbit: On June 9, 1934, Donald Fauntleroy (Fauntleroy?!?) Duck made his world premier in the animated short "The Wise Little Hen". You've got to admit he makes an incredible-looking 80-year-old!

Fauntleroy????!!!!! The things we learn... Nice find, EW!

Does that mean all of the Looney Toons have middle names?

I don't know about Looney Tunes, but it suggests that Walt Disney's wife had to step in with naming more than one character -- she had to override him when he wanted to name the mouse Mortimer, and I suspect Donald Duck's middle name was a compromise.

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Actually, I didn't mean to imply Mrs. Disney was responsible for Fauntleroy -- she was the one who steered Walt AWAY from "clunker names", like the time when Micky Mouse was created; he wanted to use the name Mortimer. And it was that reason he regularly consulted with her whenever he had a new character that needed a name.

Hi all!

Originally posted by ElectricWhite Actually, I didn't mean to imply Mrs. Disney was responsible for Fauntleroy -- she was the one who steered Walt AWAY from "clunker names", like the time when Micky Mouse was created; he wanted to use the name Mortimer. And it was that reason he regularly consulted with her whenever he had a new character that needed a name.

Likewise, I was not implying that Lillian Disney had no involvement in the naming of any Disney characters. I was writing strictly on the subject of Donald's middle name. On that subject alone, it is unlikely that Mrs. Disney was in a position to encourage, discourage, or, to use your own word, compromise on the selection of his middle name, as seen in a brief sight gag in one short in 1942. Again, strictly in regards to the middle name of Donald Duck, the available evidence I have seen suggests that the name likely came from one of the storymen who worked at the Disney studio. Now, I certainly have not scoured every Disney-related book, website, documentary, monograph, dissertation, archive record, and other forms of information that are out there. So, if you have any evidence that suggests Lillian Disney's direct involvement in the selection of Fauntleroy as Donald's middle name, I would be very happy to see it. James

I'm sorry, James, I don't have the direct evidence that you have access to -- I was going off some childhood memories of when some of my grandfather's friends would visit and recall the days when they (the friends, not my grandfather) worked for the studio.

Wow, I bet they had some interesting stories, EW.

I didn't get to hear a whole lot -- I was 8 when my grandfather died -- but I do remember how horrible Walt was at choosing names. To his dying day, Walt couldn't see why Mortimer wouldn't have worked for the mouse (that was the name of the pet mouse he had as a kid, after all, so it just had to be the kind of name kids liked.) Thankfully, he had enough sense to listen to his wife when she'd explain why a particular name wouldn't work. (With the mouse, she told him that a cute mouse needs a cute name, and Mortimer wasn't cute.) Another thing I picked up was that not all of the official stories are very reliable...especially those that uphold a squeaky-clean, all-American image.

I grew up 45 mins from Disney World. I remember stories from classmates on how incredibly restrictive Disney was for summer hires. My bigger impressions though were of all the times it was in the news that Disney yet again went into some pre school and painted over the Disney characters painted on the walls because no license fees were paid.

I've heard that stuff is still going on.

More coincidences! Walt Disney's party house is on the market! http://www.bankrate.com/lite/real-estate/celebrity-house-for-sale-walt-disney-1.aspx

That's not a house, it's a bungalow. It would be cool to own, though.

Originally posted by ElectricWhite More coincidences! Walt Disney's party house is on the market! http://www.bankrate.com/lite/real-estate/celebrity-house-for-sale-walt-disney-1.aspx

Not sure about the house, but I think his daughter and son-in-law still own the winery, I know his widow owned before she passed.

Disney things always remind my nightmares. I had worked as a swimwear merchandiser/production manager. I handled GAP,Gymboree, AmericanEagle, BananaRepulic, Nike, Arena, Quicksilver etc... I can tell Disney Store always gave me the most horrible headaches. Characters located in the center of the cloths- I needed to struggle to find the most cost efficient layout of fabric prints and to develop original accessories...every factory(fabric/sewing/accs)'s "Intelligence level(?)" is not that high so it was really hell to make them keep up with the whole details which were changing almost everyday upon designer's caprice and Disney's strict standards. My co-workers always looked at me with pity, they said my boss was always nervous being afraid of my sudden resignation. But whenever the final production samples came out, it was so lovely and cute I could forget the past nightmares. One day, buyer complained Daisy Duck's eyelashes were not long enough as the original art, they requested reproduction of fabrics. However that time, bulk fabrics were already sent via Air without buyer's permission to meet the delivery due date. My boss and I decided to make fake fabric samples. But it was not the end of cheating. I needed to make shipping samples(usually simply picked up in the Southern Asian sewing factory during production) with that fake fabrics and it made sewing technicians in the sample room upset. If this fault were made by me, I won't complain. But usually these kind of things were originated from misunderstandings by the fabric factories. Nearly 80% of (fake) shipping samples were made in Seoul, not in the Southern Asian factories. Disney has so many characters and their original details, so it is very mysterious thing that my brain did not explode. Every Americans should know the third world worker(Rachel)'s tears and stress. HA-Ha!! When buyer decided change the vendor, they recommended me to the new vendor company. half of me wanted to go, the other half didn't. Sometimes I rather wished the new vendor would not accept me, cause If I refuse to go, the buyer and its Korean agent would not like me, it could affect my reputation in the field. Fortunately(?) a Chinese vendor was chosen for its low FOB prices. EW, Disney tie-ins? Donald Duck? I will not write complains on the "The Long Duck Night" thread.

rachel -- my heart started racing and I broke out in a cold sweat when I read what you went through -- hats off to you for enduring such a high-stress job! I promise you I'm not affiliated with the Disney corporation in any way. I'm just finding it funny that, just days after I posted "The Long, Duck Night", a mention of Donald Duck's 80th "birthday" came on the tv, and then news about one of the places Disney once owned was one of the headlines from my email provider! I wonder what will come next....

Youch rachel! Hopefully your boss treated you extra well at times to make up for the misery! (I love these kinds of insider stories of what's really happening behind the scenes.)

I have the Nike bikini in the photo. It is now in a storage room at my parent's house with other hundreds of swimsuits. It was worn by Maria Sharapova when she got photo shoot for Sports Illustrated in 2006. Originally it was a fit sample for Nike technicians. That time, Seoul sample room was extremely busy, so they didn't have enough time to make both fit and photo samples. After photo shoot, the bikini was sent to Nike's design team and after the review, it was returned to Seoul. It had been hung in the company's showroom for years. One day I exploded due to overloaded works and complicatedly twined accidents. After I summoned to the president I did not hide my annoyance to my boss-"I'll quit this job right now I'd rather pack hamburgers in Mcdonalds" She was very strict supervisor I don't know how I could be that brave. She took me to the isolated showroom to soothe me. After that, she took out the bikini and handed it to me cause I had my eyes on that bikini for all time. I (a little bit) hurled it down on the desk, crying even more loudly "I don't need this stupid thing!!!" Whenever she meets me, she makes fun of me with that moment imitating my face and action. If I can prove that my bikini is the exact one in the photo, I wish to sell if off to a Sharapova fan. It has not been laundered!! Walt Disney's house has official documents for its history, but sadly I have nothing. Piu...... I haven't worn that bikini being afraid of STD.(sounds silly? Hmm.) I really wondered why I had been wanting the bikini packing it with two vinyl bags to prevent other swimsuits from being contaminated.

LOLOL, you must have been in quite a temper! It sounds like that strict supervisor at least has a sense of humour. I can see how people would want proof ... I suppose the suit could be tested for DNA, that sounds like a very creepy suggestion though, hehe. I watch too many crime shows. Plus you'd have to be able to match it against her certified DNA. Maybe your supervisor might have some suggestions?

Rachel, does Maria know you have it? You might be able to get her to sign something stating she really did wear it.

BR-No. It was around 2009 I got the bikini. After the photo shoots in 2006(I was a senior in a university then), it had been displayed in the company's showroom. DNA test costs $300~400 in Korea. But in this case, testers need to find remaining human cells on the garment, so I think they'll charge me additional expense for this. I've browsed webs selling celebrity's items, it seems that this Nike bikini will not sell at high price which can compensate DNA test fees. Searching the web, I found she is running a candyshop chains- Sugarpova. After I locate the bikini, I think I can send an e-mail to her agent to buy it from me. They may make use of it for some events to get people's attention. I've got a question. Does she popular in your country? Korean guys do not like a girl whose height is 188cm. They rather show interest to her unique roar. PS) I've sent an e-mail, which I found in her official web. I asked if they can certify that the bikini is original or not. I also told my previous boss about this issue. She is excited too. If they want to see it for investigation, I'll gladly attack my parent's storage room.

Originally posted by rachel Korean guys do not like a girl whose height is 188cm. They rather show interest to her unique roar.

"To her unique roar"? I don't quite understand what you mean there. I don't really follow models so I don't know how popular she is over here.

http://youtu.be/0_PA0w6ca-g She often shouts loudly during matches, like in the video. Her shouts had been once popular as mobile phone ringtones here.

LOL, I had no idea!

I know who she is because my husband watches tennis once in a while, but I don't know how popular she is in the US.

She's pretty popular with the guys...and not because of her tennis abilities!