Disney has become a brand name synonymous with the perception of family friendly and wholesome entertainment.

But does this wholesome image conceal a darker reality?

Is it merely coincidental the brand name of Disney reached public prominence during the identical era when social scientists like the renowned Edward Bernays were perfecting the post-modern concepts of marketing, advertising and branding that have grown to become so familiar to common vernacular?

During his lifetime, the founder of Disney corporation was a man not unfamiliar with the concept of deception; a man not unfamiliar with the concept of the actor-based-reality.

Though he may have become renowned for steering the development of groundbreaking innovations in the artistic field of animation and the construction of an iconic American theme park, Disney was also a man of many faces; an actor who portrayed the role of not just one historically influential character, but a man who played out the well-documented adventures of many lives during the span of merely one.

SEE: Actors in history’s grand stage play (Part XII)

But many are unaware there exists a fascinating anecdote concerning the man known as Walt Disney.

At the time of his death in 1966, it is said Walt Disney scrawled two words on a single piece of paper that, to this day, are counted as the final words of one of the twentieth century’s most influential and famous men: “Kurt Russell.” Continue reading “The Final Words of Walt Disney” →