The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair 2010 Calendar is based on the best-selling Arcadia Publishing title Images of America: The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair. The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair was the largest international ever built in the United States. More than one hundred fifty pavilions and exhibits spread over six hundred forty-six acres helped the fair live up to its reputation as "the Billion-Dollar Fair." With the cold war in full swing, the fair offered visitors a refreshingly positive view of the future, mirroring the official theme: Peace through Understanding.

The calendar was released on May 18, 2009.

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The 2010 calendar sold well, and Arcadia commissioned a second edition. It was released on August 9, 2010.

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This book features what many feel was the most impressive world's fair ever held. It includes 219 vintage photographs, most of which have never been published before. Published by Arcadia Publishing as part of their "Images of America" series, the book was released on June 15, 2009 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Fair. It is available at major booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. and is also available through my World's Fair Photos site. Please e-mail me if you have any questions about it.

Here's Arcadia's description of the book: After enduring 10 harrowing years of the Great Depression, visitors to the 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair found welcome relief in the fair’s optimistic presentation of the “World of Tomorrow.” Pavilions from America’s largest corporations and dozens of countries were spread across a 1,216-acre site, showcasing the latest industrial marvels and predictions for the future intermingled with cultural displays from around the world. Well known for its theme structures, the Trylon and Perisphere, the fair was an intriguing mixture of technology, science, architecture, showmanship, and politics. Proclaimed by many as the most memorable world’s fair ever held, it predicted wonderful times were ahead for the world even as the clouds of war were gathering. Through vintage photographs, most never published before, The 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair recaptures those days when the eyes of the world were on New York and on the future.

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Released in 2004 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Fair, this book is a collection of vintage and modern photographs that celebrate the creation, life and legacy of the Fair. I am proud to have co-written it with Bill Young, creator of the popular www.nywf64.com website.

From Amazon: The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair was the largest international exhibition ever built in the United States. More than one hundred fifty pavilions and exhibits spread over six hundred forty-six acres helped the fair live up to its reputation as "the Billion-Dollar Fair." With the cold war in full swing, the fair offered visitors a refreshingly positive view of the future, mirroring the official theme: Peace through Understanding. Guests could travel back in time through a display of full-sized dinosaurs, or look into a future where underwater hotels and flying cars were commonplace. They could enjoy Walt Disney's popular shows, or study actual spacecraft flown in orbit. More than fifty-one million guests visited the fair before it closed forever in 1965. The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair captures the history of this event through vintage photographs, published here for the first time.

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The success of the 2004 book led to this sequel. While the first volume provided a general overview of the Fair, there just wasn't enough room to tell the whole story. This volume looks at how the Fair was conceived and built, changes made over the years, the demolition process and where remnants can be found today.

From Amazon: When the gates of the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair swung open on April 24, 1964, the first of more than 51 million lucky visitors entered, ready to witness the cutting edge of worldwide technology and progress. Faced with a disappointing lack of foreign participants due to political contention, the fair instead showcased the best of American industry and science. While multimillion-dollar pavilions predicted colonies on the moon and hotels under the ocean, other forecasts, such as the promises of computer technology, have surpassed even the most optimistic predictions of the fair. The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair: Creation and Legacy uses rare, previously unpublished photographs to examine the creation of the fair and the legacies left behind for future generations.

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I am pleased to be the author of the first comprehensive book on the fair. It includes rare photos of the design and construction phases of the project as well as an extensive collection of photographs from the fair's pavilions and shows. I was thrilled to gain the cooperation of many of those originally responsible for the fair and included their memories and thoughts along with research from a number of archival sources.

From Amazon: In 1984, the city of New Orleans hosted the last world’s fair held in the United States. Conceived as part of an ambitious effort to revitalize a dilapidated section of the city and establish New Orleans as a year-round tourist destination, it took more than 12 years of political intrigue and design changes before the gates finally opened. Stretching 84 acres along the Mississippi River, the fair entertained more than seven million guests with a colorful collection of pavilions, rides, and restaurants during its six-month run. While most world’s fairs lose money, the 1984 New Orleans World’s Fair had the dubious distinction of going bankrupt and almost closing early. However, the $350-million investment did succeed in bringing new life to the area, which is now home to the city’s convention center and a bustling arts district.

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This book salutes Expo 86, the last world's fair held in North America. Expo 86 has long been one of my favorite fairs and I was thrilled to be able to share my collection of photographs from a great summer. I'm also thrilled that this is the first book in Arcadia's new "Historic Canada" series. Here's the Arcadia Publishing description:

To mark the 100th anniversary of the city’s founding and the arrival of the first trans-Canada train, Vancouver’s political and business leaders invited the whole world to participate in the festivities. The result was Expo ’86, and more than 22 million people came for the party. It took eight years of planning and hard work to transform a former railroad yard into a colourful showplace full of pavilions and shows for the six-month event, but those lucky enough to have been there would agree that it was worth it. Expo ’86, truly a world’s fair, included pavilions from 9 provinces and territories, 54 nations and international groups, and 3 American states. Many of Canada’s largest industries joined in, as well, to celebrate the fair’s theme, “A World in Movement, A World in Touch.” Vintage photographs recapture the fun and excitement of the largest event held to that time in British Columbia.

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My newest book came out on October 11, 2010. It salutes the fair that brought us the spectacular Space Needle and Seattle's futuristic monorail.

When the United States entered the 1960s, the nation was swept up in the Space Race as the United States and the Soviet Union competed for supremacy in rocket and satellite technologies. Cities across the country hoped to attract new aerospace companies, but the city leaders of Seattle launched the most ambitious campaign of all. They invited the whole world to visit for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, and more than nine million people took them up on the offer. A colorful collection of exhibits turned 74 acres of rundown buildings into a futuristic wonderland where dozens of countries and companies predicted life in the future. The entire city was transformed with the addition of the soaring Space Needle and the futuristic monorail. When the fair ended, the site became a complex of parks and museums that remains a vibrant part of Seattle city life today.

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The book is also available for download through the iTunes Store.

Released in conjunction with the Images of America book, this set of 15 postcards features some of the best views of the fair. Published by Arcadia Publishing as part of their "Images of America" series.

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During the years I worked for Disney I put together a number of employee presentations on the company's old television shows, using that as an excuse to get these shows out of the vault so I could see them again myself. I researched the history of the show to help in introducing them, often tracking down some of the original cast and crew. As time went by I got to be known as the "old TV show guy" and got calls from across the company asking for information. The calls continued even after I left Disney to work for Warner Bros., making me think there just might be enough interest in the shows for a book. Happily I was eventually able to convince Disney that there was, and they gave me complete access to the Disney Archives. Here's part of the press release from the book's release in 1997:

THIS FIRST-EVER HISTORY OF DISNEY TELEVISION IS PERFECTLY TIMED TO COINCIDE WITH THE RETURN OF THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY TO SUNDAY NIGHT PRIME TIME ON ABC.

From the much-beloved Disneyland and Zorro to recent hits like Ellen and Home Improvement, Disney television is a cultural institution that has added joy and laughter to the lives of millions of Americans from the 1950s to today. The Wonderful World of Disney Television is a fascinating, comprehensive history of all the Disney television shows ever produced, from the ones we loved to watch as children to today's top-rated programming. Rich with photographs, little-known details, anecdotes, and vital statistics, this fascinating collection fully describes each of the Walt Disney television shows, including complete schedules of aired episodes, seasonal highlights, production details, behind-the-scenes stories, full cast and crew listings, and plot synopses - and shares important moments in Disney's television history such as how Walt got into television in the first place!

A treasure trove of nostalgia - coinciding perfectly with the prime­time return of The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights, now on ABC ­ The Wonderful World of Disney Television is the first book of its kind and exactly what fans have been clamoring for.

Please click here for more information on the book including some appendixes that had to be cut due to size. The book is now out of print and I no longer have copies available for sale. It can often be found on eBay - happy hunting!

I either wrote material for these books or was interviewed by the authors. All descriptions are from Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. Titles with clickable links will open a new window for that title on Amazon.

This book collected computer games written by me and other authors for "Creative Computing" magazine. The source code for each game was included so readers could input the games into their own computers.

This book collected computer games written by me and other authors for "Creative Computing" magazine. The source code for each game was included so readers could input the games into their own computers.

This book collected computer games written by me and other authors for "Creative Computing" magazine. The source code for each game was included so readers could input the games into their own computers.

Fans of the great trans-Atlantic steamers will want to check out this book on two classic German passenger liners. I contributed four pictures of the Europa while she was sailing as the Liberte. The book has not made it to Amazon yet but can be found elsewhere online in the meantime.

This book cataloged computer games written by me and other authors. It included brief reviews of each game and information on where it was originally published.

Late in the nineteenth century, U.S. commercial and political interests began eyeing the countries of Latin America as plantations, farms, and mines to be accessed by new shipping lines and railroads. As their desire to dominate commerce and trade in the Western Hemisphere grew, these U.S. interests promoted the concept of "Pan-Americanism" to link the United States and Latin America and called on U.S. architects to help set the stage for Pan-Americanism's development. Through international expositions, monuments, and institution building, U.S. architects translated the concept of a united Pan-American sensibility into architectural or built form. In the process, they also constructed an artificial ideological identity--a fictional Pan-America peopled with imaginary Pan-American citizens, the hemispheric loyalists who would support these projects and who were the presumed benefactors of this presumed architecture of unification.

Designing Pan-America presents the first examination of the architectural expressions of Pan-Americanism. Concentrating on U.S. architects and their clients, Robert Alexander González demonstrates how they proposed designs reflecting U.S. presumptions and projections about the relationship between the United States and Latin America. This forgotten chapter of American architecture unfolds over the course of a number of international expositions, ranging from the North, Central, and South American Exposition of 1885-1886 in New Orleans to Miami's unrealized Interama fair and San Antonio's HemisFair '68 and encompassing the Pan American Union headquarters building in Washington, D.C. and the creation of the Columbus Memorial Lighthouse in the Dominican Republic.

I supplied a picture of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair.

This history of Expo 58 was released in the Nederlands and thus is written in Dutch. Here's a translation of one description:

Fifty years ago housed the Brussels Expo'58, the first post-war world exhibition. Despite the cold war organizers have tried to be as optimistic picture of the can in the field of contemporary art, science, art and culture This image was deliberately chosen to contribute to a better and more humane world. The optimistic modernism was reflected in the architecture of many pavilions. The Dutch pavilion with the theme "water" was at the end as number six on the list of most visited sections. This book gives special attention to this Dutch contribution to the Expo. A general introduction, in large contours this exciting exhibition down. The architecture and decor of the English department, including the Philips Pavilion, are fully explained. On the basis of source material is a fascinating new light on the contribution of Gerrit Rietveld at the Department of modern furnishings and are specially designed for the Expo furniture. This also applies to the textile exhibition in cooperation between Gerrit Rietveld, Jan Bons and Wim Smits was established and a Rietveld unusual design was surreal. Karel Appel made the spot a large mural in the dome of the Waterworks, the contents of which his later reputation that he aanrotzooide what seems to disprove, but appearances are deceiving. Also millions of Dutch people visited the Expo, as very close, 'knocked' over half years' the heart of the world and you had that chance, even if it could not ignore. Interviews with people who experienced a close shot by amateurs and many photos enliven the whole.

I contributed photos of Expo 58. The book sure makes me wish I could read Dutch.

With the public's never-ending interest in Walt Disney the man, the company, and the phenomenon, there is no lack of published materials on the subject. This official Disney Archives publication, however, is unique in its treatment of multiple aspects of the Disney empire. Compiled to help archivists answer telephone questions, the articles are generally brief but offer significant technical information like release and opening dates for films and lists of cartoons in series. Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse, and recent company films merit longer discussions. Entries are arranged alphabetically and cover the company's TV and movie releases; key company personnel; an abundance of information on parks, resorts, and attractions; and even stores and parades. Biographies provide titles and dates of Disney productions or dates of employment but no personal information. Smith, founder of the Disney Archives and coauthor of The Ultimate Disney Trivia Book (Hyperion, 1993), has crafted a trivia-seekers' treasure. For most public and academic collections in the performing arts.

I'm pleased to have worked with long time friend Dave Smith on some of the television entries for his great collection of all things Disney.

From the back cover:

One day, Walt Disney jumped into his car and took a journey that ended up in open farmland filled with fresh air and the sweet smell of orange blossoms. He felt transported back to the days of his youth in the Midwest, and decided that here, in the middle of the Anaheim orange groves, was the place he would build his magical park.

Shortly after, in an adjacent orange grove, Los Angeles/Dallas industrialist Jack Wrather began construction on another 30-acre "magical" resort for families: The Fabulous $10,000,000 Disneyland Hotel!

I contributed five photos to this nice look back at the building of the Disneyland Hotel. You can order it at www.magicalhotel.com

This masterful follow-up to the 1993 Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an essential purchase for anyone who's serious about fantasy. Those who are serious about horror will also find it an excellent reference. The works of prolific and confusing authors such as Michael Moorcock, as well as authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien who have many posthumously published fragments, are explained with admirable clarity. Especially fascinating are the numerous terms for motifs and themes, constituting what the editors call a map of the many "fuzzy sets" in the universe of fantasy fiction--terms such as "crosshatch," "polder," and "water margin." There are many entries on horror movies and the better-known horror writers (only writers who write no fantasy, such as Richard Laymon, are excluded). You'll also find carefully written definitions of horror, dark fantasy, supernatural fiction, gothic fiction, psychological thrillers, and weird fiction. Locus calls The Encyclopedia of Fantasy "massive and welcome," and writes, "This will be the standard reference for years to come."

I was first approached to write the entries for several Disney television entries but later did just about all of the entries for American and some British television series. Researching some of the more obscure series was certainly a lot harder then in the pre-Google era than it would be today.

Following my work with John on his Encyclopedia of Fantasy, he asked if I would help update his book on the Disney animated characters. I revised and added to the entries for many of the television characters.

From April to October in 1964 and 1965, some 52 million people from around the world flocked to the New York World's Fair, an experience that lives on in the memory of many individuals and in America's collective consciousness. Lawrence R. Samuel offers a thought-provoking portrait of this seminal event and of the cultural climate that surrounded it, countering critics' assessment of the Fair as the "ugly duckling" of global expositions. Although much attention has been paid to the controversial role of Fair president Robert Moses, who tried to use the event to ensure his personal legacy, the Fair itself was for the great majority of visitors an overwhelmingly positive, often inspirational, and sometimes transcendent experience that truly delivered on its theme of "peace through understanding." Much of the Fair's popularity, Samuel suggests, stemmed from its looking backward as much as forward, offering visitors sanctuary from the cultural storm that was rapidly approaching in the mid-1960s. Opening just five months after President Kennedy's assassination, the Fair allowed millions to celebrate international brotherhood while the conflict in Vietnam came to a boil. The Fair glorified the postwar American dream of limitless optimism just as a counterculture of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll was coming into being. It was, in short, the last gasp of the American Dream: The End of the Innocence.

I contributed all of the photographs used in this extensive look at the Fair.

Focusing on the golden era of world's fairs, from the 1930s to the 1970s, this book offers a nostalgic glimpse of the future in vintage photographs, postcards, previously unpublished memorabilia, and drawings of pavilions, created by such designers and architects as Buckminster Fuller, Norman Bel Geddes, Kisho Kurokawa, and Le Corbusier. Innovative, informative, and entertaining, this souvenir of yesterday's tomorrow is a superb tour of the achievements of avant-garde architecture and design.

I contributed a photograph of the United States Science Center from the 1962 World's Fair.

This softbound 256 page book is a handy 6 x 9" making it convenient to take with you as you antique. It contains more than 250 full color, sharp photos of album covers and recordings. This is the first comprehensive price guide and discography covering the complete output of Disney recorded music on both Disney and other labels. It covers the years 1933 to 1988 and is very complete. There is a useful table of contents and index making it easy to locate items. A history and condition guide is provided. Topics range from LPs, 45's, 78's to Little Golden Records.

I have a large collection of Disney records and catalogs, and provided information and fact checking assistance.

Following the discovery of the decapitated corpse of Arthur Rochford Manby in his nineteen-room mansion in Taos, New Mexico, there quickly arose two schools of thought as to the event. One sect accepted that he was gruesomely murdered, while the second held to the belief that he had staged his death and left behind the cadaver of a stranger. The case was a bizarre enigma wrapped in riddles, confusion, betrayal and greed. Finally for posterity, and as relief to the guilty, it was labeled an unsolved crime. Today it is referred to as the ''Manby Mystery of Taos.'' This book contains very little mystery. Rather, it is the tragic account of Manby and his 35-year career in manipulation, extortion, high-grading and murder. Arriving in New Mexico from England in 1883, the 24-year-old Manby began his personal odyssey for El Dorado: the dream of building a vast empire in the Southwest. He finally does so in 1913 when becoming the owner of the 61,000 acre Martinez Grant of Taos. But after three years it slips from his grasp and he is left nearly penniless. In his last years he gradually decays mentality and emotionally. Looked upon as an eccentric, no one realizes how ill he has become. Finally having a falling out with a quartet of compatriots, in July, 1929, he is murdered and decapitated.

I contributed three photos I took of the Mystic Mine in New Mexico way back in 1967. It's a good thing I never throw anything away!

An inspiring biography of one of the most influential and beloved figures of the 21st century, based on more than a thousand interviews.

How to Be Like is a "character biography" series: biographies that also draw out important lessons from the life of their subjects. In this new book—by far the most exhaustive in the series—Pat Williams tackles one of the most influential people in recent history.

While many recent biographies of Walt Disney have reveled in the negative, this book takes an honest but positive look at the man behind the myth. For the first time, the book pulls together all the various strands of Disney’s life into one straightforward, easy-to-read tale of imagination, perseverance, and optimism. Far from a preachy or oppressive tome, this book scrapes away the minutiae to capture the true magic of a brilliant maverick.

I was interviewed about my experiences putting together my book on Disney television and asked for input on Walt's creative and leadership processes based on his papers and interviews of those who had worked with him.

This timely biography, told through the captivating and vivid words of those who knew, worked with, and studied Walt Disney, provides the most revelatory portrait to date of the man who has become an icon of North American culture. More than 70 men and women were interviewed, including friends, employees, and historians, adversaries and rivals, and, most especially, family members, who add a special private context to a very public work. This fascinating book is the ideal compliment to the upcoming ABC Television documentary Walt: The Man Behind the Myth.

As the description notes, this book was based on interviews conducted for the documentary. Excerpts from the interviews are used here with photographs from the Disney family and the Disney Archives. There are several quotes from me on the television series and films.

James Rosenquist's paintings, with their billboard-sized images of commercial subjects, are utterly emblematic of 1960s Pop Art. Their provocative imagery also touches on some of the major political and historical events of that turbulent decade--from the Kennedy assassination to the war in Vietnam. In the first full-length scholarly examination of Rosenquist's art from that period, Michael Lobel weaves together close visual analysis, a wealth of archival research, and a consideration of the social and historical contexts in which these paintings were produced to offer bold new readings of a body of work that helped redefine art in the 1960s. Bringing together a range of approaches, James Rosenquist provides a compelling perspective on the artist and on the burgeoning consumer culture of postwar America.

I provided research and photos for the chapter on Rosenquist's work at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.

John Chamberlain rose to prominence in the late 1950s with energetic, vibrant sculptures hewn from disused car parts, achieving a three-dimensional form of Abstract Expressionism that astounded critics and captured the imaginations of fellow artists. For a seven-year period in the mid-1960s, the artist abandoned automotive metal and turned to other materials. Motivated by scientific curiosity, Chamberlain produced sculptures in unorthodox media, such as urethene foam, galvanized steel, paper bags, mineral-coated Plexiglas and aluminum foil. Since returning in 1972 to metal as his primary material, Chamberlain limited himself to specific parts of the automobile, adding color to found car parts, dripping, spraying and patterning on top of existing hues to an often wild effect. In recent years, the artist has embarked on the production of a new body of work that demonstrates a decided return to earlier themes. John Chamberlain: Choices accompanies the Guggenheim Museum exhibition, which comprises 95 works, from the artist's earliest monochromatic iron sculptures to the outsized foil creations he is working on today, encompassing shifts in scale, material and methods informed by the collage process that has been central to Chamberlain's working method. This fully illustrated exhibition catalogue includes essays by Susan Davidson, Donna De Salvo, Dave Hickey, Adrian Kohn and Charles Ray with an extensive chronology by Helen Hsu and a lexicon by Don Quaintance.

I contributed a photo of an untitled work by Chamberlain that was part of the New York State Pavilion Theaterama art exhibit at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.

I contributed the photographs for the article "The Mormon Pavilion: Mainstreaming the Saints at the New York World's Fair, 1964-65." The book is available from their website.

In 2001, when graphic designer Paul Sahre rented a summer home in Montauk, his retreat turned out to be a relic: it was one of only 200 or so cookie-cutter beach houses built in the mid-1960s as part of the Leisurama housing project. Sold by Macy's, Leisurama homes were both affordable and all-inclusive; their boxy, simply designed interiors came fully furnished and accessorized -- all buyers needed were 'groceries and a key.' The houses were immensely popular but ultimately unprofitable, and thus sadly short-lived. Sahre's fascinating study of Leisurama's brand identity, marketing effort, and mid-century modern design presents a passionately visual and contextually dense study. All told, it's a revelatory history of how prefab became fabulous.

I contributed several photographs of the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.

Meet the Mets 2008 is the most comprehensive and thorough guide to the 2008 Mets season available. Most preseason annuals cover all of baseball, and they never deliver enough team-specific information, but now there’s a publication that can quench the desire of any Mets diehard with a bevy of analysis, information, interviews,
and nostalgia. A position-by-position breakdown of the 2008 roster will get fans quickly up to speed on the new-look Mets. Further, an in-depth analysis of GM Omar Minaya’s moves is included, as well as a look at some of the most lopsided trades in franchise history. The book also offers a poignant farewell to venerable Shea Stadium as the Mets look to move into new digs in 2009. A look back at great moments in Mets history is also included, including a twentieth anniversary remembrance of the 1988 division champions and how they just might have been better than the 1986 juggernaut. Moreover, Meet the Mets 2008 evaluates the entire organization, including an in-depth look at the farm system and top prospects.

I contributed a photo of Shea Stadium as it appeared just before opening day.

From artbook.com: Fueled by a dissatisfaction with existing architectural solutions and an infusion of pop culture, art and rebellion, utopian urban proposals from the 1960s, such as Archigram's Plug-in City, Yona Friedman's La Ville Spatiale and New Babylon by former CoBrA painter, Constant, constitute a template for the concept of the megastructure-a city encased in one large structure or series of structures. Megastructure Reloaded posits the megastructure as a fix for contemporary urban architectural problems. The key figures of this resurgence--a group of architects and artists including Jose Davila, Simon Dybbroe Møller, Ryan Gander, Erik Goengrich, Franka Hörnschemeyer, Victor Nieuwenhuijs & Maartje Seyferth, Tobias Putrih, Tomas Saraceno, Katrin Sigurdardottir and Tilman Wendland--are detailed in this volume through texts and images. Soviet peripheral cities are discussed for their historical precedent and contextualized through ironic responses to them by radical architecture collectives such as Superstudio and Archizoom. The volume is rounded out with texts on Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, Lucio Costa and the planned cities of Chandigarh and Brasilia, as well as a theoretical section on megastructures and megacities. This volume is published in concert with an extensive European traveling exhibition and a series of symposia and workshops.

I contributed a photo of Expo 67 in Montreal.

This book collected computer games written by me and other authors for "Creative Computing" magazine. The source code for each game was included so readers could input the games into their own computers.

Long before synergy became a corporate watchword, Walt Disney parlayed his animated films into successful comic strips, toys, and phonograph records. Initially, the studio licensed music from the films to other companies, but after the TV show Disneyland spawned a hit in 1955 with "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," the company launched an in-house record outfit headed by noted big-band arranger Tutti Camarata. Besides soundtracks, read-along "Storyteller" LPs, and other children's releases, Disney lured Mary Martin and other adult-oriented singers and scored hits with such early '60s teen stars as Annette Funicello and Hayley Mills. Disney's labels cashed in on '70s fads with the double platinum Mickey Mouse Disco LP and the Mousercise workout album, rode into the CD era successfully, and now offer songs for download on iTunes. Hollis and Ehrbar obviously know and love Disney's music; what's more important is their thorough research. Besides detailed accounts of the diverse Disney releases, they provide sidebar biographies of dozens of performers. Though it lacks a discography, this is a valuable, highly readable addition to Disneyana.

I have a large collection of Disney records and catalogs, and provided information and fact checking assistance.

When Lee Iacoca brought his Fairlane Committee together in 1962 to explore the possibilities of a new kind of car for young, forward-thinking families, no one could have predicted quite how successful this car would eventually be. Finding a styling void in the swiftly growing baby boomer market, Ford hit a marketing bullseye with the Mustang--a four-seat, sporty "pony car" perfect for the times. In the first two years of its production, more than a million Mustangs were built--redefining the Ford brand and becoming the company's most popular car since the Model T. Based on extensive research and interviews with Mustang team members, including Lee Iacocca, management and factory employees, this book tells the fascinating story of how a clandestine group at Ford created one of the most iconic car designs in history.

I supplied pictures of the Ford Pavilion from the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.

PCC's Reference Book of Personal and Home Computing
People's Computer Company. Edited by Dwight McCabe (1977)

Evidently some of my computer games ended up being reprinted in this book. I haven't found a copy yet so I don't know which ones!

As today's valued examples of modern architecture age to the point that preservation is called for, the methods and technology used in such preservation must be carefully considered so that the design integrity of the building is maintained. Written by the president of an organization committed to the documentation and preservation of modern architecture, this book outlines best practices for undertaking such efforts and addresses the latest technological advances in the field. Containing relevant case studies of preservation projects in the United States and in Europe, this is the only professional reference for architects dedicated specifically to the subject of preserving modern architecture.

I supplied pictures from the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.

The borough of Queens has seen many historical and geographical changes. Marshlands, woods and farms gave way to factories, thriving communities and the nation’s premier arterial highway system. Queens, the latest offering in Arcadia Publishing’s Then & Now series, by Jason D. Antos, a lifelong resident of Queens and the author of two other local history books about the borough, Whitestone and Shea Stadium, offers a rare look at New York City’s largest borough, featuring many photographs never published until now.

I supplied a picture from the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.

The follow-up to his critically acclaimed book A-frame, Chad Randl's Revolving Architecture: A History of Buildings that Rotate, Swivel, and Pivot explores the history of this unique building type, investigating the cultural forces that have driven people to design and inhabit them. Revolving Architecture is packed with a variety of fantastic revolving structures such as a jail that kept inmates under a warden's constant surveillance, glamorous revolving restaurants, tuberculosis treatment wards, houses, theaters, and even a contemporary residential building whose full-floor apartments circle independently of each other. International examples from the late 1800s though the present demonstrate the variety and innovation of these dynamic structures.

I supplied pictures from the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.

Seen, Un-Seen Disneyland documents and highlights the many obscure and unique details that are built within Walt Disney's Disneyland. With over 325 full-color images, Russell Flores brings to life—and to sight—the many wonders that Disney Imagineers have thoughtfully placed inside the Magic Kingdom. Stories, trivia, and over a dozen quizzes are part of this unique and first-of-its-kind book. Learn about things that visitors often see but not notice when visiting Disneyland. This book will make all subsequent visits to Disneyland that much more magical and inviting.

I supplied editorial suggestions and fact checked the text.

Rising among the factories and body shops off Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, Shea Stadium became the home of the New York Mets in 1964. Named after William A. Shea, the New York attorney responsible for bringing baseball back to the Big Apple after the departure of the Giants and the Dodgers, Shea Stadium has been the setting for many of the game’s greatest moments. Able to be converted from a baseball diamond into a football fi eld, the ballpark was home to the New York Jets from 1964 until 1983. From its opening in 1964 for the world’s fair to the unforgettable Beatles concert to the 1969 Miracle Mets, this book covers the history of Shea Stadium through its inception and up to the creation of the new modern-day Citi Field, which the Mets will call home in 2009.

I supplied pictures of the construction and early days of the stadium.

Former Cosmopolitan executive editor Mauro tries to underscore the irony of the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair, with its theme of world unity, opening on the brink of world war. But Mauro has multiple narratives, moving erratically between the evolution of the fair, with its slogan Building the World of Tomorrow; war brewing in Europe; and Germany gobbling up territory (Hitler refused the invitation to have a pavilion at the fair). As, one by one, European nations closed their pavilions, due to the war, the fair's theme rang increasingly hollow. During the fair's run, Einstein famously wrote to President Roosevelt expressing concern over Germany's stockpiling of uranium, giving rise to the Manhattan Project. To this unwieldy narrative Mauro adds the story of two NYPD bomb squad detectives killed when a bomb detonated on the fairgrounds on July 4, 1940.

I supplied pictures of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair.

These books used my books or magazine articles as source material. All descriptions are from Amazon.com.

"A useful overview... [that] captures the technological, economic, and cultural sweep of an industry that influenced... what would become the Global Village." -- Bill Ruehlmann, The Virginian-Pilot "An extensive, readable... informative, well-written study... Recommended." -- CHOICE "A tour-de-force narrative of more than six decades of American television and its impact on U.S. society... An important contribution." -- Christopher H. Sterling, Communication Booknotes Quarterly "An excellent addition to any undergraduate library and also a nice addition to public libraries." -- Linda W. Hacker, American Reference Books Annual "A marvelous, detailed, and comprehensive narrative... This remarkable book, unquestionably one-of-a-kind, belongs in every reference library." -- Robert Fyne, Film & History "Positioned with the monumental works of Erik Barnouw, Asa Briggs, Christopher Sterling and John Kittross, Edgerton contributes a comprehensive study of American television's popular culture... The Columbia History of American Television should be on the shelf of every television historian and popular culture scholar, as well as the nonspecialist's." -- Donald G. Godfrey, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media

Since the first SF film produced for television--1968's Shadow on the Land--nearly 600 of the films initially released to television have had science fiction, fantasy, or horror themes. Featuring superheroes, monsters, time travel, magic, and other elements of their big screen counterparts, these films range from the phenomenal to the forgettable, from low-budget two-hour films to blockbuster mini-series. Some, like The Ewok Adventure, were based on theatrical releases, while others, like Babylon 5, have developed into very popular series. Information on all of these films released in America from 1968 through 1998 is collected here. Entries are arranged alphabetically and include cast and credits, a plot synopsis, and qualitative commentary, as well as notes on interesting points (e.g., future stars, salutes to other films). Appendices include a listing of films that, while not strictly genre movies, include some science fiction, horror, or fantasy elements; a chronology of the films; and a guide to alternate video or syndication titles.

Davy Crockett Craze, The: A Look at the 1950's Phenomenon and Davy Crockett Collectibles
by Paul F. Anderson (1996)

This book is the definitive work on the Disney version of Davy Crockett!

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company's network television series Disneyland/The Wonderful World of Color. The series, part of Walt Disney's quest to re-create American entertainment, premiered October 27, 1954 on ABC and was the longest-lived program in television history. Over the years, Walt Disney's visions have evolved into family-oriented cinema, television, theme parks. From the lovable Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck to magical places like Frontierland, Disneyland/The Wonderful World of Color generated some of the most popular fads of the era.

In Disneyland/The Wonderful World of Color, J. P. Telotte examines the history of the Disney television series while placing it in context—the film industry's reaction to television in the post-World War II era, the Disney Studios’ place in the American entertainment industry, and Walt Disney’s dream to create the modern theme park. Telotte’s guiding principle in this examination is to illustrate how Disney changed the relationship between cinema and television and, perhaps more importantly, how it affected American culture.

The conciseness of Telotte's book is a major advantage over other leading Disney scholarship. Detailed, without including minutia, Telotte provides the reader with the key issues that surrounded the development of the Disney phenomenon. This book will attract a wide array of readers--scholars of television, media, and film studies, popular culture students, and all those touched by the magic of Disney.

From lulu.com: In 1955 Walt Disney presented the world’s first theme park. Disneyland opened with just 18 rides and attractions. Today there are eleven Disney parks around the globe. Visitors can spend weeks at a time in these resorts, often staying in one of Disney’s own hotel rooms. But in the last fifty years the Disney Imagineers have designed thousands of rides, attractions, hotels, and even entire theme parks that have never been built. Many of these concepts have remained hidden in the company’s private archive for decades… until now. The Disneylands That Never Were documents the biggest, best and most outrageous of these abandoned plans. It details everything from Walt Disney’s initial ideas for Mickey Mouse Park to his planned ski resort in California. From small developments like The Disney Hotel in New York’s Times Square to the huge Port Disney concept, over five decades of dreams are brought to life in The Disneylands That Never Were.

Using the same general format as his groundbreaking guide to science fiction, Anatomy of Wonder (Bowerk, 1995. 4th ed.), Barron and his colleagues guide the reader through the best primary and secondary literature in the two broad categories of fantasy and horror, written from 1762 to 1998. They provide extensive annotations and brief (one-paragraph) essays on each subtopic or item. In this enormous enterprise, Barron covers fiction, poetry, authors, media, the web, organizations, etc. Since the individual authors intermix fantasy and horror materials, the reader interested in only one genre is forced to scan through numerous citations in both genres to find relevant items. Separating the two within each chapter, whenever possible, would have made for easier access. Though this easily replaces all earlier broad genre guides, some genre separatists might be uncomfortable with the liberal intermix of fantasy, sf, Gothic, and horror. In fact, this remains two excellent reference books not quite comfortably rolled into one. Nonetheless, it is recommended for all public and academic collections.

Completing the landmark, award-winning, ten-volume series on the first century of American film, The Fifties covers a particularly tumultuous period. Peter Lev explores the divorce of movie studios from their theater chains; the panic of the blacklist era; the explosive emergence of science fiction as the dominant genre (The Thing, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, War of the Worlds); the rise of television and Hollywood's response to the new medium, as seen in widescreen spectacles (The Robe, The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur) and mature Westerns (High Noon, Shane, The Searchers). The richly detailed text elucidates a number of emerging trends as Hollywood, with its familiar stars and genres, reached out as an industry to the newly acknowledged "teenage" generation with rock and roll films, and movies as diverse as Rebel Without a Cause and Gidget.

Before establishing himself as the “master of disaster” with the 1970s film hits The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, Irwin Allen created four of television’s most exciting and enduring science-fiction series: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants. Filmed within yards of each other on the busy and successful studio lots of 20th Century–Fox, these 1960s series were full of Allen’s favorite tricks and techniques. Sometimes adapted from earlier sources, sometimes devised by Allen and his award-winning special effects teams, those characteristic Allen touches have influenced other productions from the original Star Trek to shows of the present day. Every science-fiction show owes something to Allen, and yet none has equaled his series for pace, excitement, or originality. This book documents and examines in detail the premise and origin of each of the four shows and offers an objective evaluation of every episode. In this close-up look at these television landmarks, the author proves that when Irwin Allen’s television episodes were good, they were great—and when they were bad, they were still terrific fun.

Journal of Popular Films & Television, The
Volume 32 (2004)

One of the articles included extracts from my book on Disney television.

Knight Rider Legacy: The Unofficial Guide to the Knight Rider Universe by Joe Huth IV and Richie F. Levine is the ultimate guide to the creation and production of this cult classic. Contained within are extensive cast and crew interviews, a season-by-season episode guide loaded with trivia, details on each Knight Rider spin-off, and rare, never before published photos!

Throughout its long and colorful history, Walt Disney Studios has produced scores of films designed to educate moviegoers as well as entertain them. These productions range from the True-Life Adventures nature documentaries and such depictions of cutting-edge technology as Man in Space and Our Friend the Atom, to wartime propaganda shorts (Education for Death), public-health films (VD Attack Plan) and coverage of exotic cultures (The Ama Girls, Blue Men of Morocco). Even Disney's dramatic recreations of historical events (Ten Who Dared, Invincible) have had their share of educational value. Each of the essays in this volume focuses on a different type of Disney "edutainment" film. Together they provide the first comprehensive look at Walt Disney's ongoing mission to inform and enlighten his worldwide audience.

Imaginatively researched and strewn with surprising details, this engaging cultural history traces the rise of the consumerism that has become as integral to the celebration of Christmas in the United States as tinsel is to tree trimming. In it, Marling (As Seen on TV) examines every ancillary form of buying, from Christmas gift wrap (which didn't exist before decorated boxes appeared in the late 1870s, followed by mass production of brightly printed paper sheets in the 1920s) to the commercialization of winter greenery in the home (which began in the late 19th century). With a keen eye for cultural diversity (her sections on the construction of African-American Christmas festivities and consumer habits are especially illuminating) and a ready sense of irony, she pierces the sentimental myths surrounding this cultural institution. Ranging from articles in the 19th century magazine Godey's Ladies Book to a statistical analysis of who buys Christmas wrap and a look at the impact of Bing Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" on holiday celebrations, her study, well timed for the coming holidays, will satisfy academic readers as well as general ones.

"Telotte really shines! His passion for analyzing Disney artifacts animates each page. Descriptions are vivid and detailed; analyses are rigorous and insightful, while his engagement with case studies is exemplary. The Mouse Machine is an engaging and intelligent book for those interested in cultural studies, popular culture, media studies, film studies, mass communication, technology and society, American studies, and related fields." Eileen R. Meehan, author of Why TV Is Not Our Fault: Television Programming, Viewers, and Who's Really in Control "The Mouse Machine is a copious history of Disney's innovations and preoccupations; it makes clear just how consistently and significantly Uncle Walt used technology to gain an edge on the competition."

Producing Animation is an invaluable resource for students, executives, artists, and live action producers who may dream about producing an animated project. From preparing a pitch through final release print, everything you need to know about producing animation is discussed. Reading it is almost as if you had a mentor to guide you through the complex and often frustrating process of producing animation. If you are planning a project, this is an item that should be added to your budget and it is likely that you will be able to save many multiples of its cost in no time.

Millions of viewers have enjoyed Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros without realizing that these Disney films were produced for a specific diplomatic purpose: as part of an initiative to foster a spirit of friendly hemispheric unity by countering Nazi propaganda efforts in South America, so that all the Americas might stand together against the Axis powers. This effort, the Good Neighbor program, was initiated and guided by Nelson Rockefeller as head of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (CIAA), a new government post created by President Roosevelt in 1940. Beginning with the extraordinary research trip Disney undertook in 1941, leading a team comprising his top animators, artists, and writers from Mexico to Chile, renowned animation historian J. B. Kaufman reveals the story behind Disney's contribution to Rockefeller's program. Based on extraordinarily comprehensive archival research and richly illustrated with many images never before published, South of the Border with Disney is a fascinating study of an all-but-forgotten aspect of the American war effort that will inform and delight Disney fans, animation lovers, and World War II buffs everywhere.

I contributed video tapes and other reference material.

Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003
by Hal Erickson (2005)

Approximately 10 years after the first edition of this major reference source, Erickson has provided a second edition to cover the prolific growth of made-for-television animation. From 1993 through 2003, almost 450 new cartoon series premiered on television, with the help of the cable television outlets. This reference describes them as well as earlier cartoons.

The encyclopedia covers all made-for-television cartoon series telecast in the U.S. between January 1, 1949, and December 31, 2003. Arranged alphabetically by title, entries provide network or cable affiliation, broadcast history, production and voice credits, synopsis, and often detailed commentary on characters, style, and the significance of the elements of each show. Entry length generally ranges from one-half page to nearly 10 pages for The Flintstones and its many derivatives. The historical essay in volume 1 covers 75 years of cartoons, starting with Disney's Steamboat Willie in 1928 (also the year that Radio Corporation of America began testing for long-range broadcasting on a television screen) up to the current landscape defined by improved production techniques, new FCC regulations regarding content, the growth of cable television, and the popularity of Japanese anime. Volume 2 concludes with an essay on cartoon voices, a selected bibliography, and an index to both volumes. The index provides access to programs, people, techniques, and organizations but not to cartoon characters, unless their names correspond to the titles of shows. We found a few errors; for example, the text contains a see reference from Heckle and Jeckle to CBS Cartoon Theatre, but there is no entry for the latter.

Whether a person wants to find information about a particular program or learn the history of television cartoons, this set will be useful and entertaining. It is recommended for public libraries and for academic libraries supporting studies in television and animation.

During the final months of his life, Walt Disney was consumed with the worldwide problems of cities. His development concept at the time of his death on 15th December 1966 would be his team's conceptual response to the ills of the inner cities and the sprawl of the megalopolis: the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" or, as it became known, EPCOT. This volume focuses on the original concept of EPCOT, which was conceived by Disney as an experimental community of about 20,000 people on the Disney World property in central Florida. With its radial plan, 50-acre town centre enclosed by a dome, themed international shopping area, greenbelt, high density apartments, satellite communities, monorail and underground roads, the original EPCOT plan is reminiscent of post-war Stockholm and the British New Towns, as well as today's transit-oriented development theory. Unfortunately, Disney himself did not live long enough to witness the realization of his "model city". However, EPCOT's evolution into projects such as the EPCOT Centre and the town of Celebration displays a remarkable commitment by the Disney organization to the original EPCOT philosophy, one which continues to have relevance in the fields of planning and development.

In his unsurpassed employment of 60 years in the business, Beaudine racked up more than 500 films and in excess of 350 television programs. Until his death at age 78, he was the oldest active director in the business. This detailed biography chronicles Beaudine's swift rise through the ranks, his triumph as one of the most successful directors of British comedies, his accumulation and loss of personal fortunes, his fall from fame, and his prolific work in television. Marshall corrects much misinformation that has been written about the director and has compiled the most complete list of his directorial credits to date.

While my recent work has been oriented towards books I have written a number of magazine and newspaper articles over the years. Many of the clippings are buried away in boxes or filing cabinets so this list is incomplete, but I'll update it as things turn up.

I contributed photos for the cover article "A Viking in New York: The Kensington Runestone at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair". Copies of the magazine are available at the Minnesota Historical Society site.

I contributed all of the photos for the cover article "A Most Popular World's Fair".

This issue celebrates the 50th anniversary of Century 21, the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. I contributed a picture of the famous Bubbleator elevator.

Starlog #35 - June 1980 - Up from the Depths: The Making & Breaking of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea*

Starlog #39 - October 1980 - Auctions Speak Louder Than Words *

Starlog #39 - November 1980 - An Interview with Fred Freiberger (Part 1)*

Starlog #40 - November 1980 - An Interview with Fred Freiberger (Part 2)*

Starlog #48 - July 1981 - Bill Mumy*

Starlog #57 - April 1982 - Warning! Warning! (Lost in Space Robot)*

Starlog #57 - April 1982 - Bob Kinoshita: Designing the Robot*

Starlog #57 - April 1982 - This is Dick Tufeld Speaking*

Starlog #66 - January 1983 - The Time Tunnel: Back From Oblivion and Living in Syndication

Starlog #68 - Wizards and Warriors

Starlog #79 - February 1984 - David Hasselhoff: Crusading as the Knight Rider

Starlog #88 - November 1984 - V

Starlog #105 - April 1986 - Complete Guide to V

Starlog - #needed - Airwolf is Still Flying High

Starlog - #needed - The New Model KITT is at a Dealer Near You

Starlog - #needed - Jaws 3-D: Just When You Thought it was Safe to Open Your Eyes*

Starlog - #needed - (Kitt at Universal)

Starlog - need to add "Best of" issues

Video Review - June 1985 - Critic's Choice: Jack Lemmon

* The articles marked with an asterisk were co-written with Mike Clark.

Here are some of the newspaper and magazine articles that I was interviewed for or mentioned in:

Gourmet Magazine

The Culinary Impact of the 1964 World's Fair (1/4/12)

New York Daily News, The

Queens Museum of Art 'will respect past in an up-to-date institution' (4/15/08)

Queens Tribune, The

World's Fair Book Finds Missing Pieces (7/18/08)

I supplied numerous publicity photos from Hayley's Disney films and assisted in fact checking. This may have been my first screen credit.

This special ran on Turner Classic Movies several times in December, 2008. I was interviewed about Disney's early live-action films and television series. It was great to be associated with some of the celebrities and crew who worked on so many of these memorable films.

A rare "Escorter" from the 1964 World s Fair scoots into the shop for a restoration. Will Rick and the crew give this vintage vehicle a restoration that out of this world or will it be a world-class flop?

I supplied pictures of the 1964-65 New York World's Fair.

This show evidently only aired overseas and I don't have a copy, so I'm not sure how much I'm in it. I was interviewed about Disney's canine stars from television and films. If anyone has a copy please let me know!

I was interviewed for "A Fairy's Tale", a documentary on the creation of Tinker Bell and how she was used on the television series. Don't blink or you might miss me, but I'm there.

Click here to order it on Amazon.

When the Disney Channel was launched in 1983 the programming was a mix of new shows and oldies but goodies pulled from the film vaults, making it a wonderful thing indeed for Disney fans. Since most of these older shows had never been released on home video it was a rare opportunity to catch up with some old friends. As time went on, though, there was less and less of this vintage stuff, and more and more dumb teenage sitcoms. Finally, the old shows were relegated to airing late at night and early in the morning, on a segment titled "Vault Disney." I was brought in by Disney to help sell the concept and then to pick the shows. Not everything could be used (they didn't want to pay for any new video masters, for example) but it was one more chance to get this material seen again, so I was happy to participate. Sadly, in 2002 the segment was dropped, and the old TV shows are sitting unseen once again.

This is one of my favorite projects for Disney. I was thrilled and honored to be part of this documentary about Walt Disney. I had first met Diane Disney Miller at Disneyland when I was on a panel about the CD-ROM biography of Walt described below. I was flattered when she told me that she really enjoyed what I said that night about her father. A few years later I was then invited to be part of this project, which was sponsored by the Disney family. I was the main person speaking about Walt's television work. It was daunting talking about Walt with his family there on the stage watching, but I was happy how it all turned out. It was the first show to air on ABC following the events of 9/11, and has since been released on DVD.

Click here to order it on Amazon.

Click here to order it on Amazon

I appeared in "Walt Disney Presents Heroes of the American Frontier," a documentary about all of the Disney western heroes. This included the two title stars of the DVD set, along with Davy Crockett and other less well-known efforts. Fans of the series were justifiably upset that Disney didn't release all of the episodes of Elfego Baca or the Swamp Fox. Why they mixed the two of them into one DVD set and just didn't do a complete set of one or the other (or even better, both) is a mystery to me. I loved both of these characters and hope Disney releases the remaining episodes soon.

Click here to order it on Amazon.

This show about the Hardy Boys serials from the Mickey Mouse Club was released as part of the Disney Treasures set of DVDs. I'm a big fan of the Hardy Boys book and the Mickey Mouse Club serial, so being part of this project was a special treat. I was interviewed about the creation, casting and popularity of the serial, and also did fact checking on all of the Treasures series released that year.

Click here to order it on Amazon.

Anyone who knows me will know that I am a big fan of the Disney version of Zorro. When I wrote my book on Disney television that was the first chapter I put together, using it to help sell the rest of the project to the publisher. I had been pushing for a DVD release of the series ever since DVDs first hit the scene. Disney did release a colorized version of the show, and a few episodes on VHS, but I felt that it really should be shown in the original black and white. Happily the powers that be finally agreed. Both seasons are now available, for a total of 78 30-minute episodes, as well as the four one-hour episodes shown on the anthology series. Each season is in a boxed set with other extras. I'm thrilled to be part of a documentary about the series and Guy Williams on the Season One set.

Click here to order Season One on Amazon.
Click here to order Season Two on Amazon.

This was an interesting project in many ways. I was working on my Disney television book in my spare time, but I was working fulltime at Warner Bros. One Wednesday I got an urgent call from a producer at Disney asking if I could come by for a meeting about a new television project as soon as possible. I met with him the next day, and it turned out that ABC had rejected the studio's initial plans for a show commemorating the upcoming 40th anniversary of the anthology series. They needed a new idea and they needed it immediately. I told him I would give it a shot and would have something for him the next day, a Friday.

I quickly did my best to lay out a one-hour program about the series, and after a night of little sleep delivered the results Friday afternoon. On Monday he called and said there was good news and bad news. The bad news was ABC didn't want to do a hour-long show, and I was crushed. The good news was they wanted to do a two-hour show! That launched a series of meetings with the outside production company Disney had hired to put the show together. When it was all over there was some resemblance to my original show, and I did get a screen credit, so all-in-all it was a fun project. Just don't ask me how they picked some of the cast. I still can't figure it out.

My love of world's fairs paid off in an unexpected way when I was asked to consult on the film "Iron Man 2". Part of the action revolves around a clue that was possibly hidden at "Stark Expo 74", a fictitious fair that bears an amazing resemblance to the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair. I contributed the photographs used to create these fictitious fairs,  suggestions on how some of the attractions might have looked, and what items you might have found in a fair designer's studio.

I was the co-curator for this exhibit and wrote the catalog. I also had the honor of appearing on a panel discussion about Disney television:

6/13/92: Journalist Joel Brown moderates a discussion and question and answer section between the actor who portrayed Davy Crockett, the Disney Co. archivist, and the Disney exhibit co-curator. They talk about Walt Disney, Disney programs on television both past and present, and the popularity of Davy Crockett. Cast: Joel Brown, Tom Ciesielka, Fess Parker, Bill Cotter, Dave Smith.

The show can be viewed here. Registration is required but it is free.

This show is an expanded version of the National Building Museum show listed below. I contributed additional photos of the 1939-40 New York World's Fair. You can read more about the exhibit here.

I contributed a number of photos for this exhibit, including the 1939 fairs in New York and San Francisco, as well as samples of buildings from later fairs. You can read more about the exhibit here.

I wrote the television entries for this CD-ROM biography of Walt Disney. A special treat was appearing on a panel discussion at Disneyland when it was released, as I met Diane Disney Miller and a host of other Disney writers and performers.

Click here to order it on Amazon.