Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince

Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince is a biography by Marc Eliot, presenting a darker picture of entertainer Walt Disney than his popular perception. Eliot alleges lifelong anti-Semitism and he also documents Disney's covert activities on behalf of the House Un-American Activities Committee as a spy against Communists in Hollywood. The book also discusses Disney's alleged right-wing politics, including an incident in which Disney allegedly wore a Barry Goldwater badge while receiving the Medal of Freedom from Goldwater's political opponent, President Lyndon Johnson just before the 1964 election. Eliot also discusses an allegation that Disney refused to lower the American flag at Disneyland after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Marc Eliot brings to light the lack of credit for Ub Iwerks for the original Mickey Mouse sketches as well as Disney's first business partner. Various work strikes at Disney Studio's in the 1940's and the very low pay scale of the very talented artists who produced Snow White, Fantasia, Pinocio, Dumbo etc. While the shadow the book casts on some of Walt Disney's actions are unnerving. What is fascinating is how many times the company was saved from the brink of financial ruin. As well as how the Disney enterprise grew from making shorts to full length animated films, to distribution, to theme parks and merchandising.

Marc Eliot also points out various business friendships that waned as Walt Disney's perceptions changed from an early appreciation of Charlie Chaplin to referring to him as the little Commie. A long standing friendship with Spencer Tracey that ended when he started dating Katherine Hepburn. Business partnerships with Howard Hughes with an interest free million dollar loan to an offer to acquire RKO Studios and obtain a ten million dollar line of credit to merge the two companies. To Walt's stressful relationships with family including Roy who at times were not communicating verbally but through memos.

Eliot's book also discusses the urban legend that, in preparation for his death in December 1966, Disney had himself cryogenically frozen, in the hopes of being returned to life by medical science in the future. Eliot opines that the myth of Disney being frozen is probably false, although Disney did have a strong interest in cryonics.

The book also discusses the absence of a birth certificate for Walter Elias Disney and the possibility that Disney was actually born in 1890, to a peasant woman in Spain, then adopted by the Disneys. Eliot also discusses the possibility that Disney was later passed off as a full decade younger than he actually was. Birth certificates were not universal at that time, so there may be no way to resolve this question.

The book has received sharp criticism and some of the book's claims have been disputed by other authors. Animation historian Michael Barrier, who collected interviews from over 150 of former Disney employees since 1969, claimed Eliot's book was "easily the worst Disney biography I've ever read. It is packed with errors and distortions. To rely upon Hollywood's Dark Prince in any way is exactly the opposite of meticulous." Barrier also noted that the photo of Walt receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom showed no presence of a Goldwater button.