Bill Walsh

Writing

Bill Walsh

Born 1913-09-30 · New York City, New York, USA

Bill Walsh was born in New York to immigrant parents (father from Canada, mother from Ireland). In his teen years he lived with relatives in Cincinnati, OH, and later attended the University of Cincinnati. In 1933 he joined the stock touring company of husband / wife team Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Fay as a writer, but the couple divorced the next year and Walsh found himself stuck in Hollywood with no job and no prospects. He wound up working as an agent for a publicity agency, one of his clients being ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Walsh joined Walt Disney Studios in 1943, working for both the Publicity and Story departments. One of his jobs was to write jokes for the syndicated Mickey Mouse comic strip (he continued doing that on a voluntary basis for more than 20 years, long after he left those departments). Walsh brought his former client Edgar Bergen to Disney to narrate some cartoons and TV shows. Walt Disney, who at first saw television as basically a tool to promote his films, was impressed with Walsh's publicity savvy and chose him to head the studio's television division. His first few projects were resounding successes, and when Disney made a deal with ABC Television to invest in its Disneyland amusement park in exchange for Disney developing a TV series, Walsh was named the series' producer. The show turned out to be The Mickey Mouse Club (1955). Walsh developed the show basically by himself, with little input from Disney, who was more concerned with developing Disneyland. He hired both the child performers and adult hosts on the show, came up with the basic format--rotating "theme" days, animated opening and closing sequences and recurring live-action series, among other innovations--and even helped to develop the famous Mousketeer "ears" each performer wore. After several seasons on "The Mickey Mouse Club", Walsh wanted to get out of television production and left the show to produce live-action films. He produced quite a few of Disney's comedies and adventure films, the most famous being Mary Poppins (1964), which was one of the studio's biggest successes and pleased critics as much as it did fans. Most of the films he produced, however, were derided by critics as dull and low-quality and helped to cement Disney's reputation for turning out unimaginative, repetitive, assembly-line pap. The films made money for the studio, though, and Walsh and Walt Disney remained close until Disney's death in 1966. Bill Walsh died of a heart attack in 1975.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Mary Poppins poster
7.5

In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.

Mary Poppins

1964

Flubber poster
5.7

Professor Phillip Brainard, an absent minded professor, works with his assistant Weebo, trying to create a substance that's a new source of energy and that will save Medfield College where his sweetheart Sara is the president. He has missed his wedding twice, and on the afternoon of his third wedding, Professor Brainard creates flubber, which allows objects to fly through the air.

Flubber

1997

The Love Bug poster
6.6

Down-on-his-luck race car driver Jim Douglas teams up with a little VW Bug that has a mind of its own, not realizing Herbie's worth until a sneaky rival plots to steal him.

The Love Bug

1968

The Love Bug poster
6.6

Down-on-his-luck race car driver Jim Douglas teams up with a little VW Bug that has a mind of its own, not realizing Herbie's worth until a sneaky rival plots to steal him.

The Love Bug

1968

Herbie Rides Again poster
6.2

The living Volkswagen Beetle helps an old lady protect her home from a corrupt developer.

Herbie Rides Again

1974

Herbie Rides Again poster
6.2

The living Volkswagen Beetle helps an old lady protect her home from a corrupt developer.

Herbie Rides Again

1974

Bedknobs and Broomsticks poster
7.0

Three children evacuated from London during World War II are forced to stay with an eccentric spinster. The children's initial fears disappear when they find out she is in fact a trainee witch.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

1971

Bedknobs and Broomsticks poster
7.0

Three children evacuated from London during World War II are forced to stay with an eccentric spinster. The children's initial fears disappear when they find out she is in fact a trainee witch.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

1971

That Darn Cat! poster
6.6

A young woman suspects foul play when her cat comes home wearing a wristwatch. Convincing the FBI, though, and catching the bad guys is tougher than she imagined.

That Darn Cat!

1965

Blackbeard's Ghost poster
6.7

The eponymous wraith returns to Earth to aid his descendant, elderly Emily Stowecroft. The villains want to kick Emily and her friends out of their group home so that they can build a crooked casino. Good guy Steve Walker gets caught in the middle of the squabble after evoking Blackbeard's ghost.

Blackbeard's Ghost

1968

Blackbeard's Ghost poster
6.7

The eponymous wraith returns to Earth to aid his descendant, elderly Emily Stowecroft. The villains want to kick Emily and her friends out of their group home so that they can build a crooked casino. Good guy Steve Walker gets caught in the middle of the squabble after evoking Blackbeard's ghost.

Blackbeard's Ghost

1968

Son of Flubber poster
6.1

Beleaguered professor Ned Brainard has already run into a pile of misfortunes with his discovery of the super-elastic substance "Flubber." Now he hopes to have better luck with a gravity-busting derivative he's dubbed "Flubbergas." Ned's experiments, constantly hampered by government obstruction, earn the consternation of his wife, Betsy. But a game-winning modification to a football uniform may help Ned make the case for his fantastic new invention.

Son of Flubber

1963

One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing poster
5.8

Escaping from China with a microfilm of the formula for the mysterious "Lotus X", Lord Southmere, a Queen's Messenger, is chased by a group of Chinese spies.

One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing

1975

One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing poster
5.8

Escaping from China with a microfilm of the formula for the mysterious "Lotus X", Lord Southmere, a Queen's Messenger, is chased by a group of Chinese spies.

One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing

1975

The Absent-Minded Professor poster
6.6

Bumbling professor Ned Brainard accidentally invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly. Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself.

The Absent-Minded Professor

1961

Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus poster
6.4

Angered at stern Uncle Daniel, Toby Tyler runs away from his foster home to join the circus, where he soon befriends Mr. Stubbs, the frisky chimpanzee. However, the circus isn't all fun and games when the evil candy vendor, Harry Tupper, convinces Toby that his Aunt Olive and Uncle Daniel don't love him or want him back. Toby resigns himself to circus life, but when he finally realizes that Tupper lied to him, and that his aunt and uncle truly love him, Toby happily returns home once again.

Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus

1960

The Shaggy Dog poster
6.3

Through an ancient spell, a boy changes into a sheepdog and back again. It seems to happen at inopportune times and the spell can only be broken by an act of bravery....

The Shaggy Dog

1959

Bon Voyage! poster
5.6

The Willards from Terre Haute, Indiana travels abroad for the once-in-a-lifetime vacation in Paris, France. Harry Willard believes that the greatest problem will be avoiding tap water, but bringing his three children will prove to be more troublesome

Bon Voyage!

1962

The World's Greatest Athlete poster
5.5

Stuck with a feeble sports department, college coach Sam Archer (John Amos) faces the ax unless he can reverse the school's athletic fortunes. An African vacation with his assistant (Tim Conway) answers Archer's prayers when he spots the athletically gifted Nanu (Jan-Michael Vincent). Sam counts on Nanu's remarkable abilities to put the team back on the winning track. This upbeat farce boasts an impressive cast of comedians.

The World's Greatest Athlete

1973

Davy Crockett and the River Pirates poster
6.3

Davy Crockett and his sidekick Georgie compete against boastful Mike Fink ("King of the River") in a boat race to New Orleans. Later, Davy and Georgie, allied with Fink, battle a group of river pirates trying to pass themselves off as Native Americans.

Davy Crockett and the River Pirates

1956

Scandalous John poster
6.4

A crotchety old ranch owner fights to be able to live his life the way he wants to, and not the way other people--and the law--tell him he has to.

Scandalous John

1971

Scandalous John poster
6.4

A crotchety old ranch owner fights to be able to live his life the way he wants to, and not the way other people--and the law--tell him he has to.

Scandalous John

1971

One Hour in Wonderland poster
7.0

Airing on Christmas Day, 1950, this holiday special was the first Disney TV production. It features Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd at Walt Disney's Christmas party. The show includes clips of movies and animated shorts and the first appearance of the Fire House Five Plus Two jazz band.

One Hour in Wonderland

1950

One Hour in Wonderland poster
7.0

Airing on Christmas Day, 1950, this holiday special was the first Disney TV production. It features Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd at Walt Disney's Christmas party. The show includes clips of movies and animated shorts and the first appearance of the Fire House Five Plus Two jazz band.

One Hour in Wonderland

1950