We're here with Michael Eisner. So, thank you so much for joining us. Quite the honor.
We're going to kind of cover your whole career, but we're going to start with your time at Disney, of course, right? So for those who don't know, Ronald Reagan was actually one of the MCs alongside Art Linkletter and Bob Cummings at the opening of Disneyland in 1955.
Then they came back. They came back in 1990 for the 35th, all three of them.
Back in 1955, millions of people, I think I read 90 million people watched that on television, which is crazy to think about, especially in today's times. And I wonder if you have any thoughts of, you know, Disney himself creating these memorable events in this unforgettable, magical way.
Well, one thing about Walt Disney, which a lot of people don't think about or even know, he was one of the great marketers, merchandisers ever. I mean, he created these characters, which was his main interest. And then when he had Mickey Mouse and the other characters, he had, I think, the first character watch and he understood how to bring his mission to the public.
He made a deal with ABC to do The Wonderful World of Disney, which really put ABC on the map and then turned into the Wonderful World of Color.
Right. But the opening with President Reagan and Bob Cummings and Art Linkletter set it up. I mean, women's heels were sinking in the asphalt. It was just when it opened, it was new and all of that. The telecommunications between the three of them wasn't perfect.
In 2005, we opened up the Air Force One Pavilion, and you'll see that on your tour. But when you round the corner and you start walking toward the Air Force One Pavilion, you see the nose of the plane sort of calling you into the building. And we actually invited some members of Disney Imagineering out before we opened to the public to get their, you know, Disney knows how to do things. And we asked them their opinion and they said, you know, you did it right. Walt Disney would approve of this because, you know, you're grabbing the attention and you're drawing people into the building. He was just so smart about things like that. For Ronald Reagan's second inaugural, it was so cold outside in Washington DC, they couldn't actually even have the parade for him, the inaugural parade. So just a few months later, he went and did the parade at Walt Disney World in Florida.
I just want to say that Walt Disney, were he alive today, would be proud to be standing here in my place with the president of the United States. And I welcome him with Mrs. Lillian Disney, his widow, to our great, wonderful company here. I spoke introducing him and mentioning that the difference between the weather and the temperature in Washington and Orlando was 120 degree difference. I just remember that comment. It was fantastic. It was organized the way the US government and Walt Disney Company organized things. We had, I don't know, 50, 90 bands from all over the country. We were in a, obviously for security, we were in a glass like a greenhouse and then the rest of the audience, the rest of the Walt Disney Company was across Epcot Center. It was at Epcot Center and they walked all the way around and if you've been to Walt Disney World at Epcot, that's a long walk all the way around. It went on for a long time and for me the interesting thing was after a while, you know, it was one band after another and we had plenty of time to talk. So and I had other occasions with the president talking about Hollywood and his history, which he'd like to do, and with me he did it more than politics. I mean, I want to know what's happening in the Middle East. He was telling me what happened in the 30s in Hollywood.
But it was my wife Nancy Reagan and the president and we had two hours sitting there and after the 15th band, we concentrated on the bands. We didn't let anybody know we weren't, but we talked about his presidency and about, I can't remember what else, but it was fun.
How many jokes did he tell you? He loved to tell jokes.
No, he was unbelievable. It was unbelievable in his remembrances. All the details of Hollywood.
That was one of Mrs. Reagan's favorite things to talk about.
She really talked about it. At other occasions, she, I learned a lot from her.
All throughout her life, that was her favorite thing to talk about. Now, speaking of 1990 and the 35th anniversary of Disneyland, I actually have a funny memory. I grew up in Los Angeles, so of course we went to Disneyland all the time. And I was at the 35th year celebrations because every 35th person won something. And I actually won something when I went through the turnstile and was just elated. I was so happy, a free pass to come back as a young little kid. I was so excited. But you were actually Disney chairman during that 1990 35th anniversary. What memories do you have of that?
Well, the first memory I have is how is it going to go? I mean, is everything organized? Is it too hot? The three people that came back were not in their 20s. How are they going to handle it? Bob Cummings and Art Linkletter. The president was like totally with it and vital and healthy. I think Bob Cummings was a little more frail. So, I was a little worried about that. And what kind of television show was it going to be? Because we were making a television show. And it worked out great. I think I remember I was in a car with the president, you know, the usual going down Main Street. I mean, the interesting thing about this country and Disney and presidents is every candidate that wants to be president wants to go to Walt Disney World or Disneyland, be photographed and be on the cover of Time magazine.
In France, it's 180 degrees the opposite.
Okay. Mitterrand, who was president when he opened Euro Disneyland Paris, even though he wanted t-shirts for his grandchildren and all that on opening day, he said it wasn't his cup of tea. It finally became his cup of tea, but the French are so worried about their culture because it's so specific and American is more pluralistic, right? And presidents like being seen in public arenas like Disney. So when Reagan came down for the second inaugural parade, he was all in great spirits. It wasn't like somebody put a gun to his head and said, 'You have to do this. This is a political opportunity.' I think he did talk a little bit about taxes, but mostly it was about being at Walt Disney World and seeing all these bands.
Yeah. Who, if they had done it in Washington, would have frostbite. Yeah. Wouldn't have been able to do it.
It was really unbelievable. Unbelievably cold. Unusually cold.
Yeah. Colder. It was like below zero or something like that.
I was there. It was the coldest I can remember.
Well, and you know, you talked about the presidents wanting to go to Disneyland. I mean, it's not just presidents, right? I mean, I don't even know where it came from. I don't know if you know where it came from. You know, when a sports team wins a big tournament, you know, what are you gonna do next? I'm gonna go to Disneyland. It's where everyone wants to go.
Sitting across the room at a dinner at Disneyland and I said to the people who had just flown around the world on one engine or something, 'You've now done this great achievement. What are you going to do next?' And she said or he said, 'We're going to Disneyland.' And Jane, my wife, said, 'That would be a great slogan.' And then we had a commercial with Phil Simms of the New York Giants within two weeks. 'I'm going to Walt Disney World.' Disney has had a great association with a lot of people, but particularly presidents.
Well, and speaking of that, Disney, Walt Disney celebrated presidents. I mean, he has the Hall of Presidents in Disney World. It has the Lincoln, what is it? Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Do you know why he wanted to feature presidents in his parks?
Well, a lot of that came from the World's Fair.
That he developed for the World's Fair and then brought to Walt Disney World. But he was aggressively patriotic. He had had a rough childhood in Kansas and Chicago and he came to Hollywood. He wasn't treated great by the mogul at the other studios. He kind of went out on his own and having come from the Midwest, I went to school in the Midwest and I love the people in the Midwest and that Midwest culture really is imbued in the Disney culture. So he was a very positive, optimistic, Panglossian character.
Well, you know, as you were talking, it reminded me so much of Ronald Reagan, right? Ronald Reagan was so patriotic. Ronald Reagan grew up in the Midwest. Ronald Reagan grew up with poor means and, you know, didn't know how he would grow up because his father was an alcoholic and so they were always moving around because he couldn't hold a job and couldn't pay the rent. Which leads me to...
Well, I think that's one of the reasons they were close friends, of course, they had a similar background, particularly when Ronald Reagan was head of the Screen Actors Guild. And Walt Disney was a little upset when they struck him in the animation company and he had to deal with all that. It was a long relationship.
Yeah, it really was. But speaking of patriotism and national pride, you know, Ronald Reagan believed in a lot of things and did a lot of things for this country, but one of the things that was most important to him was bringing the love of America back to Americans.
Ronald Reagan was a cheerleader for the country. He was positive. Whatever political persuasion you had, it didn't matter. He didn't talk terribly about people. He praised people. He enjoyed that. There have been times recently when that has not been the case. And there is a, if you're old enough, you can see a real differentiation. Most presidents are kind of optimistic in their way of thinking. Reagan was at the top of the list in that.
He sure was. Now, a lot of people have a career and they're successful in one part, they're successful in another part. You have had great success. I mean, Paramount and Disney. And your current company, if I'm pronouncing it right, Tornante. Is that correct?
You named your company that. So correct me if I'm wrong because you were in Italy and you saw a sign on the road that said Tornante, which means hairpin turn, right? And so, I'm curious sort of what hairpin turns have led you in this new company. What are you producing? I read online a lot of things you're doing. It's quite remarkable.
Well, I was on a bike trip coming down a mountain.
