STAN FREBERG HERE...A Real Mickey Mouse Operation
Stan Freberg here. It's old news by now that the Walt Disney Company now heads the world's largest broadcasting empire. When Disney took over Capital Cities/ABC, that put the world's most famous mouse in charge of an entertainment giant. I once did the voice of Mickey Mouse, with Walt's approval. What does that make me in this whole mega-deal? Be right back. [:60 SPOT BREAK]
Freberg here. I've been thinking about the Disney/ABC takeover. This makes Disney, with successful theme parks, hit movies and TV shows, the boss now of the ABC network, with stakes in ESPN, A&E and Lifetime. So who's really running things now, Michael Eisner? Nope. This puts the world's most famous mouse in the big leather chair at the end of the board table.
So, after all is said and done, the big TV mogul to reckon with is not Rupert Murdoch, not Ted Turner, but a mouse--a mouse with humongous ears, little red shorts, and only four fingers on each hand.
Walt Disney was always the voice of Mickey, when he was alive, but when he was too busy, his sound effects wizard Jimmy McDonald did it. Once, when Capitol Records was recording a children's album called "Mickey Mouse's Birthday Party," and both Walt and Jimmy were busy, Walt asked me to record Mickey's voice: "Hi, Minnie, hi Pluto, Happy Birthday! Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha!"
My question now is, as the one-time voice of Mickey, don't I come in for some share of this mega-conglomerate pie? Probably not.
Why do I suddenly feel like Roger Clinton?
Stan Freberg here.
Copyright (C)1996, Stan Freberg/Freberg, Ltd. (but not very) Distributed by Dick Brescia Associates and Radio Spirits, Inc.