In memory of Disney historian Jim Korkis

History is essentially storytelling, and Disney’s extensive history is tangled and multifaceted. Fortunately, Jim Korkis has been entrenched in the company’s fascinating past. He’s best known as a Disney historian and the author of several Disney books, including “The Book of Mouse,” “Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South,” and the popular “The Vault of Walt” series.

Jim moved from the Disneyland area to Orlando in 1995 to take care of his parents and found himself doing a variety of roles for Walt Disney World. He was the off-screen narrator for the short-lived syndicated Disney television series “Secrets of the Animal Kingdom,” wrote the text for the 30th anniversary Walt Disney World trading card set, taught classes on animation history and improvisational acting to members of Feature Animation Florida, performed as Merlin the magician at the Magic Kingdom and still continues to write articles for a variety of Disney publications including “Orlando Attractions Magazine” and “Disney Files,” the quarterly magazine for the Disney Vacation Club.

What is it about Disney that has compelled you to write and collect stories about the company?

Growing up in Glendale, Calif., I had the opportunity to meet and interview dozens of people who had worked with Walt Disney. I was in the right place at the right time to hear and record these great stories. Unfortunately, many of these people were old, even when I first met them as a teenager. They started passing away, and I realized their stories were being lost. I felt an obligation to give them another chance to tell their version of the Disney story. Disney history is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, but many of the pieces are missing. I hoped that if I shared my pieces, maybe other people would share their pieces, and we would all enjoy a richer perspective of the overall picture.

You’ve had an assortment of roles within Disney, one of them playing Merlin in the Magic Kingdom. How’d you come upon this opportunity, and what did you take away from the experience?

I thought the best entry to the Walt Disney Company for me would be through my performing skills. I got a job doing magic and balloon animals for drunks at Pleasure Island. Then, I got the opportunity in 1995 to be a Streetmosphere character at the Magic Kingdom, which was looking to expand upon the popularity of the characters at Disney-MGM Studios. In Frontierland, I was Prospector Pat, an old gold miner who had heard there were riches in Big Thunder Mountain (Prospector Pete was already a conventional character, so I couldn’t use that name). After three months, Disney was so pleased with what I was doing with my interactions with the guests that I got the opportunity to be the part-time Merlin, doing the Sword in the Stone ceremony in Fantasyland. The full-time Merlin left shortly afterward to pursue other acting opportunities, and I became the full-time Merlin. At the time, the Disney Institute was being developed, and with my background in animation (including doing voices and being a recognized animation historian with multiple published articles and books), I got offered a job as a full-time salaried animation instructor, so I transitioned to that role.

Do you have any fun Merlin stories?

Here’s one that sticks in my mind. Merlin gave away an expensive and elaborate gold medallion to a child (often a child from Give Kids the World) at every performance.

There was a backup just in case there was a problem. On my second week, a very cute brunette came up to me and told me that Merlin was her very favorite character and how good I was in the role, and she realized she would never get picked to get the medallion. I gave her the extra, figuring we might hook up after my shift, and she promptly ran and gave it to her boyfriend, who was leaning up against Sir Mickey’s. As soon as I got backstage, I got a lengthy lecture on the cost of the medallion and more. I only gave away one other extra medallion in all my time as Merlin. I got permission ahead of time, and I called up my dad from the audience and had him pull up the sword and give him the medallion. It hung near his bed, along with the colorful certificate, until his death several years ago.

Of the many roles you’ve held and projects you’ve completed with Disney, which one is dearest to you?

Tough question and an impossible one to answer. I enjoyed them all for different reasons. I loved doing Merlin because I could really be a ham and loved interacting with the guests as a Disney character. I loved teaching animation at the Disney Institute and helping with the annual animation festival, and having a meal with visiting legends like John Lasseter and Ward Kimball. I enjoyed writing and teaching classes as part of Disney Adult Discoveries and the interactions with guests who really were true Disney fans on programs like Backstage Magic and Innovation in Action.

I still get emails from young people I worked with as a Coordinator of College and International Programs at Epcot, and I definitely loved doing over two hundred different presentations on Disney history for the Disney Learning Centers. I enjoyed them all. I didn’t enjoy being unexpectedly laid off, but I tell people you can love the Disney Brand but still have concerns about how the Disney business operates.

Given the elongated history of Disney and the entertainment business’ penchant for embellishing stories, have you found it difficult to unfurl fact from the fiction?

The Disney Company has always been a company from the beginning that depended on oral history. At the animation studio, if you wanted to know something about Steamboat Willie, you were sent down to talk to Ub Iwerks working in the Special Processes department. Disney was so busy doing things that they never wrote anything down. It never occurred to anyone what would happen if someone retired or died or whatever, and they needed the information. In addition, people misremember or sometimes just make up things.

Yale Gracey was never supposed to be the owner of the Haunted Mansion. That is a story that cast members at Walt Disney World made up because they didn’t know the real story. Talking with Imagineer X. Atencio, who wrote the headstone about “Master Gracey,” he told me it was supposed to be a gag about his good friend. During the time period of the house, the term Master was a diminutive used for a young boy who was not an adult and so could not yet be called Mister. Basically, I just never accept anything at face value and keep digging and digging. I always try to find multiple sources to verify something. Of course, some stories, even if they are untrue, are so good that they just never seem to die, no matter how often you debunk them with the truth. So, today, even the Disney Company claims that Gracey is the master of the mansion.

How do you approach researching a new project?

Sometimes a client will request an article on a particular topic. Sometimes I write about something because I can’t find information anywhere else, so I figure if I write about it, others may come out of the woodwork with additional information. I schedule a block of time every day, including weekends and holidays, to research and write. I treat it like any job. I have an extensive personal library of books and magazines and other documents, but it is often a challenge to find a piece of information. I also have many friends who are experts in particular areas of Disney, from comic books to animation to Disney during World War II to Figment and all sorts of subjects.

Fortunately, there are still a handful of “Walt’s original cast” still around who I contact. People like cartoonist Floyd Norman or former Disney executives like “Sully” Sullivan have always been kind with their help. I always try to find at least three reliable sources to verify a piece of information before I put it in print. While something on the internet may springboard me in investigating something, I have learned that you should never depend on the internet as a primary source.

What advice would you give to someone who aspires to work in the many entertainment facets of Disney?

I had the good fortune to work in many different areas of Disney entertainment, and my advice would be to get as much experience as you can from doing as many productions as you can under the direction of as many different directors as you can.

I came to Disney after having been in over 200 different stage productions, from Gilbert and Sullivan to Chekhov to Shakespeare to musical theater, as well as experience backstage and in performances on television, film, and radio. It still took me four different auditions over a period of months to get hired as a performer, and that was considered amazingly fast. Equally important to being hired is your attitude. One of the reasons it takes multiple auditions to get hired is so Disney can evaluate your persistence and how you handle rejection. Disney does not have time for divas. They need people who are team players, adaptable, and, of course, professional in terms of showing up early, staying late and knowing what they have to do…and listening to what people tell them with a smile.

Click here if you’d like to order a print copy of the issue containing this interview with Jim.